The Philippines’ new leader, Rodrigo Duterte, rattled investors before his election in May by sounding like Donald Trump and Dirty Harry; he insisted tens of thousands of criminals would be killed in his crime crackdown. So far, however, his bark has proved worse than his bite.
There has been a spike in vigilante killings of suspected drug dealers, but Duterte has surprised observers by announcing a unilateral ceasefire with Maoist rebels, and has secured support from Muslim insurgents in the south for his planned shift towards a federal system of government.
Duterte has also “settled nerves by promising to retain the macroeconomic policies of his predecessor”, avoiding cronyism in his cabinet appointments, and making a respected former minister his finance secretary, says Capital Economics. It’s “an encouraging start”.