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  • #31
    Originally posted by tbm3fan View Post
    Ok, now we get down to the real meat. Drugs is just an excuse as drugs in the Philippines is not any worse than it was in 1990. I've seen plenty of people on shabu over the years. Martial law is now implied if the Judiciary interferes with his war on drugs.

    http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/10/politi...nts/index.html

    gee,who would have thought that he'd turn into a dictator....

    /sarcasm off
    Linkeden:
    http://au.linkedin.com/pub/gary-fairlie/1/28a/2a2
    http://cofda.wordpress.com/

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    • #32
      Ok, now we get down to the real meat. Drugs is just an excuse as drugs in the Philippines is not any worse than it was in 1990. I've seen plenty of people on shabu over the years. Martial law is now implied if the Judiciary interferes with his war on drugs.
      I agree. I don't think the drug problem is anywhere like near a level that he sells it as. Meanwhile he is trying to buy the army, scare the courts and political clans into line, and court the elite.
      ===
      This guys is moving like there is no tomorrow

      Aug 11 2016, 11:54 am ET
      Philippines Seeks to 'Rekindle' China Relations Amid Spat With Washington

      by Eric Baculinao
      http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/ph...ington-n628301

      BEIJING, China - The Philippines' presidential envoy held his first "private" talks with counterparts in China Thursday, signaling a potential pivot away from the United States as Washington and Manila grapple with a rare diplomatic row.

      The Philippine special envoy to China, ex-President Fidel Ramos, was in Hong Kong for a meeting with former top diplomat Fu Ying and South China Sea expert Wu Shicun, according to knowledgeable sources who spoke earlier on condition of anonymity.

      Fu Ying was China's former deputy foreign minister and ambassador to Manila and London, while Wu is president of China's top think-tank on South China Sea disputes. Both are believed to be influential advisers on the bitter maritime standoff that has soured ties with the Philippine and other neighbors.

      Ramos earlier told reporters his mission was" to look for some old friends who have links to high officials in Beijing..to help pave the way, break the ice and rekindle the friendship that we had."
      Image: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte gestures during his first State of the Nation Address at the Philippine Congress in Quezon city, Metro Manila
      Duterte pictured giving his first State of the Nation address in July. ERIK DE CASTRO / Reuters

      Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, described by some media as his region's version of Donald Trump, is a straight-talker whose ruthless crackdown on drugs has reportedly led to the death of to more than 500 suspected dealers.

      Duterte has also warned he could declare martial law if opponents interfere with his program of suspected extra-judicial killing, for which the U.S. had expressed human rights concerns.

      It comes after Washington announced Monday that it had summoned the Philippine envoy to clarify insulting and "inappropriate comments" made by Duterte about U.S. ambassador Philip Goldberg.

      "We have asked the Philippines charge to come into the State Department to clarify those remarks," the department's spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau said.

      In televised remarks, Duterte called Goldberg "gay" and described him using a common local slur.

      Trudeau also said the U.S. had also expressed concern at Duterte's reign of terror against drugs that has seem more than 4,400 arrested while nearly 600,000 others have surrendered for fear of being killed, according to Philippine media reports.

      "We are concerned by these detentions, as well as the extrajudicial killing of individuals suspected to be involved in drug activity in the Philippines," said Trudeau.
      Image: Students hold candle light protest against extrajudicial killings
      A Filipino student holds a placard during a protest Thursday condemning recent extrajudicial killings in the new president's war on drugs. MARK R. CRISTINO / EPA

      "We strongly urge the Philippines to ensure its law enforcement efforts comply with its human rights obligations," she added.

      Analysts believe the Philippines will seek greater cooperation with China as big drug lords are believed to operate their international syndicates from that country.

      Last month, the Chinese embassy in Manila offered "effective cooperation" with the Philippine president, calling the drug fight "a shared responsibility of all countries."

      Despite his "shock and awe" drug campaign, Duterte still enjoys "high trust rating from the public," according to Ramon Casiple, director of the Philippine Institute for Political and Electoral Reform.

      "But the grounds are there for possible weakening of the public support in the future, " he told NBC News, citing various reforms and controversial issues "that may engender opposition from the landed elite, business, and possibly from other political blocs.
      Special powers for Duterte to include traffic in skies
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      Inquirer Business
      By: Miguel R. Camus, August 12th, 2016 05:38 AM

      The emergency powers being sought by the Duterte administration would clear traffic not just on the ground, but in our skies as well.

      The Department of Transportation told members of the Senate this week that the request for added powers would help cut air traffic at Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia), which is already operating well beyond its intended capacity.

      Data from the Manila International Airport Authority, the operator of Naia, showed that the airport’s four passenger terminals handled about 36.6 million passengers last year, against its design capacity for just 31 million passengers.

      An environment where demand continues to grow coupled with expansion limitations at Naia has led to the increase in air traffic congestion and delays, in particular, during peak hours.

      With special powers, the department said it could authorize the Civil Aeronautics Board to “redistribute” air traffic at Naia, which currently accounts for about 87 percent of the total figure.

      The department said flights could be moved to the nearby Clark International Airport in Pampanga and Davao International Airport, apart from “other developmental international gateways.”

      The department said freeing up runway space for commercial flights also meant removing general aviation activities, which includes private flights, from operating at Naia. The department said special powers would allow the “immediate transfer” of general aviation to the Sangley Point airbase in Cavite. TVJ
      Gov't can't keep Duterte's promise of August pay hike for soldiers —DBM
      Published August 11, 2016 7:50pm
      By MARK MERUEÑAS, GMA News
      Author

      The government cannot fulfill President Rodrigo Duterte's promise to raise the salaries of members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines this month.

      Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno said on Thursday that there's nothing in the 2016 national budget that can be realigned to increase the salaries .

      In a Senate hearing on the Salary Standardization Law, Diokno said the Duterte administration is committed to double the take home pay of the country's uniformed personnel but wouldn't be able to do so within the year.

      "We cannot promise (an increase) this August because, as you know, there is nothing in the budget for that," Diokno said on questioning by Senator Antonio Trillanes IV.

      Duterte had earlier promised to increase soldiers' salaries this month. Last week, the president added that the salaries would double by December.

      “By December, you’d have doubled your salaries. This August, umpisa na, ngayong August. Tignan ninyo iyang pay checks ninyo. Nandiyan na iyan,” Duterte told soldiers in Cebu City.

      Promise not feasible

      During the committee hearing, Trillanes admitted being "surprised" by Duterte's pronouncement that servicemen can enjoy a pay hike by August, with their salaries being doubled further by December.

      "As you know, the soldiers are holding on to the word of their Commander-in-Chief... Pipila yung mga sundalo sa ATM (this August), 'di ba?," said Trillanes, when asking Diokno if such promise from Duterte was ineeded feasible.

      "You better advise your president because he’s been making commitments and promises left and right. Ayaw nating masira yung credibility niya, na he’s just a big talker," said the lawmaker.

      "Noong sinabing 'August meron na kayo, incremental increase,' palakpakan yung mga sundalo eh. Then here is our DBM secretary saying it’s not gonna happen," added Trillanes.

      Avoiding violation

      Diokno said he didn't want to commit a violation of the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) rule just to fulfill Duterte's promise.

      "You cannot spend on something that is not authorized by Congress," he added.

      The DAP rule Diokno was refering to was outlined in the Supreme Court ruling in July 2014 that bars the following acts:

      the withdrawal of unobligated allotments from the implementing agencies, and the declaration of the withdrawn unobligated allotments and unreleased appropriations as savings prior to the end of the fiscal year and without complying with the statutory definition of savings contained in the General Appropriations Act (GAA);
      the cross-border transfers of the savings of the executive to augment the appropriations of other offices outside the executive; and
      the portion of the DAP that allows the use of unprogrammed funds even without a certification from the National Treasurer saying that revenue collections exceeded the revenue targets due to non-compliance with the conditions provided in the relevant GAA.

      Despite the current budget restriction on a pay hike, Diokno still assured the public that the government would put in place measures to "supplement" the current salaries of policemen and servicemen.
      - See more at: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story....uGKmPYCm.dpuf
      Duterte apologizes to Sereno: ‘Harsh words never intended’
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      INQUIRER.net
      By: Nestor Corrales and Anthony Q. Esguerra, August 12th, 2016 12:20 AM

      PRESIDENT Duterte on Thursday night apologized to Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, days after sharply rebuking the chief magistrate for questioning his list of judges allegedly involved in illegal drugs.

      “I get tangled with the Chief Justice. I would apologize to the Chief Justice for the harsh words. It was never intended,” Duterte said in a televised news briefing in Davao City.

      “Ako kasi because of the magnitude of the problem, it is my way of solving my problem within the ambit of my powers as President,” he added.

      Duterte hinted that his outburst was triggered when reporters asked him to react to Sereno’s concern.

      “Kayo ang humihingi eh, even the media…kaya…,” he added.

      Warning of a possible constitutional crisis, Sereno, in a letter, reminded the President of the separation of powers that is enshrined in the Constitution.

      Sereno also questioned the intelligence report that linked the judges to illegal drugs trade in the country.

      She cautioned the judges from turning themselves in to police custody, reminding them that only the Supreme Court has the sole authority to discipline them.

      “It would matter greatly to our sense of constitutional order if we were given the chance to administer the appropriate preventive measures without the complications of a premature public announcement,” Sereno said in the four-page letter.

      But Duterte lashed back at Sereno, warning her to get out of his way in his no-nonsense war against illegal drugs or he would declare martial law.

      “I’m giving you a warning. Don’t create a crisis because I will order everybody in the executive department not to honor you,” Duterte said.

      “Please do not, you say, create a constitutional issue. There will be. Don’t order me, I’m telling you. I hope you are listening,” he added.

      Duterte reiterated that he was just doing his duty to inform the public of the condition of their society when he announced the personalities, including the judges, who allegedly involved in the drug trade.
      Last edited by troung; 12 Aug 16,, 03:21.
      To sit down with these men and deal with them as the representatives of an enlightened and civilized people is to deride ones own dignity and to invite the disaster of their treachery - General Matthew Ridgway

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      • #33
        Not sure how you prove you are not a secret drug dealer/user
        Julio Diaz lands on drug list, insists he’s clean
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        Philippine Daily Inquirer
        July 29th, 2016 01:38 AM
        http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/800595/...ists-hes-clean
        Ailing actor Julio Diaz on Thursday said he was asked to report to a local police station after being included in a drug watch list compiled by a village in Meycauayan City, Bulacan province.

        Diaz, who is being treated for a brain aneurysm and hypertension, said he met with Meycauayan police officials on Monday to clear his name and not to surrender.

        Diaz, 57, had complained to Supt. Lailene Amparo, Meycauayan police chief, about being included in the watch list of Barangay Langka, arguing that he had been confined in a hospital since April. Because he had been under strict hospital care, the actor said he would not have taken any form of illegal drugs.

        In a series of text messages on Thursday, Diaz said a village letter was delivered to his home in Langka two weeks ago urging him to surrender to the police.

        Amparo confirmed that a notice had been sent to Diaz but said the actor may have been included in the list because of “outdated information.” He said Diaz would not be automatically removed as a drug user.

        “People on that list need to prove they are not users or dealers. They would need to be monitored to prove they have not used illegal drugs. This must be done for the benefit of the public,” she said. “In the case of Diaz, however, we will give him a chance to prove otherwise. He has a right to clear his name.” Carmela Reyes-Estrope, Inquirer Central Luzon
        To sit down with these men and deal with them as the representatives of an enlightened and civilized people is to deride ones own dignity and to invite the disaster of their treachery - General Matthew Ridgway

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        • #34
          Gotta love the Philippines justice system although this sounds more like the Spanish system of old. The court does not have to prove you are guilty but you have to prove you are innocent.

          Now imagine you are a foreigner. You would be sitting in jail for months to years trying to prove that. Since bail isn't instituted until you are charged, and they wouldn't charge you, you would be stuck till hell freezes over or pay a huge bribe.

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          • #35
            What, no more zumba classes?
            No such thing as a good tax - Churchill

            To make mistakes is human. To blame someone else for your mistake, is strategic.

            Comment


            • #36
              aaaannd he just called the US Ambassador a "homosexual son of a whore", and remarked that "Kerry came here, we had a meal, and he left me and Delfin $33 million. I said, OK, maybe we should offend them more, so this crazy will just give more money, just to make peace. So, it's all about the money."
              There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "My ignorance is just as good as your knowledge."- Isaac Asimov

              Comment


              • #37
                aaaannd he just called the US Ambassador a "homosexual son of a whore", and remarked that "Kerry came here, we had a meal, and he left me and Delfin $33 million. I said, OK, maybe we should offend them more, so this crazy will just give more money, just to make peace. So, it's all about the money."
                Give it six months before he is too rotten to make justify rescuing under the mutual defense treaty if the befriending China approach goes south.

                Gotta love the Philippines justice system although this sounds more like the Spanish system of old. The court does not have to prove you are guilty but you have to prove you are innocent. Now imagine you are a foreigner. You would be sitting in jail for months to years trying to prove that. Since bail isn't instituted until you are charged, and they wouldn't charge you, you would be stuck till hell freezes over or pay a huge bribe.
                Only the guilty fear public scrutiny, the innocent should reveal in the chance to prove they are innocent. And if a few innocent people are "caught up" in the system of justice it shouldn't detract from the great work which has been done nor will be done. It's the French Revolution run by people who move their lips to read.

                Since bail isn't instituted until you are charged, and they wouldn't charge you, you would be stuck till hell freezes over or pay a huge bribe.
                As the nation is too poor and disorganized to run like Stalinist Russia this sure opens up a whole new area of bribery; staying off a ward bosses' death list.

                Is there safety in being named in the Duterte list, peril in not?

                August 10, 2016 10:54 pm

                YEN MAKABENTA
                by YEN MAKABENTA

                First read
                I pose the question above, because it is another intriguing indicator of derangement in the war on drugs.

                If you are involved in the illegal drug trade in any manner (as drug lord, pusher, protector or user), and you become a person of interest (suspect) by being named or shamed in the Duterte list or Duterte talk, you have a fair chance of survival.

                Conversely, if you remain incognito, unshamed and unsung, you are in grave peril of losing your life, by being rubbed out by the police (in a fictitious gun struggle or outright execution), or gunned down by a vigilante.

                If after being named in the list, you turn yourself in to the police, especially to PNP Director General Rolando “Bato” Dela Rosa, your survival chances will appreciate, you may even get police protection, insurance companies will clear you for life insurance.

                Peter Lim and police generals
                When President Duterte, in his initial exposé, named Peter Lim as the biggest drug lord in the country (he was abroad at the time), the President sternly warned Lim he would be shot on sight if and when he returned. Peter Lim did return, he was not shot, and he immediately handed himself over to the authorities. He was granted an audience with the President and even got a front-page photo opportunity. We have not heard about Lim since then, other than his protestations of innocence and claims that he must have been mistaken for someone else.

                It is the same with the police generals, active or retired, who were named by the President in that first list and exposé of the drug war. All the generals protested their innocence. Not one has been charged or arrested.

                852 killed in anonymity
                In stark contrast, those who have been anonymous have been eliminated in various acts of violence by the police and vigilantes. At last count, there are already hundreds of such killings.

                Duterte’s crackdown on drug suspects has killed some 852 individuals from May 10 up to 3 p.m. of August 5, according to an independent tally made by the ABS-CBN Investigative and Research Group.

                Sixty-two percent were killed in police operations, 29 percent were killed by unidentified assailants, while nine percent were dead bodies found away from the crime scene.

                The recent Duterte list has turned up one dead person, and it was a judge who died eight years ago, but is accused posthumously.

                Scolding for my criticism
                I have received a ton of letters and reactions to my column last Tuesday (“The war on drugs is flawed and deranged,” Manila Times, August 9, 2016), and I will strive to address and answer those that were not just hysterical or righteous, but thoughtful about the issues that I raised.

                The hysterical berated me for daring to criticize the war on drugs and President Duterte’s drug policy. Some said I should just wait till after DU30 has won the drug war; and then there were those who said that at least President Duterte is doing something about the drug menace.

                Most missed entirely my point that the government has not given us facts and figures about the real drug situation in the country. No one, not the drug enforcement agency and not the Dangerous Drugs Board has bothered to brief the nation about the situation.

                All we have to look at is a rising body count of killed drug suspects as compiled by the media, and vague statements that as many as 3 million of our people may be drug-addicted.

                Some readers also scolded me for not providing a solution as an alternative to the President’s drug policy and program. I cannot claim competence to do that. But I have some idea about what would be a sensible drug policy for our country to adopt, instead of the indiscriminate killings and the heedless accusations now taking place.

                Incise and positive online article
                As a positive suggestion, I want to call the attention of readers to an article written by Mr. Hector Gamboa on the Get Real Philippines website.

                The article is entitled, “Forcing a western-style liberal approach in solving the Philippine drug menace may not work for us’: http://www.getrealphilippines.com/bl...ay-not-work-us.

                The article is well researched and persuasively argued. He cites some countries that have had some success in fighting the drug menace.

                Two of the most notable are Portugtal and Singapore.

                Mr. Gamboa suggests that just gunning down all drug addicts and drug dealers is not a solution to our drug problem. We should take a pause for a moment and re-think our approach to the drug menace.

                He writes: “Like many problems in life, there is no one silver bullet that can wipe them all out. Singapore seems to have figured this out when it adopted a combination of approaches. It employs “a comprehensive national strategy to combat the scourge of drugs, comprising a high-profile public education campaign, treatment and rehabilitation of drug offenders, as well as strict laws and stiff penalties against those involved in the drug trade.”

                So basically it pursues prevention through educational campaign and rehabilitation programs while still applying strict punitive measures (including the death penalty) to drug traffickers and unmanageable drug addicts.

                Singapore’s experience
                He quotes Michael Teo, Singapore’s High Commissioner to the Court, who explains Singapore’s experience as follows:

                “Public education against drug abuse starts in schools. For abusers, our approach is to try hard to wean them off drugs and deter them from relapsing. They are given two chances in a drug rehabilitation centre. If they go through counselling, kick their drug habit and return to society with useful skills, they will not have any criminal record. Those who are still addicted go to prison, where they are put on general rehabilitation programmes to help them reintegrate into the community.

                “Strong community support against drug abuse has been critical to our fight against drugs. Singapore society resolutely rejects drug abuse. Several voluntary welfare organizations run halfway houses to help recovering addicts adjust back into society. Many employers also come forward to offer reformed drug addicts employment opportunities.

                “Drug traffickers are a major part of the problem on the supply side. They make drugs available in our communities and profit from the human misery they help create. This is why tough laws and penalties are needed, including capital punishment for trafficking in significant amounts of the most harmful drugs… “Singapore has one of the lowest prevalence of drug abuse worldwide, even though the problem has not been entirely eliminated. Over two decades, the number of drug abusers arrested each year has declined by two-thirds, from over 6,000 in the early 1990s to about 2,000 last year. Fewer than two in 10 abusers released from prison or drug rehabilitation centres relapse within two years…

                “Because of our strict laws, Singapore does not have to contend with major drug syndicates linked to organised crime, unlike some other countries.’

                We are one of these other countries. And we have a lot to learn, in spite of all the dead bodies strewn around us.

                [email protected]
                http://www.manilatimes.net/is-there-...in-not/279136/


                What, no more zumba classes?
                Stakes are higher in each class.

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                By: Jodee A. Agoncillo

                @inquirerdotnet


                Philippine Daily Inquirer

                02:14 AM August 5th, 2016


                A drug suspect, one of the hundreds in Pasig City who had surrendered to the police and were made to join a Zumba dance fitness session to signify their intention to change their ways, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen shortly past midnight on Thursday.

                Jeffrey Oczon, 30, was killed in an ambush staged by six assailants on four motorcycles who cornered him on Dela Paz Ville, Nagpayong II, in Barangay Pinagbuhatan, the Pasig police said.

                Senior Supt. Orlando Yebra Jr., the city police chief, said Oczon was on Pinagbuhatan’s list of known pushers.


                He was killed not far from his house, where his mother Adelfa heard several gunshots and rushed out to see her son lying bloodied on the ground. In an interview, the grieving Adelfa said her son earlier surrendered to the police under the Oplan Tokhang campaign.

                The case investigator, PO2 Danilo Damasco, recalled that Oczon was among the drug suspects who on Sunday showed up for a Zumba fitness program in their village.

                Oczon was the 27th victim of extrajudicial killings recorded by the Eastern Police District since July 1, attacks seen to be inspired by President Duterte’s campaign pledge to wage a bloody war on illegal drugs. The EPD covers the cities of Pasig, San Juan, Marikina and Mandaluyong.

                The EPD said it had arrested 197 people in the 101 antidrug operations conducted in the same period. Nine suspects targeted in those operations were shot dead by the police because they allegedly fought back.

                Also this week in Pasig, another man who, like Oczon, earlier presented himself to the police because he was on their drug watch list was shot dead by motorcycle-riding gunmen in Barangay Rosario on Wednesday morning.

                Fernando Alfonso, 51, was shot thrice in the head while on a bike along Bernal Street.


                Read more: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/803145/...#ixzz4H8RmZsXL
                Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook
                Last edited by troung; 12 Aug 16,, 17:16.
                To sit down with these men and deal with them as the representatives of an enlightened and civilized people is to deride ones own dignity and to invite the disaster of their treachery - General Matthew Ridgway

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                • #38
                  Broken clocks can be correct twice a day.

                  Guess he is losing the radical left.
                  CPP no longer supports Duterte’s war on drugs
                  Published August 13, 2016 10:07pm

                  The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) has said that it is no longer supporting President Rodrigo Duterte's fight against illegal drugs.

                  "In line with standing orders, the New People’s Army (NPA) will continue to intensify its operations to arrest and disarm drug trade operators and protectors. However, these will no longer be considered as cooperative with the Duterte regime’s undemocratic and anti-people 'war on drugs,'" the CPP said in a statement issued on Friday.

                  Only last month, the CPP declared its support for Duterte's campaign against illegal drugs.

                  In the statement issued early July, the CPP had accepted Duterte's challenge to "kill" drug suspects during a speech at the Armed Forces' change of command.

                  "In positive response, the CPP reiterates its standing order for the NPA to carry out operations to disarm and arrest the chieftains of the biggest drug syndicates, as well as other criminal syndicates involved in human rights violations and destruction of the environment," the CPP said in its previous statement.

                  However, the CPP said that Duterte's campaign against illegal drugs has "clearly become anti-people and anti-democratic."

                  "Human rights are being violated with impunity by police personnel, emboldened by Duterte’s assurances of 'I got your back' and his public declarations of contempt against human rights," it added.

                  The communist movement hit Duterte saying the President "has become so full of himself and intoxicated with the vast power he is not used to handle that he thinks he can get away with upturning the criminal judicial system and denouncing people for defending human rights."

                  "He dishes out threats of imposing martial law. He has made himself a laughing stock among legal circles. He, however, is not laughing and threatens anyone who chooses to stand in his way," the CPP added.

                  The communist group believes that Duterte's campaign against drugs "is bound to fail" for the administration's alleged failure to address the "socio-economic roots of the problem."

                  Recently, CPP founder Jose Maria Sison had an exchange with Duterte after the President withdrew the government's unilateral ceasefire with the communists.

                  The peace panels of the government and the communist group, however, remained optimistic that the formal talks scheduled on August 20 in Oslo, Norway will push through. —ALG, GMA News
                  - See more at: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story....P6UYvVdO.dpuf
                  CHR to Duterte: Where are charges?
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                  By: Gil Cabacungan
                  @gilcabacungan
                  Philippine Daily Inquirer
                  04:27 AM August 14th, 2016

                  THE COMMISSION on Human Rights (CHR) has urged President Duterte to start filing cases against the judges, mayors and police officers he has accused of protecting drug lords.

                  CHR Chair Jose Luis “Chito” Gascon said that a week after the President had come out with a list of 159 narcopoliticos in public, he had not filed a case in court, which would have provided them a way to defend themselves from his blanket accusation.

                  “The Constitution establishes a system of justice and rule of law that requires both due process and presumption of innocence guarantees, among others,” Gascon said.

                  “Thus, when a crime has either been or is alleged to have been committed, law enforcement must conduct an investigation with a view to charging the accused in the proper forum so a hearing could be conducted whereby the evidence would be considered to establish either the guilt or innocence of the same,” Gascon said.

                  Even the President himself conceded he did not have evidence or cases against the people he named from his list. “It might be true. It might not be true,” said Duterte, who promised to file administrative or criminal cases against those he named.

                  But a week after his public expose, the President had yet to file cases against the alleged drug coddlers who had been publicly shamed by the sweeping accusations.
                  Executive vs judiciary

                  The President merely ordered the pullout of the bodyguards and cancellation of firearms of the accused mayors while the police were told to report to their mother units, and the judges to report to the Supreme Court.

                  The President also had a spat with Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno who told the judges he named to wait for an arrest warrant before surrendering.

                  Sereno said the “premature announcement of an informal investigation” on alleged drug links would render “the judge veritably useless in discharging his adjudicative role.”

                  Gascon has also been the target of the ire of the President, who declared he would ignore Gascon in his fight against illegal drugs.

                  “I stress once more that this mandate he assumes includes the duty to guarantee human rights for all,” said Gascon.

                  Ifugao Rep. Teddy Baguilat said the President’s failure to follow up his sweeping accusations with cases showed that he was just out on a “witch-hunt” with no specific end goal.

                  “After naming and causing them embarrassment, next is to file cases, especially when there is strong evidence. If there are no cases filed and no one among these people prosecuted and jailed, then what we had was a witch hunt. Or worse, we momentarily stopped the drug trade but left it open for a resurgence in the future,” said Baguilat. TVJ
                  Last edited by troung; 14 Aug 16,, 23:26.
                  To sit down with these men and deal with them as the representatives of an enlightened and civilized people is to deride ones own dignity and to invite the disaster of their treachery - General Matthew Ridgway

                  Comment


                  • #39
                    No!!!!!!!1111

                    DJ Karen Bordador, boyfriend arrested in drug operation

                    (UPDATED) Radio DJ Karen Bordador and her boyfriend were caught in possession of approximately P3 million worth of drugs
                    Rappler.com
                    Published 9:28 PM, August 14, 2016
                    Updated 11:48 PM, August 14, 2016

                    KAREN BORDADOR. The radio DJ and her boyfriend Emilio Lim were caught in possession of P3 million worth of drugs. Screengrab from Facebook/TheKarenBordador



                    KAREN BORDADOR. The radio DJ and her boyfriend Emilio Lim were caught in possession of P3 million worth of drugs. Screengrab from Facebook/TheKarenBordador

                    MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Radio DJ Karen Bordador and her boyfriend Emilio Lim were arrested after a buy-bust operation in Pasig City.

                    According to a report on TV Patrol, approximately P3 million worth of ecstasy, marijuana, and marijuana oil were found at a condo unit in Pasig City on Saturday, August 13. Also found at the unit were drug paraphernalia, money, and a money counting machine.

                    Senior Superintendent Tomas Apolinario told TV Patrol, "Itong operation na ito ay bunga ng direktiba ng ating chief PNP (Philippine National Police), na sugpuin ang ilegal na droga dito sa mga high-end clubs tsaka sa mga bars."

                    (This operation is due to a directive from our chief PNP, that we should suppress the illegal drugs that can be found at high-end clubs and bars.)

                    "Siya [Lim] ang itinuturo na malaking nagsusupply sa mga nagtutulak sa mga clubs sa Makati at sa BGC (He [Lim] is said to be a big supplier among those who push drugs at clubs in Makati and BGC)," added Apolinario, in a report on 24 Oras. He said that the customers in those areas range from students and teenagers to wealthy people and celebrities.

                    "Ito ang mga bumibili sa kanila (These are the people who are buying drugs from them)," he said on TV Patrol.

                    In the same 24 Oras report, Bordador can be heard saying: "Wala po akong ginagawa... bumisita lang ako." (I wasn't doing anything... I just visited.)

                    According to a report, a Filipino-American caught selling ecstasy at Bonifacio Global City told the police about Lim. – Rappler.com
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                    To sit down with these men and deal with them as the representatives of an enlightened and civilized people is to deride ones own dignity and to invite the disaster of their treachery - General Matthew Ridgway

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                    • #40
                      He is making the CPP sound downright reasonable. Human rights, rule of law and poverty.

                      Comment


                      • #41
                        He is making the CPP sound downright reasonable. Human rights, rule of law and poverty.
                        Amazing. And seeing as back when he was mayor he was all about telling business and small people to pay NPA extortion, I guess they see this as a chance to relieve their glory days of the 1970s and 1980s.

                        Duterte undeterred by protests
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                        By: Marlon Ramos
                        @MRamosINQ
                        Philippine Daily Inquirer
                        01:52 AM August 15th, 2016
                        RIZAL PARK PROTEST From left: Economist SolitaMonsod, former chair of the Commission on Human Rights Loretta Ann Rosales and Sen. Leila de Lima are among the protesters who showed up at Rizal Park on Sunday despite heavy rains to speak during a rally condemning President Duterte’s grant of a hero’s burial for the late strongman FerdinandMarcos. PHOTOS BY ELOISA LOPEZ

                        RIZAL PARK PROTEST From left: Economist Solita Monsod, former chair of the Commission on Human Rights Loretta Ann Rosales and Sen. Leila de Lima are among the protesters who showed up at Rizal Park on Sunday despite heavy rains to speak during a rally condemning President Duterte’s grant of a hero’s burial for the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos. PHOTOS BY ELOISA LOPEZ

                        PRESIDENT Duterte is unperturbed by opposition to his decision allowing the burial of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos at Libingan ng mga Bayani, Malacañang said on Sunday.

                        Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said the Palace would refer all legal questions surrounding the issue to Mr. Duterte’s chief legal adviser, Salvador Panelo. “It’s up to him to make the recommendation to the President,” Andanar told the Inquirer in a phone interview.

                        Panelo has said that the regulation of the Armed Forces of the Philippines allowing the burial of former soldiers and Presidents at Libingan “does not distinguish if the president is good or bad.”

                        He said the government would block all legal remedies against the President’s decision.

                        In a separate statement, Andanar reiterated Mr. Duterte’s earlier pronouncement that he would let the Marcos family bury the remains of the deposed strongman in the special cemetery intended for war heroes and former Presidents.

                        “The President’s stance, however, remains firm: There is clarity in the regulations governing the late President Marcos’ burial,” the Palace official said.

                        “The President shall, therefore, remain undistracted and it shall be governance as usual with his full and undivided attention in winning the war against drugs, criminality and corruption,” he added.

                        Admiration

                        Andanar said Mr. Duterte, who had publicly declared his admiration for the late dictator, also recognized the right of those criticizing his decision, stressing that the President would not bar them from holding protest rallies.

                        “This is consistent with his philosophy that criticism, good or bad, true or not, is part of the territory of governance in public,” he said.

                        Andanar said he would ask House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez for his comment regarding the claim of former President Fidel Ramos that Marcos’ burial should have the concurrence of Congress.

                        The Palace, he said, has yet to get an official copy of the agreement between the Ramos administration and the Marcos family, which allowed the burial of Marcos in Ilocos Norte province as one of the conditions for the return of his remains from Hawaii in 1992.

                        1992 deal

                        He said the copy of the 1992 agreement would be given to Panelo for his appraisal.

                        Asked if Malacañang would review the agreement, Andanar said: “I cannot say if it’s a review because that would mean we’re concurring with it.”

                        On several occasions, Mr. Duterte said Marcos’ burial would allow the country to “move on,” maintaining that the martial law ruler had the right to be laid to rest at Libingan since he served as a soldier and was elected president.
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                        ‘Drug lord’ in Leyte prison shot dead during raid
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                        By: Robert Dejon
                        @inquirerdotnet
                        Inquirer Visayas
                        10:08 PM August 11th, 2016
                        Leyte Regional Prison (Photo from the Bureau of Corrections)

                        Leyte Regional Prison (Photo from the Bureau of Corrections)

                        ABUYOG, Leyte — An alleged drug lord operating inside the regional prison was killed by operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detective Group (CIDG) during a raid inside the penal colony on Thursday.

                        The suspect was identified as Edgar Allen Alvarez, a native of Laguna who was transferred from the National Penitentiary in Muntinlupa in 2014 after the Department of Justice discovered that he was among those who lived a life of luxury inside the facility.

                        Chief Supt. Elmer Beltejar, police director for Eastern Visayas, said based on the report submitted by his personnel, a team was serving a search warrant on the bunk house where Alvarez was staying.

                        The suspect allegedly threw a grenade at the police but it failed to explode.

                        A member of the raiding team then pulled his .45-pistol and repeatedly shot the victim, killing him on the spot.

                        The raiding team recovered one .45-caliber pistol, a .38-caliber revolver and one pack of dried leaves suspected to be marijuana.

                        A relief order was expected to be given to Leyte Regional Prison (LRP) Warden Gerardo Aro in the next few days, according to the source who was already informed by higher officials about this matter.

                        A source inside the LRP told the Philippine Daily Inquirer that Alvarez was suspected to be selling shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride) left behind by the 12 other high profile inmates from the National Penitentiary that were transferred to Mindoro after a fire hit the penal colony.

                        The Abuyog Penal Colony is one of the seven operating units under the Bureau of Corrections. The others are the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City, the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW) in Mandaluyong City, the Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm in Puerto Prinsesa City in Palawan, the Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm in Occidental Mindoro, the San Ramon Prison and Penal Farm in Zamboanga City and the Davao Prison and Penal Farm. SFM
                        Last edited by troung; 14 Aug 16,, 23:55.
                        To sit down with these men and deal with them as the representatives of an enlightened and civilized people is to deride ones own dignity and to invite the disaster of their treachery - General Matthew Ridgway

                        Comment


                        • #42
                          Will Rodrigo Duterte Revolutionize the Philippines' Foreign Policy?

                          Image: “Cropped photo of Davao City Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte while conversing with President Benigno S. Aquino III during the Meeting with Local Leaders and the Community at the Rizal Park in San Pedro Street, Davao City on Wednesday (March 06, 2013).”



                          He's the most powerful president in recent memory.

                          Richard Javad Heydarian

                          August 14, 2016


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                          “The more it changes, the more it’s the same thing,” nineteenth-century intellectual Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr once lamented about the state of French politics. In the realm of foreign policy, observers do tend to adopt a similarly skeptical attitude when new leaders come into power on the back of bombastic campaign-trail statements and cliché promises of transformative change. Throughout my extensive discussions with various senior policy-makers and diplomats from across the Asia-Pacific region, I have noticed a similar attitude towards the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippines’ new firebrand president. Yet, there is growing reason to expect a potentially seismic shift in Philippine foreign policy under the new administration.

                          With Duterte rapidly consolidating his position at the center of the Philippine political system, he is also in a strong position to introduce a significant foreign-policy reset, particularly with respect to China and the United States. Unlike his predecessor, Benigno Aquino, he has extended an olive branch to China, deploying former president Fidel Ramos to conduct backdoor negotiations with the Asian powerhouse. He has also welcomed massive Chinese investments in the realm of public infrastructure and downplayed territorial disputes in the South China Sea, emphasizing the necessity of separating areas of conflict from zones of convergence in mutual interests. Meanwhile, he has shown limited reticence with expressing discontent with perceived lack of American military support amid the maritime spats.




                          With respect to relations with America, Duterte has broken one diplomatic taboo after the other.

                          At one point, Duterte went so far as stating: “I would only ask the US ambassador, ‘are you with us [in the South China Sea]?’” His open expression of skepticism -- a remarkable departure from his predecessors -- seems to have gained growing support among the Philippine public as well as intelligentsia, even though America enjoys astronomically high approval ratings in the Southeast Asian country. In fact, since the campaign period, Duterte, a self-described ‘socalist’, has emphasized his preference for a more ‘independent’ foreign policy, which effectively means less reliance on America. Shortly after his election victory, Duterte declared, "I will be chartering a [new] course [for the Philippines] on its own and will not be dependent on the United States."

                          During the campaign period, Duterte called on both American and Australian ambassadors to ‘shut their mouths’ and threatened to sever ties if elected after the two Western diplomats expressed dismay over the Filipino politician’s controversial remarks. For fiercely independent-minded Duterte, foreign powers were ‘interfering’ in the Philippines’ domestic affairs. More recently, Duterte’s insulting remarks, during another off-the-cuff episode, about US ambassador Philip Goldberg provoked diplomatic censure from Washington, which didn’t hesitate to also criticize Duterte’s full-fledged anti-crime campaign. But Duterte has refused to apologize. Upon closer inspection, what one discovers is not only some ephemeral quarreling among old friends, but instead a steady and gradual recalibration in Philippine relations with both America and China. Duterte could very well become the most consequential president in Philippine foreign policy -- and foreign powers and old allies should acknowledge it.

                          The New Caudillo

                          A month into office, Duterte has, in unequivocal terms, demonstrated his commitment to stand by his campaign-era promises -- that he means what he says. On the domestic front, we have already seen a dramatic uptick in state-led crackdown on organized crime and proliferation of illegal drugs. The country is in the midst of what Duterte has described as a ‘war on crime’, adopting an uncompromising approach to law and order challenges in the country. Over recent weeks, he has extended his anticrime campaign to the upper echelons of the society, targeting high-ranking officials, generals, judges and elected statesmen. By some estimates, in the past month as many as six hundred thousand alleged drug dealers and users have surrendered to the government. Duterte has even taken on alleged oligarchs, threatening to ‘destroy’ them lest they stop their rent-seeking practices and stop manipulating state institutions for narrow business interests.

                          To demonstrate his progressive bona fides, Duterte has also declared his willingness to end any large-scale mining in the country. Many mining conglomerates have seen their licenses either revoked or in danger of facing restrictions and heavy state scrutiny. Almost singlehandedly, Duterte has transformed the Philippine state into a proactive agent, taking on organized crime, crony capitalists, and major extractive industries.

                          To push ahead with his peace agenda in the troubled southern island of Mindanao, Duterte has considered controversial confidence-building measures, from freeing key Communist insurgent leaders to trying to shield a major Islamist insurgent leader from prosecution. Simultaneously, he has sought to win the hearts and minds of the armed forces by offering them constant moral support as well as the promise of increasing their paltry salaries.

                          Though massively controversial outside the country, vast majority of Filipinos (91 percent) have expressed trust in and support for Duterte. Enjoying ‘super-majority’ support in the Congress, and set to appoint the bulk of the Supreme Court justices in coming years, Duterte is rapidly emerging as the Philippines’ most powerful president in recent memory. And this gives him significant leeway to shape the country’s domestic political landscape as well as foreign-policy trajectory for years to come.

                          Dancing Among Giants

                          Far from alienating foreign powers, Duterte seems to be at the receiving end of courtship by all major powers in the region. On one hand, the United States has indeed sought to gain the goodwill of the new president by deploying two of its most senior diplomats, Secretary of State John Kerry as well as State Department Counselor Kristie Kenney, in recent weeks. No less than U.S. president Barack Obama was the first foreign leader to congratulate and speak directly to Duterte upon his election victory.

                          In response, Duterte has expressed gratitude to the United States, reiterated his commitment to honoring the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) signed between his predecessor and the Obama administration, and has reassured “our [Philippine] strong alliance with America,” Yet, it is unlikely that things will remain the same between the two allies. For Duterte, the priority is to expand Philippines’ strategic relations with fellow Asian countries, particularly Japan and China.

                          As the former mayor of Davao City, a bustling metropolis in the island of Mindanao, Duterte maintained robust commercial with Japanese investors as well as close diplomatic ties with the Japanese consulate. Based on my exchanges with Japanese officials, it seems that Tokyo has considerable confidence in the new Filipino president and is more than willing to expand already-blossoming strategic ties with the Philippines. Just recently, Japanese foreign minister Minoru Kiuchi visited Manila, with Tokyo pledging more than $2 billion to infrastructure development projects in the Philippines.

                          Crucially, Japan offered to also invest in Mindanao, Duterte’s home island, which is in desperate need of infrastructure development. Japan also offered to lease a Japanese surveillance aircraft and promised two 90-metre (295-foot) long vessels for the Philippine Coast Guard.

                          Duterte’s strategic compass will, however, largely point in the direction of Beijing in the meantime.

                          The reason is because the Filipino president is concerned about a dangerous escalation in the South China Sea, especially in light of Beijing’s growing military assertiveness, footprint in contested waters, and diplomatic offensive after suffering a massive legal defeat at The Hague. After a five-day ‘ice breaker’ trip to Hong Kong, where he met some senior Chinese officials and scholars, Duterte’s special envoy, Ramos, has received an invitation to continue with high-level negotiations in the Mainland. This sets the tone for a potentially rewarding meeting between Duterte and Chinese Premiere Li Keqiang on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit later this year.

                          There are already discussions of Duterte choosing Beijing as his first official state visit. It is not clear whether negotiations could head towards any mutually satisfactory deal in the near future, especially given China’s intransigent territorial position in the South China Sea, but for the Duterte administration the priority, for now, is to navigate ways to deescalate tensions and bring about a semblance of normality to bilateral ties with Beijing.

                          Richard Javad Heydarian teaches political science at De La Salle University, and formerly served a policy adviser at the Philippine House of Representatives (2009-2015). The Manila Bulletin, a leading national daily, has described him as one of the Philippines’ “foremost foreign policy and economic analysts.” He is the author of Asia’s New Battlefield: The US, China, and the Struggle for Western Pacific (Zed, London). Follow him @Richeydarian.
                          http://nationalinterest.org/feature/...7353?page=show
                          To sit down with these men and deal with them as the representatives of an enlightened and civilized people is to deride ones own dignity and to invite the disaster of their treachery - General Matthew Ridgway

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                          • #43






                            This Is Why Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte Will Get Away With Murder












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                            In a span of six weeks, the Philippines’ new President, Rodrigo Duterte, has made international headlines for the hundreds of suspects killed in his war on crime. Since he took office on June 30, an average of 13 people a day have been either assassinated in public by masked assailants, killed by police without further investigation, or found as unidentified bodies on the streets, often balled up in packing tape with signs saying variations of: “Don’t follow me, I’m a criminal.” Duterte’s supporters celebrate these killings as necessary comeuppance, while his critics condemn the violence as precarious violations of due process and human rights. Yet the President’s seemingly outrageous actions are merely part of the Philippines’ deeply entrenched culture of impunity. What is frightening is that so few people realize that yet.

                            President Duterte’s approval rating was recently a historic 91%, and he is seen by fans and foes alike as decisive and effective, promising sweeping reforms and bringing about the surrender of tens of thousands of drug users and self-confessed dealers before they can be killed. Yet Duterte has also vowed to pardon any police and military involved in the extrajudicial killings, while also pledging to pardon himself. He has ensconced his daughter and son as mayor and vice mayor of the city that he ruled for two decades, while also refusing to fully answer allegations about hidden wealth.

                            More alarmingly, in what seems an effort to systematically undermine the traditional democratic checks and balances to his authority, Duterte has threatened to shut down the legislature if it hinders his plans, invoked the specter of martial law when criticized by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and insulted concerned foreign ambassadors. He has chipped at the influence of the Catholic Church by emphasizing its corruption. And he has warned that members of the media are not protected from assassination: “The Constitution can no longer help you,” Duterte told reporters, “if you disrespect a person.”





                            These maneuvers recall those of the infamous despot Ferdinand Marcos, a dictator much respected by Duterte. The similarities should give us pause. While the new President’s predilection toward violence is being justified as necessary, there is little difference between taking the law into one’s own righteous hands and being wrongly above the law. This casts him clearly alongside his political peers, who have always evaded punishment, and who have yet to be targeted in Duterte’s campaign against criminality.

                            Take, for example, former President Joseph Estrada, who was sentenced to life in prison for plundering allegedly more than $80 million. Political expediency saw him pardoned by his successor, Gloria Arroyo, and he is now mayor of Manila while his relatives are Senators and Congressmen. Even his mistress now rules as mayor of his traditional bailiwick.

                            Similarly, former President Arroyo became linked to a long list of corruption scandals during her nine-year regime, yet she was re-elected to Congress while under house arrest on various charges of corruption. Duterte offered to pardon her a few weeks before the Supreme Court (composed of a majority of her appointees) acquitted her of the charge of plunder. Despite still facing a charge of graft, and thus barred from leaving the country, Arroyo has recently been named Deputy Speaker of Congress. Members of her former Cabinet now comprise the majority of Duterte’s inner circle.

                            It is not only Presidents who seem untouchable. Tito Sotto, a TV comedian turned politician, was pilloried by citizens for his blatant plagiarisms in his multiple Senate speeches against a reproductive-health bill that would provide care to women, yet he received no censure from his legislative cohorts. Meanwhile, Congressman Romeo Jalosjos, serving two life sentences for raping an 11-year-old girl, won re-election, twice, from behind bars, and enjoyed his regular game on the tennis court he had built in the maximum-security prison; he was pardoned by Arroyo only 10 years into his conviction. Similarly, members of the Arroyo-allied Ampatuan clan have been charged with the massacre of 58 political opponents and journalists, yet seven years later they have still escaped conviction. As has former Senator Juan Ponce Enrile, a Marcos henchman, who weathered many scandals throughout five presidencies; charged with plundering nearly $4 million, he is out on bail because of his advanced age. These are but few of many examples.

                            Best representing this culture of impunity, however, is the family renowned to have refined it: the Marcoses. They fled the country in 1986 with billions of dollars in cash and assets that are missing till this day. After the dictator died in 1989, his wife Imelda, of the thousands of shoes, and her children returned unpunished and regained high office. In this year’s election, former Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. lost the vice presidency by a mere 263,473 votes (the office is elected separately from the presidency). Despite ongoing nationwide protests and court cases still unresolved for the victims of the strongman’s martial law, the laundering of the dictator’s legacy is nearly complete: Duterte has ordered next month’s transfer of Marcos’s mummified corpse from its refrigerated mausoleum in the country’s north to Manila — for a burial, with pomp, in the best location in the nation’s Cemetery of Heroes.

                            To outsiders, all that seems outrageous. To Filipinos, it’s just politics as usual — the manipulations of a game of thrones, so to speak. After every election, officials abandon any party loyalty to join the winning candidate. During any administration, many a politician is caught doing something too criminal for the incumbent to leave unpunished. Over the years, alleged political pilferers leverage their influence to support an opposition that can eventually throw out their cases, or grant pardons, or return them to power as needed allies.

                            Duterte claims to be the antidote to all that, and his many supporters believe him to be the savior our country needs. But this hope is where the danger truly lies. The most vociferous among his fans, themselves now anointed by his very popularity, are inadvertently perpetuating that culture of impunity. Many of his online supporters gained sudden renown only by defending Duterte loudly, and when your new President has a 91% approval rating and can do no wrong, anything you say or do on his behalf is similarly unassailable. That’s dangerously heady for both pundits and trolls, who now shout down opposition, cast as bias any legitimate concerns, allege that Duterte’s critics are in the pay of drug lords, threaten death or rape to dissenters, and seek to publicly shame objectors whenever they can.

                            This assault on civil discourse and consensual disagreement is undermining the citizenry’s ability to speak freely, and only the powerful politicos stand to benefit from a population so divided. History has shown how systematic victimization of so-called degenerates (communists, counterrevolutionaries, homosexuals and now criminal elements, like alleged drug pushers) can easily swing to anyone else being targeted for voicing unpopular opinions. With our entrenched culture of impunity, that can only add up to the further disempowerment of Filipinos. As the Roman poet Juvenal asked: “Who will guard the guards themselves?”

                            Duterte’s campaign slogan was: “Change is coming.” Will that change prove for the good? Or will the new President’s promises make the Philippines less safe in the years ahead?




                            TIME Ideas hosts the world's leading voices, providing commentary on events in news, society, and culture. We welcome outside contributions. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of TIME editors.



                            http://time.com/4453587/philippines-...punity-marcos/
                            To sit down with these men and deal with them as the representatives of an enlightened and civilized people is to deride ones own dignity and to invite the disaster of their treachery - General Matthew Ridgway

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                            • #44
                              At Large
                              Du30’s war against women–and all of us
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                              By: Rina Jimenez-David
                              @inquirerdotnet
                              Philippine Daily Inquirer
                              12:24 AM August 19th, 2016

                              When faced with a competent, outspoken and, yes, feisty woman in the course of a debate or heated discussion, some men react in one of two extremes. Either they bend over backward to treat their opponent with excessive gallantry and patronizing politeness, sending a veiled message about their own superiority and magnanimity, or they bring up matters completely extraneous to the argument, designed to embarrass and intimidate. Among these tactics is to allude to the woman’s physical appearance, or her age, or her sexuality. Or they bring up her private sex life, who she is (or is not) sleeping with; they scrutinize her romantic life and entanglements as if these were matters of public concern or national security.

                              President Du30 has often showed these two extremes of behavior. After heaping scorn on Vice President Leni Robredo and refusing even to invite her to his inauguration, he lavished her with faint praise over her attractiveness and youthfulness when they finally got to meet personally. Perhaps he hoped Robredo would be so swept away by the flattery that she would immediately fall into swooning fandom. I’m glad no such thing has happened and the Veep continues to stick by her principles even if these be contrary to presidential policy.

                              And now, in reaction to Sen. Leila de Lima’s announcement that she would preside over a Senate inquiry into the extrajudicial killing of nearly 1,000 suspected drug users and pushers, he has lashed out at her personally. The President accused the senator of having, as the jeepney-bumper banners put it, a “driver sweet lover” who is also, he alleged, her bagman for payoffs from drug lords.

                              Accusations regarding the senator’s alleged involvement in the drug trade should be the subject of a formal investigation and the filing of formal charges, if these be warranted. But Leila de Lima’s love life? What has that got to do with the price of rice?

                              * * *

                              De Lima’s colleague, Sen. Risa Hontiveros, has issued a formal statement not necessarily in defense of the former justice secretary but also reiterating her deep-seated principles as a woman and activist. “They are misogynistic,” says Hontiveros of the President’s remarks concerning the senator, noting that his latest statement establishes “a consistent and disturbing pattern which is prejudicial to women.”

                              The attack on De Lima, says Hontiveros, is “an awful display of ‘ad hominem politics.’” She notes that the President gave “a premium to personal attacks over real arguments, and appealed to prejudices rather than discourse.”

                              After all, De Lima—or any other senator, for that matter—is entirely within her rights to call for an investigation into the “EJKs,” carrying out her oversight duties as a member of the legislature.

                              Which is why the broadside issued by the President is not only ungentlemanly but also undemocratic. It seems designed to stifle a legitimate, even necessary, function in the course of carrying out the “checks and balances” between the three branches of government. What is the President so afraid of? Or has he become so arrogant he would brook no objections, answer no questions, tolerate no doubts about his war on drugs? Even if this is turning into a war against his own people.
                              ...
                              To sit down with these men and deal with them as the representatives of an enlightened and civilized people is to deride ones own dignity and to invite the disaster of their treachery - General Matthew Ridgway

                              Comment


                              • #45
                                Pull an Erdo plus leave the UN, a win all around..


                                Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte Fires ‘Thousands’ of Government Officials


                                Nash Jenkins @pnashjenkins
                                3:30 AM ET
                                    


                                The bombastic President also threatened to pull the country from the U.N.



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                                Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte announced on Sunday that he would be sacking every member of his administration who was appointed by a previous President. The move — the latest in what Duterte calls a campaign against corruption — is one of several that have left critics troubled over what they say is an excessive wielding of executive power.

                                “Until now, in my provincial visits, I still hear that corruption is being committed,” he said in a long press conference in the earliest hours of Sunday morning, according to the Philippine Daily Inquirer. “My mouth is, as they say, lousy. If you are there because of a presidential appointment, I will declare all your positions, all throughout the country, vacant.”

                                As for the number of government employees to be sacked: “It will number in the thousands.”

                                Duterte, formerly the tough-on-crime mayor of the city of Davao, has long been known as a bombastic firebrand, but in the less than two months since he was inaugurated as President of the Southeast Asian nation, many there have expressed concern over what that zeal means at the level of federal politics. He has in recent weeks threatened to impose “martial law” if the country’s judiciary infringes upon his campaign to eradicate drugs from the country — an exercise that has left hundreds dead.

                                The U.N. has condemned the “war on drugs” as a human-rights violation, prompting Duterte to publicly venture that he may pull the country from the organization.

                                “I do not want to insult you. But maybe we’ll just have to decide to separate from the United Nations,” he said on Sunday, according to al-Jazeera. He continued: “You know, United Nations, if you can say one bad thing about me, I can give you 10 [about you].”

                                He then said he did not “give a sh-t” about the consequences of his remarks.


                                 

                                DIGONG FRUSTRATED, TIRED’

                                Yasay blames media for Duterte’s scathing words vs. UN



                                Published August 22, 2016 7:53pm


                                By MICHAELA DEL CALLAR




                                Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. on Monday blamed the media for highlighting President Rodrigo Duterte's scathing remarks against the United Nations in a post-midnight press conference on Sunday, claiming the Chief executive's statements were taken out of context.

                                The media, Yasay said, should have given President Rodrigo Duterte some latitude when he issued biting comments against the world body in a news conference because he was once again confronted with international criticisms of the killings attributed to his war on drugs.

                                He said the media should have realized that the President made the statements "in the wee hours of the morning and he was very tired."

                                "He already ended up the press conference as I have observed, but the press were still leading him with a lot of questions, so it is in this context that he made this statements," Yasay said.

                                "When you were specially tired, disappointed, frustrated and angry and under these circumstances, we must give a leeway on the part of the President for this kind of reaction," he added.

                                "Like us, he is also human, but I can assure you that the President is very responsible in making statements. He does not make statements unless he means them," Yasay said.

                                Duterte, however, clearly threatened during the nationally-televised news conference over the weekend to withdraw the Philippines' membership in the UN and even added that he may invite other countries, including China and African nations, to form a new international organization. Philippine financial contributions, used for the upkeep of the world body, should be returned, the president said.

                                Duterte did not say that his statements were just expressions of frustration.

                                When asked about the possible repercussions of his remarks, Duterte stuck to his threat and continued to blame the UN body for making what he said were inappropriate remarks about his anti-drugs campaign.

                                "Maybe we'll just have to decide to separate from the United Nations. If you are that disrespectful, son of a bitch, we will leave you,” Duterte said.

                                "Give us back our contributions, we would go out,” he added.

                                “We contribute a certain amount for the maintenance of UN, right? You return the money to us and we will go out. With that amount I can build so many rehab centers," Duterte said.

                                Asked about the possible repercussions of the Philippines’ withdrawal from the UN, Duterte replied: "I don't give a shit to them, they are the one interfering."

                                UN Special Rapporteurs Agnes Callamard and Dainius Puras last week called on Duterte to stop the killings of persons accused of drug involvement and for the Philippine government to observe due process.

                                Duterte and Yasay said the UN rapporteurs broke protocol in criticizing the government’s domestic policies.

                                Duterte's crackdown on drugs – said to be the largest and bloodiest in recent Philippine history - has left nearly 1,000 suspected drug-dealers dead and more than 4,000 arrested since he took office in June 30.

                                Apart from the UN, human rights groups, the Catholic Church and even Manila’s ally, the United States, have expressed alarm over the surge of killings.

                                Before the UN, Duterte was also angered by criticisms of his policies and opinions by foreign governments.

                                During the campaign, an enraged Duterte, then a presidential candidate, dared to cut ties with Australia and the US after their envoys criticized his joke about wanting to rape an Australian missionary who was gangraped and killed by prisoners in Davao in 1989. —NB, GMA News
                                - See more at: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story....zHG4mEOi.dpuf
                                The Philippines' new president is waging a drug war that has killed nearly 1,800 people

                                Louise Liu

                                3h 11,987 8

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                                Protesters gather at Rizal Park during a rally to oppose the burial of the late Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos at the Heroes' Cemetery in Manila, Philippines, Sunday, Aug. 14, 2016. It was the biggest gathering so far since President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the burial of Marcos with full military honors and with the opposition announcing its plan to file a petition with the Supreme Court. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez) Protesters gather at Rizal Park during a rally to oppose the burial of the late Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos at the Heroes' Cemetery in Manila, Philippines, on August 14. It was the biggest gathering so far since President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the burial of Marcos with full military honors and with the opposition announcing its plan to file a petition with the Supreme Court. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez) syndication.ap.org

                                When Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippines' president, took office in June, he announced a sweeping crackdown on drug trafficking in the island nation.

                                In the seven weeks since, nearly 1,800 suspected drug dealers have been killed.

                                Under Duterte, 712 drug suspects had been killed in police operations since July 1, while 1,067 killings were carried out by vigilante groups during the same time frame, National Police Chief Ronald dela Rosa, told a Philippines Senate committee on Monday, according to The New York Times.

                                Senators have been questioning police on the killings as part of joint hearings by the Senate's Committee on Justice and Human Rights and the Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs. The senators also heard from witnesses accusing police of gunning down their family members for being involved in illegal drugs.

                                Sen. Leila de Lima, head of the Senate Justice Committee, said that she's concerned that some law enforcers and vigilantes are using the campaign against drugs to "commit murder with impunity," since many killings had not been carried out legally, The Associated Press reported.

                                "We want to know the truth behind the killings and violence. What really happened and why does this continue to happen?" De Lima said in Tagalog. "I'm not saying the killings and the use of lethal force have no legal basis, but too many have been killed for us to not be suspicious and to not question whether the rules of engagement are being followed."

                                Between July 1 and August 15, 665 people were killed by police while another 899 were murdered by unknown killers, Dela Rosa reported to the committee last week, according to The Washington Post — a drastically lower number than the one reported on Monday.

                                Police didn't explain the sudden increase in deaths over the past week, but senators are expected to question them about the tally on Tuesday.

                                Relatives of slain people cover their faces as they attend a Senate hearing investigating drug-related killings at the Senate headquarters in Pasay city, metro Manila, Philippines August 22, 2016. REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco Relatives of slain people attend a Senate hearing investigating drug-related killings at the Senate headquarters in Manila. Thomson Reuters

                                The spate of killings has alarmed human-rights groups, including UN-appointed human-rights experts who have urged the country to stop the killings.

                                But Duterte's foreign ministers later said that the Philippines would not do so, and the president threatened to withdraw from the UN .

                                Perfecto Yasay, the Philippines' foreign secretary, said that his country is "certainly not leaving the UN," CNN reported on Monday.

                                Duterte, known locally as "the Punisher," campaigned on a pledge to rid the country of drug dealers and won a landslide presidential election in May. The 71-year-old leader has publicly advocated the killing of suspected drug dealers, urging citizens to kill criminals if they feel it's necessary.

                                "Shoot him and I'll give you a medal," Duterte said in June, according to the AP.

                                afp duterte threatens to pull philippines out of un President Rodrigo Duterte. AFP

                                Richard Javad Heydarian, a political science professor at De La Salle University in Manila, told The Times that Duterte's brazen stance is indicative of outsize public expectations.

                                Duterte's massive support in the Philippines "largely has to do with dissipated public trust in existing judicial institutions, a sense that the normal democratic processes are not coping with the magnitude of the crisis," said Heydarian.

                                He threatened to declare martial law in early August when the Philippines' Supreme Court questioned his authority to oversee judges who've been accused of taking part in drug-dealing activities, Al Jazeera reported.

                                Jennelyn Olaires, 26, cradles the body of her partner, who was killed on a street by a vigilante group, according to police, in a spate of drug related killings in Pasay city, Metro Manila, Philippines July 23, 2016. A sign on a cardboard found near the body reads: "A Picture and Its Story: A Death in Manila." Thomson Reuters

                                During Monday’s hearing, one of the witnesses, Harra Bertes, said that policemen had beaten up, arrested, and killed her husband, a suspected drug dealer.

                                Police raided Bertes' house, demanded the surrender of drugs that she did not have, and removed the underwear of her 2-year-old daughter to search for illegal drugs, Bertes told the committee, according to Philstar.com.

                                Bertes admitted that her husband was a drug dealer, but that he had been planning on surrendering to the authorities soon.

                                Approximately 600,000 suspected drug dealers or users have surrendered to the police since Duterte's drug crackdown began, Philippines' authorities said, according to The Times.
                                http://www.businessinsider.com/phili...-people-2016-8
                                Last edited by troung; 23 Aug 16,, 06:23.
                                To sit down with these men and deal with them as the representatives of an enlightened and civilized people is to deride ones own dignity and to invite the disaster of their treachery - General Matthew Ridgway

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