MANILA When Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was mayor of Davao City in southern Philippines he had successfully established himself as a feudal lord there for 20 years. Far from the scrutinizing eyes of what outsiders resentfully call “Imperial Manila,” he quietly ensconced himself in Davao as a feudal warlord. He scared the local people into submission. He told them… Read More »

MANILA Some here are starting to ask, why isn’t anyone bothered by the spate of summary killings taking place in our midst? Where is the outrage? Since President Duterte assumed office last June 30, close to 1,000 people have been summarily killed here. This number is as of this writing, it’s certain to rise when you get to… Read More »

  MANILA Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte won by six million votes last May 9. And he holds on to that margin as his license to do as he wants for the next six years. He didn’t lose any time giving his Cabinet members their marching orders. Duterte’s national chief of police has been in media eerily aping his boss,… Read More »

  MANILA At this point in his life, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has nothing to lose. He’s reached every politician’s ultimate dream: be President. What else is there to aim for? He’s there, at the top of the mountain. Now, he’s ready to die if that is his destiny. For the kind of person he seems to be,… Read More »

  MANILA Once again we have a minority president here, meaning presumptive President-elect Rodrigo Duterte didn’t get at least 50 percent plus one votes (as of presstime, his vote total was in the 40 percent range). It’s not Duterte’s fault to be a minority president, the fault is in the system. All our presidents since Ferdinand Marcos won… Read More »

  What we’ve learned from the just concluded elections here is that we are still a politically immature people. Over the past couple of decades many observers here have been saying that we Filipinos have matured enough to be able to discern what’s good for the country as far as electing the right people is concerned. Commentators, publications,… Read More »

MANILA The May 9 general elections here in the Philippines have far-reaching implications to where the country will be going in the next decade, not only during the six-year term of the incoming President. So many key concerns will fall in the lap of the next President. Will the economy continue to grow? Will the growth seep into… Read More »

MANILA Like lookouts at the edge of a valley, concerned Filipinos are rushing to rouse the village: “The Marcoses are rising to power, the Marcoses are rising to power! To take over again as they did in the 1970s and 80s. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s attempt to rise from senator to vice president is just the start. Imelda… Read More »

MANILA Vice President Jojo Binay and Sen. Grace Poe have been playing musical chairs at the top of the presidential surveys here. Former senator and interior secretary Mar Roxas and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte do the same for the Number 2 spot. Miriam Santiago trails badly, with only a single-digit share of the poll numbers. She should… Read More »

  Can presidential candidate Grace Poe win her disqualification cases at the Philippine Supreme Court? It’s quite possible. But if she does win and allowed to run, the next battleground will move to another area. Not in another court of justice but in the court of the people. The battle will shift to her abandonment of our country… Read More »