MANILA Power is so addictive, those who hold it want to keep it as long as possible. This early Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s people are laying the groundwork for a possible extension of his term. Earlier presidents tried to stay beyond their terms. Fidel Ramos’ drumbeaters made an attempt but they did it too late. It was already… Read More »

MANILA Only someone with a mental condition would call the killings of thousands of people an achievement. And yet, that is one of the “achievements” claimed by the Duterte administration here in their year-end report. And if we Filipinos just keep quiet and accept that as a fact, then there’s something wrong with us, too. Even before the… Read More »

MANILA For the police here to now say there have not been any extrajudicial killings (EJKs) committed in the country since President Rodrigo Duterte took office is unmitigated gall. To have the audacity to say that shows they’re overconfident they can fool us. There is documentary evidence — videos, witness statements — that show police gunning down crime… Read More »

MANILA For sheer bragging rights, US President Donald Trump was the only world leader who got President Duterte to sing at the gala night of the recent Asean Summit held here. Not Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, or Shinzo Abe was able to to that. Only Trump. We don’t really know if it’s true that Trump egged Duterte on… Read More »

MANILA Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte still gets good ratings in poll surveys. But, as I’ve surmised in more than one column, I doubt that the survey results reflect a true picture of the situation on the ground. Filipinos like to play things safe. We are a generally timid people, noisy only in neighborhood drinking sessions or small gatherings… Read More »

MANILA Now the police here want to rehabilitate drug users in their “war” on drugs. That’s what they should have done in the first place. Here’s what the police did to start their war: They started rounding up drug users and pushers, killing thousands of them in the process. The international community was outraged, unbelieving that in this… Read More »

MANILA The so-called war on drugs here is finally showing everyone its futility and wrongness from the start. Society is finally being scandalized by the drug war’s brutality and ruthlessness. Citizens are finally realizing that it’s an unwinnable war with deplorable consequences. Giving the police carte blanche in pursuing the so-called war emboldened them so much, they don’t… Read More »

MANILA Positive survey findings in favor of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte continue to baffle observers. Who can blame those who can’t believe the news of Duterte getting high marks from people surveyed? With all the controversies swirling around him, the common observer can only scratch his head in confusion. I’ve written before that there’s a possible explanation for… Read More »

MANILA The notion of a Philippine independent foreign policy sounds like a good idea. But the problem with President Rodrigo Duterte’s idea is that the policy jumps from one giant ally-protector (the United States) to one or two new benefactors (China and Russia). Is that an independent foreign policy? Mr. Duterte seems to have an industrial-strength allergy toward… Read More »

MANILA Now the Australians are mad at us. I know, I know, our president doesn’t give a koala’s hoot. But let us plain citizens try to reassure the Aussies we’re not all bad losers. It turns out some Filipinos have gone out in force to bash new WBO welterweight champion Jeff Horn and his wife in social media… Read More »