Rodrigo Duterte's moves and speeches were designed to provoke opposition. Note the lack of protocol and utter gutter language. He wants to elicit a miscalculated response from those who oppose him in the last election and from the Catholic Church. His politics is built on harassing government officials sitting on the fence so to speak. He puts pressure on them to commit one way or the other. He was able to imprison Senator Leila Delima using very thin proof from convicted drug offenders. He wants an unwarranted, unbalanced response from his political foes. So far no one has taken the bait. Nevertheless he thrives on starting a fight in the school grounds among the kids. He's a bully and knows all the dirty tricks.
Rodrigo Duterte's allies in Congress namely, Koko Pimentel in the Senate and Speaker of the House Pantaleon Alvarez, have formed a majority block for the ruling parties. This means they control the House and the Senate, they have the chairmanships of the committees. Both the Senate President and the House Speaker are viewed as traditional politicians and Congress as mere rubber stamps.
Rodrigo Duterte challenged the Chief Justice Sereno and Ombudsman Carpio Morales both to let Congress adjudicate all their corruption cases. To which Ombudsman Carpio Morales replied she won't be baited into abandoning her duties to the constitution. These two women are now the focus of Duterte's political moves. But they were not his biggest headache. That prize belongs to Senator Sonny Trillanes. Senator Trillanes accused then candidate Duterte of hiding billions in a secret bank account, not reported in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth.
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