Duterte eyes bold Philippines policy agenda

Significance

On May 12, Duterte's transition team released an eight-point economic plan, following a bravado-fuelled election campaign that was light on policy content and unnerved investors, partly because key personnel in the administration remained unknown.

Impacts

• Liberal Party defections will strengthen Duterte's congressional influence, and potentially weaken opposition politics.
• However, new PDP-Laban members could later desert Duterte.
• Duterte's infrastructure investment and pro-foreign investor reform plans face bottlenecks.
• A Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos vice presidency would strengthen Duterte further, and reduce the chance of any possible impeachment effort.