Philippines: Rodrigo Duterte and the West

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'Unbearable pain' cuts short Philippine leader's Japan trip

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte arrives to attend the enthronement ceremony of Japan's Emperor Naruhito in Tokyo, Japan October 22, 2019. Carl Court/Pool via REUTERS

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was forced to cut short his attendance of the enthronement of Japan’s emperor on Tuesday, due to what his office said was “unbearable pain” in his lower back after a motorcycle mishap last week.

The health of Duterte, 74, and his absences from the public spotlight are often the subject of fervent speculation, and the source of complaints from critics that his administration is not forthcoming about the extent of his ailments.

Duterte had a minor fall from a motorcycle in the grounds of his palace last week, causing hip pain, light bruises and scratches on his elbow and knee.

He used a walking cane in Tokyo on Tuesday during a ceremony for Japanese Emperor Naruhito’s ascendancy to the throne, but would skip a banquet to return home and see his neurologist, said presidential spokesman, Salvador Panelo.

“The public can rest assured that there is nothing to worry as regards the physical health and condition of the president as he gives serious priority thereto in actively serving our country,” Panelo said in a statement.

It was the third time this month that the government has tried to allay concerns about Duterte’s health after the maverick former mayor told the Filipino community in Moscow that the frequent drooping of one eyelid was due to a chronic neuromuscular disorder.

Duterte’s known problems include back pain, migraines from nerve damage after a previous motorcycle accident and Barrett’s esophagus, affecting his throat.

His circulation is impacted by Buerger’s disease, from heavy smoking when he was younger. He last year said he had tested negative for cancer.

When missing for longer stretches and amid rumors about deteriorating health, the president’s closest aide has posted on social media what appear to be proof-of-life images of Duterte relaxing at home, often with the day’s newspaper in shot.

His administration attributes his disappearances to fatigue from a punishing daily schedule that typically involves several public events and two or three speeches.

His health is also watched closely because of the political uncertainty that would surround his succession should he be unable to continue.

Duterte’s constitutional replacement would be Vice President Leni Robredo, a political opponent who was elected separately and was not his running mate.

 

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Duterte’s constitutional replacement would be Vice President Leni Robredo, a political opponent who was elected separately and was not his running mate.

Trump isn't the only President working with counter-productive elements in his administration - Duterte's VP has been "very much an opponent" and works against any positive policies Duterte has proposed and instrumented, to bring about change. The Philippine's was a breeding ground for drug traffic and it's criminal gangs, until Duterte stepped in to clean-up the den of thieves and their illicit practices.

Philippine vice president says time for Duterte to halt failed drug war

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte should allow the United Nations to investigate his war on drugs, and abandon a deadly campaign that has been failure and a dent on the country's international image, its vice president said on Wednesday.

The crackdown has overwhelmingly targeted the poor rather than big drugs networks, Leni Robredo said in an interview, adding that Duterte’s violent rhetoric was aiding a culture of police impunity for which international help should be sought if the government refused to change tack.

Robredo, who was elected separately to Duterte and has a frosty relationship with the president, said the thousands of people killed was already too many, with no evidence of a decline in drugs supply or usage.

The authorities reject activists’ allegations that drug dealers and users are being executed and say the more than 7,000 people killed by police had all resisted arrest. Police say they have no connection to the mysterious murders of thousands more drug users.

Duterte is furious at a resolution in July by the United Nations Human Rights Council to investigate the bloodshed, and he last year withdrew the Philippines’ membership of the ICC after it launched a preliminary examination into alleged crimes against humanity.

Robredo, a former human rights lawyer who leads the opposition,
said the government should take a tougher line with China over its activities in the South China Sea, or risk squandering the advantage of an international arbitration award that invalidated Beijing’s sweeping sovereignty claims.

She said Duterte’s argument that confronting China would lead to war was nonsense, and the Philippines would gain more from joining the United States, Australia and Britain in freedom of navigation exercises, and drafting conventions with claimants like Malaysia and Vietnam to try to isolate China.

“My question is, if China is really a friend, then why are they doing a lot of things that are a threat to our sovereignty and our territory?” Robredo said. “We have such a gain to waste if we keep continuing with the narrative that we should not offend China.”

Robredo, 54, is among more than 30 critics of Duterte who are facing possible sedition changes, which she described as baseless and attempts by the president’s allies to crush dissent and create a climate of fear and authoritarianism not seen since the era of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

She would not be drawn on whether the legal moves were designed to remove her from the line of succession, amid growing concern about the health of Duterte, 74, who on Tuesday cut short a trip to Japan due to “unbearable pain” in his back.

 

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Philippine vice president says time for Duterte to halt failed drug war

Angry at criticism, Philippines' Duterte dares vice president to take over law enforcement

Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte on Monday lashed out at Vice President Leni Robredo for criticizing his war on drugs, and offered to put her in charge of law enforcement.

The president has a frosty relationship with opposition leader Robredo, who was elected separately from Duterte, whose drugs crackdown has killed thousands, stirring global alarm, although polls show strong domestic support for the campaign.

“I will surrender my powers to enforce the law,” Duterte said in remarks to newly-appointed government officials. “I will give it to the vice president for six months. I’ll let her carry it out, let us see what will happen. I will not interfere.”

It was not immediately clear if Duterte’s offer was meant sarcastically, although he said he would send a letter to Robredo, a former human rights lawyer.

The comments follow Robredo’s statements in an interview with Reuters, saying that too many people had been killed in the crackdown, which had not solved the drugs problem.

The comments have outraged Duterte, his aides and supporters. Robredo also urged access for the United Nations to investigate accusations of rights abuses over the crackdown, which Duterte’s administration has rejected as lies.

Later, Duterte told reporters Robredo could start the job anytime, perhaps as soon as Monday night. “If she wants, I can commission her to be the drug czar,” Duterte said. “I’ll give her a clean slate, so she will know how easy it is to control drugs.”

In an interview with news channel ANC on Monday, Robredo stood by her criticism of Duterte’s policies. “I can’t just sit back and look the other way,” she said. “If I see something wrong, I feel it’s my obligation to verbalize what I see, no matter how few we are.”

Philippine authorities reject activists’ allegations that drug dealers and users are being executed and say the more than 7,000 people killed by police had all resisted arrest.

 

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Apparently, Duterte is doing "too good" of a job in "his war on drugs" and bringing criminal elements to face their crimes - that the ICC
(International Criminal Court) has been summoned to investigate? Duterte has also targeted illegal gambling.

Jail me, hang me: Philippines' Duterte says won't answer to ICC

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte dared the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Friday to jail him or hang him over alleged extrajudicial killings in his war on drugs but said he would refuse to cooperate with foreigners if put on trial.

Philippine court finds massacre masterminds guilty of 57 murders

A Philippine court found top members of a political clan guilty on multiple counts of murder on Thursday over a mass killing a decade ago that included 32 journalists, in a case known as the "Maguindanao Massacre".

Philippine raid nabs 342 illegal Chinese gaming workers

Philippine authorities said on Friday they arrested 342 Chinese workers in a raid on an unlicensed gambling operation, part of a crackdown on illegal migration and an illicit gaming industry that is being fueled by mainland China's appetite for betting.

 

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Eleven dead, 300 treated after drinking coconut wine in Philippines
At least 11 people have been killed and more than 300 treated in hospital after drinking coconut wine in the Philippines, including some who were celebrating at a Christmas party, health and local authorities said on Monday.

The poisoning occurred in Laguna and Quezon, two provinces south of Manila, and all had consumed lambanog, a drink popular in provinces and consumed widely during holidays and celebrations.

Many were admitted to hospitals on the urging of mayor Vener Munoz in Rizal, Laguna, where the deaths occurred between Thursday and Sunday.

Two people who had been in critical condition were improving, he told local radio. The coconut wine that was consumed had been made in his town, he added.

Blood tests and samples of leftover lambanog would be collected and analyzed on Monday, the Department of Health said.

“All had a sad history of lambanog ingestion,” the department said, referring to those poisoned.

“Some bought for leisure drinking and birthday party, while others were donated by local officials during their Christmas party.”

Unregulated production and sales of lambanog are common in the Philippines, and it is often made illegally with dangerous additives.

The country’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has previously warned about the dangerous and prohibited use of methanol as an additive in home brews.

A year ago, the FDA and police were deployed to locate and confiscate unregistered lambanog that was being openly sold to the public, and threatened to prosecute sellers.

Twenty-one people died after consuming lambanog last year, media reported.

 

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Philippine raid nabs 342 illegal Chinese gaming workers

Police in Nepal are cracking down on illegal cyber crime, also. It looks like tourist visa's are being used to gain entry into foreign Countries.

Nepal detains 122 Chinese for suspected cyber crime and bank fraud
Police in Nepal have detained 122 Chinese men and women in its biggest crackdown on crime by foreigners entering the country on tourist visas, officials said on Tuesday.

Speaking in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Chinese and Nepali police had cooperated on the case and China was willing to increase law-enforcement cooperation with its neighbor.

 

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The Philippines has been dealing with a series of devastating seasonal Typhoons and in the latest spat with the U.S., has banned two Senators and may introduce new Visa rules for visiting American's.

The Philippines has banned two U.S. lawmakers from visiting and will introduce tighter entry restrictions for U.S. citizens should Washington enforce sanctions over the detention of a top government critic, the president's spokesman said on Friday.

Philippines bans two U.S. senators, mulls new visa rules for Americans
Philippines bans two U.S. senators, mulls new visa rules for Americans

President Rodrigo Duterte will impose a requirement on U.S. nationals to get visas should any Philippine officials involved in the incarceration of Senator Leila de Lima be denied entry to the United States, as sought by U.S. senators Richard Durbin and Patrick Leahy.

Duterte's move comes after the U.S. Congress approved a 2020 budget that contains a provision introduced by the senators against anyone involved in holding de Lima, who was charged with drug offences in early 2017 after she led an investigation into mass killings during Duterte's notorious anti-drugs crackdown.

"We will not sit idly if they continue to interfere with our processes as a sovereign state," Philippine presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo told a regular news conference.

The Philippines grants visa-free entry for up to 30 days to Americans, 792,000 of whom visited in the first nine months of 2019, nearly 13% of foreign arrivals, government data showed.

Panelo said travel restrictions over de Lima's detention were nonsense because she was not wrongfully imprisoned but detained pending trial for crimes.

Death toll reaches 28 as Philippines recovers from Christmas typhoon

The death toll from a Christmas typhoon that tore through the central Philippines rose to 28 on Friday, with 12 people missing, the disaster agency said, as authorities moved to restore power and residents tried to repair damaged homes.

 

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The Philippines is located in a strategic waterway in the South China Sea. An accord, known by its acronym VFA, took effect in 1999 to legally allow the entry of American forces along with U.S. military ships and aircraft to the Philippines for joint training with Filipino troops. A separate defense pact subsequently signed by the allies in 2014, the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, allowed the extended stay of U.S. forces and authorized them to build and maintain barracks and warehouses and store defense equipment and weapons inside five designated Philippine military camps.

Security-wise, in my view, the Philippines may have weaken itself by signing the 2014 defense pack - allowing the U.S. to build and maintain 5 designated military camps? With all this extra security, why has the drug problem and gang related violence increased in the Philippine's? Where is the "enhanced defense cooperation" to deal with human trafficking, illegal narcotics and terrorism if the U.S. Military is training the Philippine military and law enforcement agencies? Then when Duterte starts heavily cracking down on the gangs and drug dealers, the U.S. Senate starts screaming, the U.N. begins breathing down Duterte's back, claiming Human Right's violations and activist start hammering the air-ways in denouncing the Philippine President? The U.S. is only using the Philippines to apply pressure on China via the South China Sea. I think, if Duterte got rid of Foreign Troops and dismantled their "designated camps", he would solve a large portion of his drug and gang related problems?

Philippines notifies US of intent to end major security pact
Philippines notifies US of intent to end major security pact

Feb. 11, 2020 - MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines notified the United States on Tuesday it intended to end a major security pact allowing American forces to train in the country in the most serious threat to their treaty alliance under President Rodrigo Duterte.

Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said in a tweet Manila’s notice of termination of the Visiting Forces Agreement was received by the deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Manila. He refused to provide other details on the drastic step “as a diplomatic courtesy.”

Locsin signed the notice on orders of Duterte, who has often criticized U.S. security policies while praising those of China and Russia despite the Philippine military’s close historic ties with its American counterpart.

In a Senate hearing last week, Locsin warned that abrogating the security accord with Washington would undermine Philippine security and foster aggression in the disputed South China Sea. U.S. military presence in the strategic waterway has been seen as a crucial counterweight to China, which claims virtually the entire sea.

Locsin proposed a review of the agreement to fix contentious issues instead of abrogating it. Philippine defense and military officials did not immediately issue any reaction to the government move.

The termination of the 1999 agreement would take effect 180 days after Washington received Manila’s notice but both could decide to keep the pact during the waiting period, Philippine officials said.

Duterte threatened to terminate the security agreement after Washington reportedly cancelled the U.S. visa of a loyal ally, Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, who was linked to human rights violations when he first enforced the president’s deadly anti-drug crackdown as the national police chief in 2016.

Duterte gave the U.S. a month to restore dela Rosa’s visa, but U.S. officials have not publicly reacted to the Philippine leader’s demand.

The accord, known by its acronym VFA, took effect in 1999 to legally allow the entry of American forces along with U.S. military ships and aircraft to the Philippines for joint training with Filipino troops.

A separate defense pact subsequently signed by the allies in 2014, the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, allowed the extended stay of U.S. forces and authorized them to build and maintain barracks and warehouses and store defense equipment and weapons inside five designated Philippine military camps.

China, the Philippines, Vietnam and three other governments have rival claims to the strategic waterway.

Philippines says to break US military pact
Philippines says will withdraw from US military pact

The Philippines told the US on Tuesday it was quitting a pact key to their historical military alliance, triggering a six-month countdown to the deal's termination, Manila said.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte made the move after voicing anger over American authorities cancelling the visa of the official who led his internationally condemned drug war.

This comes after Duterte has, since taking power in mid-2016, repeatedly made unrealized threats to shrink or even sever his nation's ties with its former colonial master and most important military ally.

The 1998 Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) is the legal framework for the presence of US troops on Philippine soil and is central to the two nations' hundreds of annual, joint military exercises, which are a major component of their deep military ties.

The pact requires a 180-day notice to quit, which will likely set off a period of negotiation between the two countries.

 

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Philippine leader threatens closure or govt takeover of ‘lousy’ telecom firms

MANILA: July 27, 2020 - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday threatened the closure or government expropriation of telecoms firms for what he called “lousy” services, and gave providers until December to improve.

“Improve services lest we be forced to take drastic steps,” he said during his state of the nation address. “Might just as well close all of you.”

The country at present has two major telecoms firms PLDT and Globe Telecom and Duterte had previously threatened their closure while campaigning for office in 2016.

Those companies have repeatedly defended their services and investment in improvements and said excessive government bureaucracy has prevented faster network upgrades.

 

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Former Philippine President Duterte gave an interview in China where he warns the current Filipino president Bongbong Marcos that "'US will not die for us,’.

GT exclusive: Former Philippine president Duterte warns Manila to turn back from detrimental path, resolve disputes through dialogue - Global Times

www.globaltimes.cn

 

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Former Philippine President Duterte gave an interview in China where he warns the current Filipino president Bongbong Marcos that "'US will not die for us,’.

GT exclusive: Former Philippine president Duterte warns Manila to turn back from detrimental path, resolve disputes through dialogue - Global Times

www.globaltimes.cn

This reminds me of some European politicians who were largely following US diktat while in power but when they retired or, in some cases, went to the opposition, they would suddenly talk sense, which shows the influence the PTB have on them but also how these politicians are not willing to risk their career for the benefit of the people they represent, probably because that’s precisely what they are, career politicians although going against the PTB can result in more than just an end to their careers.