RODRIGO Duterte won the presidency riding on the slogan 'Pagbabago.' His campaign centered on 'federalism,' a concept dear to the neglected people from the margins, milking this polarizing catchphrase — Manila imperialism! — the overly centralized political authority lodged in the capital region. Parliamentary government is a key complement to federalism. Duterte was an advocate but with a twist — he wanted a strong presidency, often referring to the French model erroneously as something desirable for the Filipinos. His framework for this feature was historical nostalgia for pre-Hispanic times '...when the bond between social classes, maharlika and maginoo (the nobles) to the freemen and slaves was balanced on the 'padrino/patron relationship. This buttressed his conviction of a strong father figure for the presidency, but inconsistent with a parliamentary system.

Yet he initiated a shift to a federal-parliamentary from a unitary presidential regime, declaring that the latter was the root cause of all major problems plaguing Philippine governance. His persona as a filthy-mouthed, uncouth, misogynistic, strong-armed leader fired the citizenry's imagination, naively impressed by such vulgarity, as was his reputation as a 'can do' local government chief executive, boasting of his accomplishment as mayor of a city, he 'eliminated' crime and arrested Davao City's slide toward a narco-state. He would do the same for the country once elected president. And the Filipinos believed him!