Time writer insists Duterte fits ‘strongman’ tag

MANILA, Philippines — The author of the Time Magazine article that described President Duterte as a “strongman” has disputed the repeated denial made by the Chief Executive.

Ian Bremmer, Time editor-at-large and foreign affairs columnist, on Friday maintained his position that Duterte is a strongman, citing cases of human rights violations and attempts to silence critics.

“To set the record straight, yes, Duterte won a fair election. So did Viktor Orban, Hungary’s self-proclaimed champion of ‘illiberal democracy.’ Duterte is popular, and so is Vladimir Putin (of Russia),” Bremmer wrote.

“These are all leaders who’ve won elections in their countries while restricting basic freedoms to tighten their hold on power,” he said.

Bremmer wrote the follow-up piece after Duterte repeatedly denied that he was a strongman, at one point stating that “he never sent anybody to jail for criticizing” him.

In response, the Time editor cited the case of Sen. Leila de Lima, who was detained on drug charges which, he said, are described by the Human Rights Watch (HRW) as “politically motivated.”

“Just this week, the Philippines’ Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, another fierce Duterte critic, was removed from her post following an 8-6 vote by her fellow justices,” Bremmer said.

“Duterte pushed hard for her ousting, calling himself an ‘enemy’ of hers and threatening to forcibly remove her should it come to that,” he said.

Citing HRW as a highly credible source, Brenner also raised the issue of human rights violations allegedly committed during Duterte’s tenure.

“By enabling extrajudicial killings by police and encouraging vigilante justice in his country, Duterte’s ‘war on drugs’ has killed an estimated 12,000 people, including children, most of them poor people,” he wrote.

“I’m far from the only foreigner with opinions Duterte rejects. His government dismisses evidence of his drug war death toll, substantiated by international rights organizations, as ‘alternative facts.’ He has tried to harass and intimidate United Nations officials charged with investigating the evidence,” he added.

The government repeatedly denied allegations of human rights violations, with officials claiming that HRW is being used by opposition politicians to destabilize the government.

In his article, Bremmer said Duterte may have liked the strongman description more than he wants to admit.

“Given that Mr. Duterte has made his reputation as a man who loves to talk tough, perhaps he likes being called a ‘strongman’ a bit more than he’s willing to admit. He’s spent more time talking about it than I have,” he said.

He also responded to a reader who alleged his supposed gender bias in using the word strongman, saying he would use the term “strongpersons” once he is shown a “female head of government anywhere in the world guilty of ordering human rights abuses on this scale.”

Duterte, Putin, Orban and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan were featured on the cover of Time’s May 3 issue, which tackled the supposed rise of strongmen leaders.

In the article, Bremmer described Duterte as “a former mayor who talked more like a mob boss than a President.”