PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has again attacked oligarchs. A few days ago, he railed against the politically influential rich—the billionaire big names he said owned the country’s political parties, bankrolled political candidacies, and drove the political machinery that delivered the votes to favored candidates. Our Presidents have been saying much the same thing for the Past 30 years at least, and evidently failing. Presidents and rent-seeking families have a symbiotic relationship – they enrich one another and bleed the country dry. I wonder if the difference in Duterte’s war against oligarchs is simply that there will be no bloodshed.

Source: Manila Times March 13, 2017 16:07 UTC