Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte announced an “enhanced” lockdown on Monday of the whole of Luzon, the island where Manila is located, in an effort to stop the spread of coronavirus on the largest and most populous Philippine island.
On Monday, the foreign ministers of China and the Philippines declared their support for “peace and stability” in the South China Sea, largely along Beijing’s terms.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte survived many scandals with his poll numbers largely intact, but support for the seemingly unsinkable strongman is finally waning, polls showed on Monday.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs had already been a source of great controversy for years when he suddenly announced a new crusade in June: a war on loitering. Those who fear authoritarian rule were dismayed to discover squads of police combing the streets of Manila each night and rounding up thousands of people who couldn’t provide a good enough explanation for why they were out after dark.
Harry Roque, a spokesman for Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, said on Thursday that he thinks his boss might need “better speechwriters” to avoid such little slips of the tongue as alienating his 85% Catholic constituency by referring to God as a “stupid son of a bitch.”
The question of whether Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s popularity could survive anything the colorful chief executive says appears to have been answered, as a survey by independent pollster Social Weather Stations published on Tuesday found Duterte sinking to his lowest approval rating since he assumed the office in 2016.
The uneasy relationship between the Catholic Church and Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte took a turn for the worse on two weeks ago when the notoriously foul-mouthed Duterte referred to God as a “stupid son of a bitch.” On Monday, the association of Philippine bishops called for three days of fasting and prayer in response to not only Duterte’s remarks but also the extreme violence of his drug war.
China reportedly landed one of its H-6K heavy bombers on Woody Island in the Paracels late last week, increasing concerns about Chinese militarization of disputed islands in the South China Sea, prompting a complaint and “appropriate diplomatic action” from the Philippines.
During a meeting with Philippine troops on Saturday, President Rodrigo Duterte advised military and police officers to remain silent if human rights investigators from the United Nations or International Criminal Court interview them.
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein cited Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s “disgraceful” use of the “foulest of language” against U.N. representatives on Friday and said Duterte “needs to submit himself to some sort of psychiatric evaluation.”
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte announced on Wednesday that he intends to leave office before his term ends. “I will step down by 2020, I will not wait for 2022. I am old. I have no more ambition. I really would like to rest,” the 72-year-old president said.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s appearance at the Chinese-Filipino Business Club on Monday is proving to be a bottomless well of provocative comments. Not only did Duterte suggest, in a fit of bizarre black humor, that Beijing should consider annexing his country and turning it into a province of China, but he also proposed sending his troops to China for training instead of the United States.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte took his rapprochement with China to a new level on Monday by joking that China should consider absorbing his country and turning it into a province of the People’s Republic.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has offered a free plane ticket home for Filipino workers living in Kuwait after the body of 29-year-old Joanna Demafelis was found stuffed in a freezer. Up to 10,000 of the workers are expected to take him up on the offer, even though it will mean financial ruin for many of them as they effectively return home empty-handed after years of laboring overseas.
The Philippine Daily Inquirer on Monday published photos showing the breathtaking extent of Chinese military construction on disputed reefs in the Spratly Islands area of the South China Sea. The Inquirer presents the aerial photography as evidence that China is almost finished transforming the reefs into “island fortress” for the purpose of controlling the entire region.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s persistent efforts to demonstrate he is very tough on crime found him crushing impounded luxury cars with bulldozers on Tuesday. The pancaked vehicles included Porsches, Mercedes, Jaguars, and Corvettes, some of them worth over a hundred thousand dollars.
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte expressed support for gay marriage last weekend, declaring, “If that will add to your happiness, I am for it.”
A Filipino military unit has disputed Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s claim that one of 100 sniper rifles donated by China took out the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) “emir” in Southeast Asia.
Tuesday was a landmark day in the war against the Islamic State, as both the ISIS capital of Raqqa in Syria and its Philippine stronghold of Marawi were liberated. Analysts caution that ISIS has not been destroyed, but with these twin defeats, it has been broken down from a terror state back into a terrorist organization.
The Philippines has been battling to eradicate the Islamic State’s (ISIS) presence from its southern chain of islands as the terrorist organization seeks to secure its hold over the Islamic City of Marawi on the island of Mindanao.
Thousands of opponents of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte turned out for a protest rally in Manila on Thursday, claiming that their country teeters on the edge of dictatorship. Meanwhile, Duterte publicly announced that he has ordered the police to kill his own son if he proves guilty of drug trafficking offenses.
The Australian government is dealing with a bit of embarrassment over a photo in which Nick Warner, director general of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service, did a “fist pump” alongside Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.
Rebels linked to the Islamic State expanded the insurgency in the southern Philippines on Wednesday, attacking another town and taking a school full of children hostage.
The battle against Islamic State forces in the southern Philippine city of Marawi has entered its fourth week, despite promises from the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte that the insurgency would be crushed before the national Independence Day holiday on June 12.
The mainstream media loves to milk easy coverage from Twitter comments, and some outlets seem to have a sweet tooth for treating everything Bill and Hillary Clinton’s daughter Chelsea says as major news, so let us join the craze by examining Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s exasperated response to Chelsea Clinton tweeting criticism of his rape comments.
Over the weekend, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte asked several Muslim separatist and Communist groups to fight alongside government troops against the Islamic State. The groups have not yet agreed to a formal alliance, but they have reportedly exchanged gunfire with ISIS militants.
TEL AVIV — The Intercept news website and a Philippine news outlet that collaborated to publish an alleged transcript of President Donald Trump’s private phone call with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte are both directly tied to liberal billionaire eBay founder Pierre Omidyar.
On Thursday, Philippine Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano suggested the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) should reach a “gentlemen’s agreement” on South China Sea waterways because there is no legal authority to enforce a binding contract for navigation through the region.
On Saturday, two high-ranking Philippine officials visited the island of Pag-asa in the South China Sea, drawing a protest from China, which claims ownership of the entire region.
The Russian Navy is visiting the Philippines for “regional threat assessment drills,” as Russian state outlet Sputnik News puts it. While they are in town, the Russians are wooing the Filipinos with arms deals and crazy Kung Fu performances.
The chief officers of the Philippine military and U.S. Pacific Command said military ties between the two countries remained “robust” on Tuesday, despite threats from Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to reduce cooperation with America in favor of stronger relationships with China and Russia.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said this week he is willing to join a “new world order” created by communist China and the rogue Russian regime.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday apologized to Jews for comparing himself with Adolf Hitler but said he did nothing wrong and reiterated his desire to kill millions of drug addicts.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, in response to the European Union (EU) denouncing his administration’s extrajudicial killings of drug suspects, reportedly said “fuck you.”
