Duterte vows to bring back death penalty

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-36297583

For littering?

The only thing surprising about that piece of news is that anyone should be surprised by it!

Duterte has discovered that his popularity with the masses increases with each outrageous statement he makes and that any links, actual or perceived, that might exist between him and the so-called Davao Death Squads haven't done him any harm whatsoever. Nor has his friendship with the exiled Maoist, Jose Maria "Joma" Sison, his former tutor at the Lyceum University and founder of the Communist Party of the Philippines. There may well be a connection between the two - the DDS and the CPP's military wing, the NPA which specifically targets and executes criminals and corrupt officials.

The Death Penalty has not been permanently outlawed in the Philippines, merely suspended in June 2006 and both Duterte and Grace Poe stated that, if elected, they would seek to lift the suspension for certain serious crimes - although Duterte's definition of "serious" is a tad more extreme than Poe's as his list includes car theft (but that might be a bit of hyperbole).

Especially for littering - take a look at Davao, no litter on the streets, no fly-tipping.

So far we have:

No drinking in public after 10 pm - or 2 am or 1 am - he has offered all three times in the past week
No smoking in buildings or in vehicles
No karaoke that can be heard on the street
Bring back the death penalty
Put the Communist Party of the Philippines in charge of employment and of land reform
Create a Filipino steel industry (this is my favourite one, so far, as I know a bit about the world steel market - China laid off two million steel workers last year and there are more to go...

All of these are wildly popular...

Someone not familiar with life in Davao might find the first of Duterte's proposals that you list to be somewhat confusing. In Davao you will find that hotels that have more than one bar - or place where alcohol is served - may only keep one of their outlets open after 10 pm to serve residents only and they should be closed by 1 am. Other bars and restaurants are not permitted to serve alcohol after 2 am. Perfectly sensible measures that reduce the incidence of anti-social behaviour, as does the banning of Karaoke in the streets.

His proposed "no smoking" ordinances mirror those currently in force in Davao which is celebrating its 13th (or 14th?) year as a no-smoking city. And isn't the law on smoking pretty much the same in the UK now?

As for re-introducing the Death Penalty, I personally would not welcome this unless and until corruption within the judiciary is eliminated and trial by jury is introduced.

You may think Duterte's desire to establish a Philippine Steel industry is just plain wrong but actually he's not quite as barking mad as you might think. There are large reserves of iron ore (and other minerals) and coal to be found in the country; neither would need to be imported. Local steel production would achieve two aims: reduce and ultimately remove the reliance on imported product and (2) provide a large number of jobs. The Philippines could not compete with China in terms of exports but that's not the object of the exercise. A local steel industry would attract other inwards investment such as ship building - Korean ship builders are known to want to expand their facilities in Cebu and Luzon.

If you argue that I'm wrong then you probably won't be shedding any tears over the loss of Britain's steel making.

Thanks for the clarification of the drinking times.

The attempt to bring back the death penalty will go the way of the last such attempt.

The steel business is not simple. China has vast reserves of ore, but it is lower grade than can be had from Australia and Brazil, so China imports almost all its ore. The same goes for coking coal. I can say rather confidently, given the distances, that were Filipino ore of a highe enough grade and accessible it would have been shipped to China by now, so it cannot be of sufficiently high grade to compete, and the same goes for coal.

The Philippines actually had the first integrated steel plant in Asia but it was nationalised by Marcos and years of underinvestment meant that when Ramos was required to privatise it by the IMF it was worthless.

Here is what may be going on.

Duterte is backed by Asia Steel who are the biggest importers and stockckholders. China is awash with unwanted modern steel plants.

Let's suppose that Asia Steel were to import a Chinese steel plant - on condition that they got preferential terms for "Filipino steel..."

Duterte's wish for steel making in the Philippines is not an original idea from him but simply builds on foundations laid by earlier Presidents.

I've not researched the actual or potential of steel making in the Philippines but Google tells me that the country's iron ore deposit is large and of very good quality. However Aquino appears to have imposed a five year moratorium on the export of iron ore in 2010. Its expiration last year coincided with the collapse of China's steel making, so no exports there. The reason for the moratorium "comes from the need to conserve the resource for the possible establishment of iron or steel plants as well as the rights of the companies producing iron", according to DENR.

There are large coal deposits on Cebu, Mindanao and parts of Negros some of which helps to feed a growing number of power stations. But for the environmental lobby which objects to open-cast mining - and power stations - the country could be self-sufficient.

And the energy requirement for steel is?

I wonder how long it will be before Duterte himself receives the 'death penalty' ?

Mark, allow me to enlighten you. The Philippines once had a steel industry - it actually had the first modern integrated steel plant in Asia. Unsurprisingly this was "nationalised" by Marcos, investment stopped and management fell asleep and by the end of his time it was useless - the IMF ordered Ramos to sell it and the private buyers could not even pay their local taxes.

The situation of the world steel industry is a bit different today - when the ban was imposed iron ore (62% Fe, spot Tianjin) was trading at US$140+ per ton. Today it is under half that - US$ 60.07. In any case the quantity exported was derisory - even at that price the mining was barely remunerative. The Philippines does not have coking coal, which is not the same stuff as thermal coal.

He is heading towards an award for Comedian of the Year, in the tsinelas category.

According to "Coal Geology", a book by Larry Thomas, "Malangas-Zamboanga area has ameliorated coal, anthracite and bituminous coking coal."

Now dig it up, wash it and get it to the blast furnace at US$66 per tonne (current spot price of bituminous coking coal)...

I have no doubt that the Philippines can make steel using local raw materials just as well as China did in the Great Leap Forward.

What would be the point?

Edited to correct the price - I had inadvertently posted the price for hard coking coal.

and theres no way that carbon (and pollution) should ever be released

Those subjected to the death penalty are not simply to be hanged, but hanged twice - once to kill them and once to pull their head off.
(please willnobody tell him about hanging drawing and quartering!)

In other news, taxi drivers who fail to tender the correct change are to be charged with estafa.

That is Singapore

What about urinating in the street, is that a death sentence or just taking the piss.

Given that there's little or no economic case, the only point that makes any kind of sense is one of social responsibility: Duterte wants to create real jobs which would stimulate the domestic economy and thereby improve living standards for the many. Corbyn and the hard left could learn some valuable lessons from him.

So says a Corbynista environmentalist who would condemn others to a life without electricity or motor cars whilst not forgoing those mod-cons himself.