Philippines: Rodrigo Duterte and the West

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December 12, 2018 - Mindanao martial law extended until Dec. 2019
Mindanao martial law extended until Dec. 2019

Duterte first imposed martial law in Mindanao in May 2017, after Daesh fighters seized the city of Marawi.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. (AFP)

MANILA: Martial law will be extended in the Philippine island of Mindanao until Dec. 31, 2019, after Congress on Wednesday approved President Rodrigo Duterte’s request.

Duterte first imposed martial law in Mindanao in May 2017, after Daesh-inspired fighters seized the city of Marawi. After a 60-day grace period, he asked for and was granted a five-month extension.
The president in his latest request cited a security assessment by the military, and the police indicating that terrorism remained a problem on the island. He wrote to Congress saying the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), Daulah Islamiyah (DI) and other militant groups continued to defy the government by carrying out hostile activities.

Congress voted overwhelmingly in favor of his request, with 235 for and 28 against.

“A further extension of the implementation of martial law and suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus in Mindanao will enable the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines), the PNP (Philippine National Police) and all other law enforcement agencies to finally put an end to the ongoing rebellion in Mindanao and continue to prevent the same from escalating in other parts of the country,” Duterte said in his letter.

“We cannot afford to give the rebels further breathing room to regroup and strengthen their forces. Public safety indubitably requires such further extension in order to avoid the further loss of lives and physical harm, not only to our soldiers and the police, but also to our civilians.”

Some of those who voted against the extension said there was no constitutional basis for it or anything that looked like an uprising.
There was also concern about further unrest in Mindanao.

"Prolonged martial rule in a large area affecting the lives of millions of our citizens is authoritarian and contrary to our constitutional democracy. Worse, it will not improve the economic welfare of our citizens," said opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros.

Other lawmakers said there was not enough evidence that the whole of Mindanao was under threat.

Frederick Siao, from Mindanao, asked the government to produce clear and verifiable results but backed the president’s request.

"99 percent of my constituents in Iligan City are in favor of martial law extension in the whole of Mindanao. I ask the government to slash away security threats by at least 30 percent, decimate lawless groups in one year. There is no forever martial law in Mindanao."

 

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Duterte has me giggling so hard - I can hardly stay in my chair! The guy is direct and to the point! Oh - Too funny!

2018-12-31 - Duterte Invokes Holy Allegory in Latest Defense of Critical Thinking
Duterte Invokes Holy Allegory in Latest Defence of Critical Thinking - Eurasia Future

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has issued another stern criticism of the Roman Catholic Church in The Philippines – one that was highly allegorical in respect of contemporary political trends in the country. During his speech, Duterte criticized Catholic doctrine in the following way:

“You’re already praying at one God, then you’re going to pray at these cursed saints. There’s only one God. There’s only one God, period. You cannot divide God into 3, that’s silly”.

Turning then to the Biblical recounting of Crucifixion, Duterte said:

“Your God was nailed on the cross. Fuck, how unimpressive. I’m God and you will crucify me? Mother fucker. I’d tell them, ‘Lightning, finish all of them. Burn all the non-believers”…

…Look, those documents were written – if at all – 3,000 years ago. Why would they care about our lives now? Who wrote about them? Who’s Saint Thomas? We don’t know who they are. That might even be a name for a cow or camel then”.

While Duterte’s statements have intentionally caused shock, this is in keeping with his self described method of ‘shaking the tree‘ in order to awaken in people, a new socio-political mentality that breaks from the complacency of the past. In Duterte’s recent remarks, he used religious allegory and criticism of Catholic doctrine in order to convey several important messages to his people.

Think critically

President Duterte has long made it clear that he does not seek to proselytise anyone towards his specific view of religion which as he has stated many times, accepts the principle of a rational and dignified supreme being but one that is different from the dogmatic belief system of any organised religion. However, in severely criticising a Catholic Church that for centuries in The Philippines was beyond social reproach, Duterte has helped to make it safe for people to criticise all manner of things that they were previously bullied into not criticising.

In other words, by opening the floodgates to harsh criticism of a religious institution, Duterte is creating a safe space in which his countrymen and women can freely criticise corrupt priests, their treatment at the hands of corrupt civil officials, poor politicians and of course also express their criticisms of the deeply flawed 1987 Constitution of the country – a man made (aka oligarch made) document that for many years was treated as something of a national Bible in spite of its multiple shortcomings.

In a country whose people risk becoming overly complacent over multiple matters related to general social and economic progress, Duterte’s harsh rebukes of Catholicism and Church teachings is a signpost that free speech is something that one can lose unless it is used.

A warning to those metaphorically crucifying Duterte

The Philippines is unique as a nation as some of its citizens literally crucify themselves during Easter in order to attempt to relive the pain of their Lord. While authorities officially discourage the practice, this hasn’t stopped mainstream media and the Yellow opposition from metaphorically crucifying Duterte at every opportunity.

But unlike Jesus who turned the other cheek and forgave his earthly killers, Duterte has made it clear that in all circumstances he will fight back whether against Yellow untruth and innuendo, NPA threats or fake news defamation.

Give one’s opponents enough rope

As sure as many of Duterte’s opponents (a minority in the nation, but a vocal one nevertheless), seek to metaphorically crucify the popular people-centred leader, Duterte is more than happy to invite these increasingly hysterical opponents to metaphorically hang themselves on the rope that Duterte constantly gives them. In order words, by speaking in allegedly “outrageous” ways about spiritual shibboleths, Duterte tempts his opponents to react in a threatening, hysterical, irrational and even intellectually violent ways.

While Duterte often lambastes ideas he believes are foolish, he never threatens any individual unless such an individual is a criminal (a terrorist, narco or someone who threatened the President himself). And yet many of Duterte’s opponents who claim to be “Christians” or “liberals” react to his criticism of ideas and of criminality by calling for violence against Duterte – two things that one would have thought were both un-Christian and illiberal by definition.

In this sense, Duterte’s opponents are only as bad as they allow themselves to be and by drawing them out of their proverbial caves, Duterte has helped to at long last expose the rot that lies in many of their minds.

Conclusion

The Philippines is a nation that requires much less public complacency, more critical thinking, less hero worship and more reality checks in order to reform its political system and modernize its economy. While Duterte spends most of his daytime hours working on policies to accomplish these goals, his lengthy evening speeches provide a necessary wake-up call for the nation at large to develop a new mentality that is compatible with understanding the necessity of these reforms while carrying them forward for years to come.


2018-06-24 - Duterte Preaches The Gospel of Earthly Happiness Against Neo-Imperial Submission to Clerical Meddlers
Duterte Preaches The Gospel of Earthly Happiness Against Neo-Imperial Submission to Clerical Meddlers - Eurasia Future

When criticizing prevalent forms of Christianity the United States, heavy champion of the world Muhammad Ali said,

We teach our people that heaven is not in the sky — heaven is on earth. Hell is not underground — hell is on earth. The white man told us that heaven is in the sky and hell is under the ground and he takes everything in the middle”.

In many various ethnic contexts throughout the world, missionaries and churches from Europe have exported the attitude that the indigenous people who have been conquered by European imperialists must suffer on earth in order to attain heaven in the afterlife. Meanwhile, the imperialists themselves plunder the natural resources of their conquered lands whether it be water and wood, silver and gold and in more modern epochs, oil and gas.

It was under this imperial pretext that the Roman Catholic Church was brought to The Philippines and even though the country has been independent since 1946, shortly after winning the Presidential election in 2016, Rodrigo Duterte stated that he renounces the colonial mentality in all of its guises whether in the form of so-called NGOs meddling against the political will of the Filipino people, politicians paid for by drug cartels or foreign regimes or indeed the Roman Catholic Church that continues to act as a fifth column, attempting to scandalously undermine Philippine democracy.

Speaking days ago in his home city of Davao, President Duterte made remarks about these subjects which many found controversial. He stated,

“So God was lonely, so he created paradise and that’s planet Earth. And God said, ‘I will create man,’ so there was Adam. God found that Adam was lonely, so he took one of his ribs and created woman. But God doubted his creation so he tested it. He called a snake and told it to give an apple to Eve. Eve ate it and gave it to Adam. And so malice was born.

Who is this stupid God? You created something perfect and then you think of an event that would destroy the quality of your work. How can you rationalise that God? How can you believe him? So now we’re all born with an original sin? Even in the womb, we already have sin. What kind of religion is that?

I believe there is a universal mind. But to what extent is the influence of the – I cannot picture him as a human being…But I really believe, I have this faith and abiding thing about… but don’t believe in religion”.

Duterte here is repeating his long held views that the Catholic Church in The Philippines is a manifold corrupt institution. Like millions of others around the globe, Duterte himself was a victim of Church violence as a child when he was molested by a priest. Since then, rather than apologizing to Duterte, the Catholic Church has worked consistently to undermine his flagship policies by flouting the constitution and making frequently highly charged politicized interventions in a country where there is legal separation of religion and government. Regarding this, Duterte stated the following on the 14th of June,

“And I assure you, you can walk around at night and nobody would really bother you. (I will target) drugs, I said, after corruption. I’m a simple man. I have run roughshod against almost everybody—priests, human rights (activists). I don’t give a shit. Those priests and bishops, they didn’t elect me to office. Those (idiots), they’re with the other side”.

Duterte has frequently embraced issues that are red-lines for Catholic Church dogma including same-sex marriage. While Duterte has expressed personal ambivalence regarding divorce, if the Philippine legislature passes a new divorce law, it is very likely Duterte will sign it.

Recently, Duterte vowed to expose a private dossier regarding the unethical practices of some Catholic priests who have recently been murdered. While many priests blame Duterte for the deaths, the Philippine President has stated,

“We have (a dossier showing the reason why one of the priests was killed). I have a copy of it. But I suppressed that because that’s not good for the Catholic Church. It’s because it involves women. If the Catholic wants, I will release the matrix why the priest was killed. I’m only restraining myself. But I gave a copy to the chairman of CBCP (Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines). But if that’s what Soc Villegas (the President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines) wants, I will release it”.​

Even prior to his election as Philippine President in 2016, Duterte has never been shy about criticizing the Roman Catholic Church. During his election campaign, Duterte stated,

“I will lecture until June 29 the sins of the Catholic Church and whether or not you are still relevant…..Let this election be a referendum between me and the Catholic church”.​

In 2017, he said that Church leaders were “full of shit”. Duterte who himself was a victim of Church abuse has accused clergy of hypocrisy saying,

“You criticize the police, you criticize me. For what? You have the money. You are all crazy … when we were making confessions to you, we were being molested. They are touching us. What is your moral ascendancy, religion? What is the meaning of it!”.

In his frequent criticisms of the Roman Catholic Church, Duterte has invoked the sentiments of Muhammad Ali who like Duterte was a believer in God but one who shunned organised Christianity. In Ali’s case, he found solace in Islam, while for Duterte, like an increasing number of people throughout the world, he has sought spiritual fulfilment outside of the confines of any organised religion. Duterte has always presented himself and acted as servant of the people. He has rejected palatial lifestyles in spite of holding high political office and has worked to take outdated honorific titles out of the daily lexicon of Philippine politics. He even once stated that he prefers to be addressed by his old title of “mayor” rather than “President”.

Duterte’s attacks of the Roman Catholic Church are similar to his attacks of all elitist organizations that have excelled at taking money and confidence from the people without giving them anything in return. The amount of bribes and even extortion that are common among many perishes in The Philippines reveal a corruption that is little different than that which Duterte has aimed to tackle at a political level. Duterte has also personally addressed how Church dogmas prevent Filipinos from achieving their potential on earth, much as Ali alluded to in his diatribe against the “white man’s church”. Addressing this specific issue during a speech earlier this month, Duterte stated,

“So don’t believe those Catholics, or Adam and Eve. The god of the Catholics, He’s an idiot. Look for a better God. Look, it says in catechism that God created the world. It was a paradise. Then he made man, Adam, and he was lonely so God created woman. It would have been fine but God called the snake and gave it an apple, asked it to give it to Eve. Then Eve tempted Adam to eat the apple and malice became malice. We all sinned. We are all born sinners, son of a whore. What did we have to do with Adam and Eve who were the ones who did the deed? What kind of God was that? Things were perfect then he decides to ruin them. So don’t believe those priests. During my campaign, I felt like peeing, but son of a whore, it took three hours from Robinsons to the airport. I was late. So I said, son of a whore, Pope, you better leave now. I cursed him. Why did he come and cause such a traffic jam? So the God of the Catholics? Baloney! We have a new religion when we get out of here: the church of Rodrigo. No limit. You have an obligation to make yourself happy”.

Contrary to the way many of Duterte opponents have interpreted these remarks, The President was not attacking the beliefs of ordinary people but was instead attempting to show that the fairest and truest form of spiritual enlightenment does not require sacrificing one’s own potential, one’s own prospects for happiness and fulfilment and one’s own sense of freedom and empowerment just because a cleric whose own earthly riches are generally more vast than the poor men and women coming to the old churches in order to seek salvation say so. Duterte’s concept of earthly salvation, earthly redemption and earthly remuneration for ones labour, are concepts that many modern revolutionaries throughout Latin America invoked when leading people’s revolutions against corrupt lingering imperial regimes and elitist dictatorships. Duterte’s attitude of being a humble servant of the people contrasts sharply with his clerical critics who for years have done little to distribute nor encourage the spreading of wealth among the poorest of the poor. Duterte elaborate on these concepts further during a speech in May of 2017 when he said,

“Priests do nothing but rant. They live in palaces. You should sell those and use the money to buy rice for the poor. And stop collecting money. If you don’t, I will have you arrested for extortion … I do not need martial law. I do not need to declare a suspension of the writ of habeas corpus. You destroy my country, you destroy the youth. I don’t give a shit if all the priests kneel and pray and beg. I have a country to preserve and that is the Filipino nation. It has nothing to do with religion”.

Without firing a shot in anger, Duterte is leading a revolution of the mind – a revolution that aims to create a freer, more open, more confident mentality among the Filipino people that encourages positive thinking rather than hypocritical submission to the cautions of priests who have rarely felt the suffering of those relying on them.

Duterte’s revolution seeks to secularise the political and economic spheres of society while creating an atmosphere where individual men and women can attain a higher form of spiritual enlightenment in the form of improving their lives and their country – all in a manner that itself is free from the outmoded dogmas of an institution that is becoming ever more of an imperial relic.

While some unimaginative commentators mock and deride Duterte for his statements on organised religion, such people themselves often come from a class of exploiters who know nothing of the real hopes and dreams of the exploited who yearn for a peaceful and fulfilling earthly existence.

In future years, Filipinos will likely look back on Duterte as a champion of their freedom, their dignity, their peace and their prosperity. Duterte is not afraid to tackle any political or religious institution that stands between the people and their progress. For this reason, Duterte, like all great peaceful revolutionaries is setting an example of both earthly and psychological liberation that is long overdue in a country whose people have been held back both by false political and false religious prophets.

 

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Minority Muslims in the Philippines cast votes on Monday in a long-awaited referendum on autonomy, the culmination of a peace process to end decades of separatist conflict in a region plagued by poverty, banditry and Islamist militancy.

January 20, 2019 - Philippines holds referendum for Muslim Autonomy in troubled South
Philippines holds referendum for Muslim autonomy in troubled south | Reuters

Some 2.8 million people in Mindanao, the country’s volatile southernmost region, were asked if they backed a plan by separatists and the government to create a self-administered area known as Bangsamoro, (nation of Moros), referring to the name Spanish colonialists gave to the area’s Muslim inhabitants.

The ballot was largely peaceful and turnout was large, according to election authorities, with a result expected within four days when a manual vote count is completed.

Overwhelming approval is expected for a plan that would grant executive, legislative and fiscal powers to a region hamstrung by decades of conflict that made it one of Asia’s poorest and most at risk of infiltration by radical groups.

The government will oversee defense, security, foreign and monetary policy, and appoint a transition authority led by the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which is expected to dominate the new setup after a 2022 election.

“It’s a historic chapter in our long, long journey towards our right to self-determination, it’s history in the making,” Mohagher Iqbal, the MILF’s top peace negotiator, told Reuters by telephone.

A victory would also be a boost for President Rodrigo Duterte, who remains hugely popular but has yet to make significant inroads towards delivering on his ambitious policy agenda.

Though the Bangsamoro plan was negotiated by his predecessors, Duterte, a mayor in Davao City in Mindanao for 22 years, was pivotal in ensuring it got Congressional support.

Duterte has urged voters to approve it and show they wanted peace, development and a local leadership that “truly represents and understands the needs of the Muslim people”.

Ebrahim Murad, Chairman of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), gestures after casting his vote during the plebiscite on Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) at a voting precinct in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao province, Philippines January 21, 2019. REUTERS/Marconi B. Navales

 

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Minority Muslims in the Philippines cast votes on Monday in a long-awaited referendum on autonomy, the culmination of a peace process to end decades of separatist conflict in a region plagued by poverty, banditry and Islamist militancy.

January 20, 2019 - Philippines holds referendum for Muslim Autonomy in troubled South
Philippines holds referendum for Muslim autonomy in troubled south | Reuters

I would say, this was a great accomplishment for Duterte - since he worked towards this referendum while Mayor of Davos.

A predominantly Muslim area of the southern Philippines has returned a resounding “Yes” in this week’s referendum on greater autonomy, boosting hopes for peace in one of Asia’s most conflict-torn regions.

Sat. January 26, 2019 - Philippine referendum returns big "yes" vote on Bangsamoro self-rule
Philippine referendum returns big 'yes' vote on Bangsamoro self-rule | Reuters

The plan to create a self-administered area for the Muslim-dominated parts of Mindanao was backed by 85 percent of voters,
the election commission said late on Friday, paving the way for a three-year transition toward elections for a legislature that will choose an executive.

Monday’s referendum was the culmination of a tumultuous peace process between separatists and successive governments that aimed to settle decades of conflict, which have hampered development and kept these parts of Mindanao among Asia’s poorest regions.

The endorsement by some 1.74 million voters comes as no surprise, and the new region to be called Bangsamoro (nation of Moros) will have greater powers to generate and invest more money in infrastructure, schools, healthcare and social welfare for its estimated 5 million inhabitants.

A ballot will now be held on Feb. 6 to ask several other areas if they want to join.

The central government will oversee defense, security, and foreign and monetary policy, and soon appoint a transition authority nominated by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

 

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MANILA, Philippines: The Philippine government said Friday it would file criminal charges against six officials of the French pharmaceutical firm Sanofi Pasteur over the deaths of children injected with its Dengvaxia anti-dengue vaccine.

March 01, 2019 - Philippines to charge Sanofi officials over dengue vaccination deaths
Philippines to charge Sanofi officials over dengue vaccination deaths

Justice department prosecutors faulted the company “for failing to actively monitor and conduct close surveillance of Dengvaxia recipients,” a crime which the government said was punishable by up to six years in prison.

About 830,000 schoolchildren have been vaccinated since 2016 in the world’s first dengue mass immunization program involving the drug. The government said 32,000 others were given the vaccine in private hospitals.

(On a related topic:)

After attacks, MSF suspends Ebola treatment in epicenter of Congo outbreak
Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) has suspended medical activities at the epicenter of an Ebola epidemic in Democratic Republic of Congo after two of its facilities were torched by unidentified assailants, the French charity said on Thursday.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo assured the Philippines on Friday it would come to its defense if it came under attack in the South China Sea, reaffirming a defense code that Manila's security chiefs have sought to revise.

March 1, 2019 - Pompeo assures Philippines of US protection in event of sea conflict
Pompeo assures Philippines of U.S. protection in event of sea conflict

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo shakes hands with Philippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. at the Department of Foreign Affairs in Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines, March 1, 2019. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez

Speaking during a stopover after a summit in Hanoi with North Korea, Pompeo said a 1951 Philippine-U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty would be adhered to if its ally was a victim of aggression, and singled out China as a threat to stability.

The Philippines, China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Brunei and Malaysia have competing claims of sovereignty in the waterway, a conduit for in excess of $3.4 trillion of goods carried annually on commercial vessels.

Speaking in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said that China and the countries around the South China Sea were working hard to protect peace and stability.

 

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MANILA (BLOOMBERG) - The number of cases of measles in the Philippines has exceeded more than 14,000 and the count is still rising even as the government steps up its campaign against a vaccine scare that was triggered by deaths allegedly caused by Dengvaxia, a vaccine against dengue.

March 3, 2019 - Philippine measles epidemic tops 14,000 cases and still rising
Philippine measles epidemic tops 14,000 cases and still rising

The government recorded 14,938 cases and 238 deaths from measles as of Feb 28, Health Department Undersecretary Eric Domingo said in a mobile phone text message, adding that "the number of cases is still rising". "We are continuing with our intensive campaign to vaccinate the vulnerable unprotected children," Mr Domingo said.

The Philippines declared a measles outbreak in Manila early February as infections and fatalities from the highly contagious respiratory viral disease spiked.

Deaths due to measles escalated to 200 last year from about 50 in 2017 as the deaths allegedly caused by Dengvaxia, a vaccine against dengue that was given free by President Rodrigo Duterte's predecessor, sparked a scare and drove parents to shun the government's free immunisation drive.

The Philippines banned Dengvaxia in February and government prosecutors on Friday said they found probable cause to indict executives of Dengue-manufacturer Sanofi and government health officials for at least 10 deaths allegedly linked to the vaccine.

 

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The Philippine military believes it may have "neutralized" the remnants of an alliance of pro-Islamic State extremists, after the suspected death of the group's de facto leader during clashes last week.

Philippines hopes Islamist group 'neutralized' after de facto leader killed

Forensic tests were being carried out to determine if one of four rebels killed on Thursday was Abu Dar, who security forces believe has led Dawla Islamiya, an alliance of pro-Islamic State fighters, foreign and Filipino, drawn from armed groups in the volatile Mindanao region.

Four soldiers were also killed during the fighting in Lanao del Sur province, which Islamic State claimed responsibility for on the mobile messaging service Telegram.

Regional army commander, Colonel Romeo Brawner, told ABS-CBN News that the death of Abu Dar would mean Dawla Islamiya had been “neutralized”.

Dawla Islamiya in 2017 occupied southern Marawi City for five months before its core leaders were reported killed by the military in air strikes and street battles, among them Isnilon Hapilon, Islamic State’s anointed “emir” in Southeast Asia. Abu Dar was seen in seized video footage sitting beside Hapilon.

If confirmed, his death would represent rare progress at a time of heightened alert across the predominantly Muslim areas of Mindanao, where a church attack by suspected suicide bombers in January killed 22 people and wounded more than 100, just days after a local referendum on autonomy returned an overwhelming “yes” vote.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for the church bombings, which the government believes were carried out by its supporters from another Mindanao group, Abu Sayyaf, which has a long history of criminal and extremist activity.

 

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Duterte set to strengthen rule as loyalists lead Philippine Senate vote

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's allies held the top spots as unofficial results of a mid-term Senate election trickled in on Monday, signaling broad public backing for the maverick leader.

Early results suggested Duterte-backed candidates would take most of the 12 Senate seats available, with just one from the opposition slate on the fringes.

A Senate majority would lessen the chance of censure moves and lower house probes against Duterte’s government and make it easier to pass controversial legislation, such as restoring capital punishment and changing the constitution to introduce federalism, and possibly extend term limits.

The ballot was billed as a referendum on the mercurial president, with the focus on his bid to boost his influence over an upper house vital to him delivering on his reform agenda.

The Senate is just as crucial to his opponents, traditionally a check on state power and a bulwark against the kind of political dominance that Duterte is demonstrating.

Overall, the massive nationwide ballot will decide 18,000 posts, among them more than 200 mayors and governors, half of the 24-seat Senate, and 245 spots in a lower house expected to again be stacked with Duterte loyalists.

Dry-run for presidency? Duterte daughter revels in Philippine midterms spotlight

Sara Duterte, Davao City Mayor and daughter of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, delivers a speech during a senatorial campaign caravan for Hugpong Ng Pagbabago (HNP) in Davao City, southern Philippines on May 9, 2019. HNP is a regional political party chaired by Sara Duterte. Picture taken May 9, 2019 . REUTERS/Lean Daval Jr

During Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's first two years in office, his daughter Sara had barely any interest in politics.

One year on, she is front and center in a midterm election that she isn’t even running in, playing kingmaker for candidates allied with her father in what’s being widely seen as a not-so-subtle trial balloon for her own presidential run in 2022.

Monday’s elections are to a great extent a referendum on the Duterte administration, testing his popularity and giving him a chance to tighten his grip on power by retaining his Congressional majority, and keeping the opposition on the fringes of the all-important Senate for the remainder of his term.

Sara Duterte opted out of running for the Senate, choosing instead to manage the campaign of some of her father’s loyalists, which experts say will boost her political capital and build alliances that could come in handy ahead of the next presidential election.

“She’s projecting herself as a national personality. What’s happening today is her testing the water,” said Ramon Casiple, who heads the Institute for Political and Electoral Reform.

“Her image is being looked into, how people accept her. She has her own personality. She’s not being looked at as a carbon copy of her father.”

Sara Duterte reluctantly took over from her father as mayor of Davao City and has become hugely popular there. She is also no stranger to presidential events and overseas trips, serving as first lady because of her father’s annulled marriage.

The 40-year old has spent the past three months on a campaign that has included touring on a 900 cc motorcycle and leading big rallies with billboards and banners carrying an image of herself twice the size of those of the candidates she is promoting.

Talk of succeeding President Duterte in 2022 has dampened concern among his critics that he might try to cling to power by changing the constitution to remove the single-term limit for presidents.

Casiple said Sara Duterte as president could protect her father’s legacy and insulate him from political vendettas and what he has described as a “pattern of imprisonment” of former Philippine presidents.

Some critics even suggest a family succession would protect Duterte, 74, from a possible International Criminal Court (ICC) indictment for crimes against humanity. The ICC last year launched a preliminary examination into Duterte’s war on drugs, in which police have killed thousands of people.

NO-NONSENSE, LESS DIVISIVE
For her part, Sara has urged her supporters to stop referring to her as the next president, insisting it would put her at the top of a “hate list” of people eyeing the job. Her intention, she said, was to help her father deliver on his agenda, and talk of succession was pointless until 2021.

Her appeal is that she has the same tough, no-nonsense approach that makes her father a hit among millions, but she is by no means his lackey.

She has been seen in public sharing lunch with opposition leader Leni Robredo, whose party the president despises.

She has openly disagreed with her father and some of his policies - though voiced support for his war on drugs - and has publicly insulted some of his inner circle.

She has also demonstrated that she’s not to be crossed.

She once punched a court sheriff in the face, and her disdain for former house speaker Pantaleon Alvarez saw her bring key power-brokers together to oust him, on the same day of his annual state of the nation address to Congress.

Alvarez wants to win back his seat on Monday and declined to comment on Sara Duterte’s political influence, or her backing of his rivals. “I respect her politics,” he said, when asked about her presidential potential.

According to some analysts, Sara’s differences to her father could broaden her appeal among voters should she decide to run, allowing her to tap into groups alienated by his administration’s perceived adversarial approach to civil society, the media and the intelligentsia.

“I like the way she’s balancing out things when she openly contradicts blatantly ridiculous stuff that comes out of the administration,” said Alan German, a political campaign strategist at Agents International in Manila.

“She’s playing both side of the field. On the one hand she’s got the Duterte supporters, obviously because of her last name and who she is, and on the other hand, she’s trying to woo these sway guys who think ‘it won’t be so bad if it’s Sara’,” he said. “She gives you just enough to think, OK she’s not a lapdog.”

Slideshow (3 Images)
Dry-run for presidency? Duterte daughter revels in Philippine...

 

[angelburst29]

Apparently, Canada has been shipping their trash to the Philippines and has forfeited on an agreement?

Philippines withdraws top diplomats from Canada over trash row

The Philippines is withdrawing top diplomats from Canada after Ottawa missed a deadline to take back 69 shipping containers full of trash, the latest move in a long-running row stoked by threats from Manila's outspoken president.

'Bring it on' - Philippines' drug war commander invites probes into killings

The top enforcer of a brutal war on drugs in the Philippines on Friday dared prosecutors to go after him for the deaths of thousands of people, after activists warned that his election to the Senate could insulate him from legal action.

 

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Duterte allies dominate Philippine Senate race, shut out opposition

Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte backed eight winning aspirants in the 24-member Senate. Above, the 12 newly elected senators during their proclamation on Wednesday, May 22, 2019. (AFP)

MANILA, Philippines: The Philippine president’s allies won a majority of the 12 Senate seats at stake in the midterm elections, official results showed Wednesday, while the opposition’s shutout heralds a stronger grip on power by a leader accused of massive human rights violations.

Elections officials proclaimed the winners after finishing the official count of the May 13 elections overnight. The tally had been delayed by glitches in automated counting machines.

President Rodrigo Duterte backed eight winning aspirants to half of the seats in the 24-member Senate, including his former national police chief, Ronald dela Rosa, who enforced the president’s crackdown on illegal drugs in a campaign that left thousands of suspects dead and drew international condemnation.

Last week’s vote has been seen as a gauge of public support for Duterte, who is midway through the single six-year term Philippine presidents are allowed under the constitution. His anti-drug crackdown, unorthodox leadership style, combative and sexist joke-laden outbursts, and contentious embrace of China have been the hallmarks of his presidency.

“Do I look like a rubberstamp?” Senator-elect Bong Go, a longtime Duterte aide, replied when reporters asked him about concerns that the new Senate would be beholden to Duterte.

But he stressed he would back the president’s war against criminality, corruption and illegal drugs and would support a bill to reimpose the death penalty for heinous crimes and drug trafficking. Go said Duterte has not given any illegal orders to him or anyone he supervised.

Duterte’s three children also won races for mayor, vice mayor and a congressional seat representing their southern home region of Davao city. Voters also decided congressional, gubernatorial, mayoral and city and township races. Nearly 75 percent of more than 63 million registered Filipinos cast their votes in a strong turnout.

Analysts say many Filipinos seem more open to authoritarianism due to failures of past liberal leaders. Such a mindset has helped the family of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos make a political comeback, the latest example being his daughter, Imee Marcos, one of the winning Senate candidates who was endorsed by Duterte.

The president has aimed for stronger leverage in the traditionally more independent Senate to bolster his legislative agenda. That includes the return of the death penalty, lowering the age for criminal liability below the current 15, and revising the 1987 constitution primarily to allow a shift to a federal form of government, a proposal some critics fear may be a cover to remove term limits.

During the campaign, Go said he felt Filipinos were not ready yet to support a shift to a federal form of government partly because of a lack of adequate information campaign about its benefits. “It’s a longshot and it’ll be difficult for us to work for the approval of federalism at this time,” Go said.

“My no. 1 agenda is the reimposition of the death penalty for drug trafficking,” dela Rosa said in a separate news conference, adding the drug menace remains troubling despite Duterte’s crackdown.

The handful of opposition senators whose seats were not up for election and the independents who won office last week could potentially offset the strong majority Duterte’s allies hold in the new upper chamber. At least seven senators are needed to block amendments to the constitution, which was passed with safeguards against dictatorship in 1987, a year after Marcos was ousted by an army-backed “people power” revolt.

Opposition aspirants, who were set back by a lack of funding and other campaign issues, considered the Senate the last bastion of checks and balances in the Philippine national government given the solid dominance of Duterte’s loyalists in the lower House of Representatives.

Philippines’ Duterte loses patience, orders trash shipped back Canada
Philippines’ Duterte loses patience, orders trash shipped back Canada

Environmentalists stage a die-in protest outside the Canadian embassy to demand the Canadian government to speed up the removal of several containers of garbage that were shipped to the Philippines (AP)

MANILA: President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered his government to hire a private shipping company to send 69 containers of garbage back to Canada and leave them within its territorial waters if it refuses to accept the trash, his spokesman said on Wednesday.

“The Philippines as an independent sovereign nation must not be treated as trash by other foreign nation,” Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo told a media briefing.

Canada says the waste, exported to the Philippines between 2013 and 2014, was a commercial transaction not backed by the Canadian government.

Canada has since offered to take the rubbish back and the two countries are in the process of arranging the transfer.

But Canada missed a May 15 deadline set by Manila to take back the shipment, prompting the Philippines to withdraw top diplomats from Canada last week.

“Obviously, Canada is not taking this issue nor our country seriously. The Filipino people are gravely insulted about Canada treating this country as a dump site,” Panelo said.

The Canadian embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Philippines has made several diplomatic protests to Canada since a 2016 court ruling that the garbage be returned.

The consignments were labelled as containing plastics to be recycled in the Philippines but were filled with a variety of rubbish including diapers, newspapers and water bottles.

The issue is not the only one to strain ties between the two countries.

Last year, Duterte ordered the military to cancel a $233 million deal to buy 16 helicopters from Canada, after Ottawa expressed concern they could be used to fight rebels.

 

[angelburst29]

The jewelry of former Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos, famed for her extravagant spending and vast shoe collection, will go on sale with the proceeds going to benefit the Philippine public, the president's spokesman said on Thursday.

Imelda Marcos' jewels to go on sale after green light from Philippine president

The government’s assets recovery body had sought President Rodrigo Duterte’s approval for the sale of one of the three sets of jewelry confiscated three decades ago after the fall of Imelda’s husband, the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

“I asked (Duterte), are you going to give your go signal to sell? (He said) yes, as long as the proceeds from the sale will benefit the public,” presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo told reporters in Tokyo where Duterte is on a working visit.

The collection, seized in Hawaii, where Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos lived in exile, includes a rare 25-carat, barrel shaped diamond which London based auction house Christie's said in 2015 could be valued at $5 million.

The government had tried to auction the collections in the past but Imelda Marcos, now 89, had contested the move. The three sets in the collection, held in the central bank’s vault for safekeeping, were valued at $6 million in 1991.

Imelda is perhaps best known for leaving behind more than a thousand pairs of shoes when her family fled the Philippines after a people power revolution in 1986.


But after the late dictator died in exile in 1989, the Marcos family was allowed to return and have made a political comeback with several members elected to public office.

Duterte’s rise to power has been a boon for the Marcos family. He backed the senatorial campaign of Imelda’s daughter, Imee, who won a senate seat in this month’s mid-term polls.

 

[angelburst29]

The Philippine government attacked United Nations human rights experts on Saturday for "unpardonable intrusions", after a call for an international investigation into killings linked to President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs.

Philippines slams 'unpardonable intrusions' by U.N. rights experts

FILE PHOTO: Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte arrives to greet the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at Colonel Jesus Villamor Air Base in Manila, Philippines, Thursday, February 28, 2019. Andrew Harnik/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

The experts on Friday urged the U.N. Human Rights Council, whose 47 member states begin a three-week session on June 24, to launch an independent inquiry into what they said was a sharp deterioration in human rights across the country.

The 11 experts said they “have recorded a staggering number of unlawful deaths and police killings in the context of the so-called war on drugs, as well as killings of human rights defenders”.

“The 11 U.N. Special Rapporteurs’ act of peddling a biased and absolutely false recital of facts, adulterated with malicious imputations against the constituted authorities, smacks of unpardonable intrusions on our sovereignty,” presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said.

The U.N. experts presented "general allegations culled from false information," he said in a statement.

The Duterte government has insisted the more than 5,000 suspected drug dealers killed by police in anti-narcotics operations all put up a fight.

Panelo described the U.N. experts as “foreign propagandists masquerading as human rights protectors”, and said their comments were “an outrageous interference on Philippine sovereignty”.

He said those who have spoken against Duterte’s anti-narcotics campaign and human rights record have been “overwhelmingly rejected” by Filipinos. He was referring in particular to the Philippine opposition, which did not win a single Senate seat in midterm elections in May.

“These special rapporteurs should by this time realize that they, who believed in the untruthful advocacies of the electorally vanquished pretenders, have likewise been demolished, beyond redemption,” Panelo said.

The U.N. experts had also accused Duterte of publicly intimidating activists and Supreme Court judges, degrading women and inciting violence against alleged drug pushers and others.

 

[hlat]

Duterte Says He Used To Be Gay, But "Cured Himself" When He Met His Wife
by Tyler Durden
Fri, 05/31/2019 - 23:25

ZeroHedge

ZeroHedge - On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero

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Did Philippines President and alleged homophobe Rodrigo Duterte just pull an 'American Beauty'?

The Philippines strongman, who is notorious for his unfiltered public comments (late last year, he accused "most" Catholic Priests of being closet homosexuals), made an unexpected "admission" during a visit to Japan.

During a speech on Thursday, Duterte outed one of his political opponents as a homosexual, and then he outed himself...

According to local media reports cited by RT, while bashing Senator Antonio Trillanes, an ardent critic of his rule, Duterte implored his audience to "ask any gay person who sees Trillanes move, they'll say he's gay."

He went on to say that, in this respect, he and Trillanes are "similar."

But...

Duterte said he "became a man again" after meeting his now ex-wife, and that he "cured himself" of homosexuality. He finished with a rather cryptic proclamation where he referred to himself in both the third and first person: "Duterte is gay. So I am gay, I don’t care if I’m gay or not."

It's not entirely clear what he meant by that (though if you have any theories, feel free to leave them in the comments), but it's worth noting that this isn't the first time Duterte has discussed his sexuality in this half-joking, half-serious way. In 2017, he joked that he had considered becoming bisexual so he could "have fun both ways."

Keep in mind, this is the same world leader who once shocked a crowd by recounting how he molested his family's maid when he was a teenager, telling them that he once slipped his hand in her panties while she was sleeping, them ran off when she woke up.

This contrasts with Duterte's reputation as an alleged homophobe, having once described US ambassador Philip Goldberg as a "gay ambassador" and a "son of a whore."

Though Duterte claimed to be in favor of legalizing gay marriage in the conservative Catholic country early in his presidency, he has since changed his position, saying it would clash with the country's civic and religious principles.

 

[angelburst29]

Impeach me, I'll jail you - Philippines' Duterte dares foes to test him




Philippine army camp blast kills five; Islamic State claims responsibility

FILE PHOTO: Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte attends a session of the ASEAN Summit in Bangkok, Thailand, June 22, 2019. REUTERS/Jorge Silva/File Photo

An explosion at a military base in the restive southern Philippines on Friday killed five people, including three soldiers, and wounded nine others in what Islamic State said was an attack by its suicide bombers.

The military said the blast occurred at around noon at a base on Jolo island, a stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf, a splintered militant network notorious for kidnapping and piracy and for its pledge of allegiance to Islamic State.

Islamic State said via its Amaq news agency that its fighters had infiltrated the base strapped with explosives and killed or wounded 100 soldiers. It posted an image of two young men standing beside a black Islamic State flag, wearing what appeared to be vests designed to hold explosives. Neither the claim nor the authenticity of the photograph could be immediately verified.

The incident will be a major setback for Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s goal of wiping out Abu Sayyaf, for which he has created a special infantry division on Jolo to be comprised of 4,500 troops by 2022.

The army provided few details of what took place, but vowed a thorough investigation and to respond “with formidable resolve”.

Ground troops continue to establish the circumstances and identify the perpetrators behind this inhumane attack,” said Cirilito Sobejana, chief of the Western Mindanao Command. “We will intensify our offensives to crush terrorist groups.”

Clashes between troops and Abu Sayyaf have intensified in the wake of a January bombing of a Jolo church that killed 21 people and wounded close to 100, among them soldiers and civilians. Islamic State also claimed responsibility for that assault.

Duterte has maintained martial law across the Mindanao region to curb Islamic State’s influence and the decades of banditry by Abu Sayyaf, which is known for its brutality and for posting videos of captives begging for their lives, and for beheading those for whom ransom demands are not met.

A Dutch wildlife photographer held hostage by Abu Sayyaf since 2012 was killed last month by his captors when he tried to escape during a firefight with troops, according to the military, which said six rebels were killed.

Philippine army says attack on base likely a suicide bombing
A bomb attack that killed eight people at a military base in the southern Philippines was likely a suicide bombing, the army said on Saturday, another blow to government efforts to rein in militants inspired by Islamic State.

Eight dead in suicide bombing at Philippines military camp
Eight dead in suicide bombing at Philippines military camp

Eight people were killed and 22 were wounded after two suicide bombers attacked a military camp in the southern Philippines on Friday. (Reuters/File Photo)

MANILA: Eight people were killed and 22 were wounded after two suspected "suicide bombers" attacked a military camp in southern Philippines Friday.

Maj. Arvin Encinas, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom) spokesperson, said the attack occurred around 12 noon at the headquarters of the Army 1st Brigade Combat Team in Tanjung, Indanan, Sulu.

Of the eight fatalities, three were soldiers, three civilians, and the two bomb carriers. The wounded include 10 civilians and 12 soldiers.

The attack took place as the new AFP Wesmincom commander, Maj. Gen. Cirilito E. Sobejana, assumed post vice Lt. Gen. Arnel B. Dela Vega who retired from the service, in a ceremony held in Zamboanga City also on Friday.

Encinas told Arab News the suspected bombers attempted to enter the camp. The first suspect, however, was intercepted at the gate of the camp.

"It appears that the suspects' initial plan was to bring their bombs inside the camp but during inspection at the gate, our soldiers discovered the explosives which suddenly went off," according to Encinas.

At that point, the suspect detonated the bomb, instantly killing three soldiers and three civilians who were nearby. The suspect also died in the blast which destroyed the gate, leaving the entry of the camp open.

Encinas said another suspect rushed inside the camp and detonated the second bomb. He also died in the process.

A police report said armed men simultaneously attacked the camp following the explosion. A brief encounter between the armed men and government forces ensued.

Asked whether the suspects who carried out the bombing were Filipinos or foreigners, Encinas said it has yet to be determined as they were both blown to pieces. Body parts recovered from the scene may be submitted for DNA testing, he added.

Daesh, in a statement released by its propaganda agency Amaq, has claimed responsibility for the attack.

It said that two of their bombers, identified in the statement as Khattab and Abu Muhammed, have made the sacrifice by storming an anti-terror camp of the Philippine military in Sulu. "They were able to blow up their explosive belts inside the camp and they have killed over a hundred of the crusaders," read the statement. The military have yet to confirm who is behind attack.

The group also released a photo of two young men holding a black flag used by the Daesh. The two were allegedly those who carried out the attack.

 

[angelburst29]

Duterte son mulls run for top spot in Philippine Congress

The son of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Tuesday he might seek the speakership of the lower house of Congress, heating up a race for leadership of a legislature dominated by his father's allies.

Unhappy returns: Imelda Marcos' 90th birthday bash ruined as 261 hospitalized

Chaos erupted at a huge party to celebrate the 90th birthday of former Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos on Wednesday, with 261 friends and supporters rushed to Manila hospitals with suspected food poisoning.

Guests were fed rice, boiled eggs and chicken Adobo, a traditional Filipino dish of meat stewed in vinegar and soy sauce.

“The food may have been spoiled, but we remain solid,” her daughter and incoming Senator, Imee Marcos, told those left at the party in comments streamed live on Facebook.

Emergency rooms in the city’s Pasig area were inundated with patients vomiting and suffering from diarrhea and dizziness, according to staff who spoke to Reuters.

The health ministry said 261 well-wishers had been rushed to nine hospitals by Wednesday afternoon after eating food that had been prepared for 2,500 people.