I’m due to come home in a few weeks.

My father, who voted for President Rodrigo Duterte in the last presidential elections, asked me to be very cautious during my stay back home. Amused, I asked him why.

“You left home two years ago, times have changed, the Philippines is no longer the same as when you left it,” he said to me in response.

He added that it is “no longer as safe,” something that made me smile, despite what his statement infers.

He campaigned for the president on his social media account, while I campaigned for the late Senator Miriam Santiago, despite knowing her chances of winning the election were slim.

My father and I even had a bit of playful exchange, which ended with both of us agreeing to disagree. To this day, whenever I activate my social media accounts, I’d see him post statuses supportive of the current administration.

You see, my father shares the views of most Duterte supporters, that for real progress to materialize, crimes must be reduced, and, to achieve this, the proliferation of illegal drugs must be stopped.

For him, having Duterte as president meant the streets would be safer.

When he asked me to “stay safe and be cautious” during my vacation because “home is no longer as safe as it once was,” I was surprised; but I can’t say I didn’t expect it.

I didn’t have the heart to tell my papa “I told you so,” but somehow, I am glad that he acknowledges the fact that, while this administration seems to have good intentions with putting a stop to illegal drugs, the methods they use have really negative consequences./WDJ