President Rodrigo Duterte was a reluctant presidential candidate who won the May 2016 elections by a landslide.

As President, he has used the immense powers vested in him by the Constitution with utmost responsibility to promote the well-being of the people.

This brings to mind what Abraham Lincoln once said, “Nearly all men can stand adversity; but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.”

The President launched an unprecedented anti-drug war that saw the surrender of more than 800,000 drug addicts and charted a new course in international relations with his pursuit of an independent foreign policy which means moving strongly and swiftly towards regional economic rebalancing for closer integration in Asia.

The Philippines is forging closer ties with Asean, China, Japan and South Korea. As the President walked the extra mile for peace, the Chief Executive made the country’s economic growth the fastest among emerging Asian economies and lowered unemployment to its lowest level in more than a decade.

Much has been done in the first six months and much more will be done in the succeeding months and years. After all, the President’s heart is in the right place, and he has only the interests of the Filipino people and the nation in his mind first and foremost.