Archive - Commentary

The cancellation by the United States government of Sen. Ronald “Bato” de la Rosa’s visa is a preview of what’s in store for police officials involved in President Duterte’s brutal drug war that has claimed the lives of at least 20,000 through a reprehensible practice of extrajudicial killing (EJK).

​May President Duterte unilaterally abrogate the Visiting Forces Agreement without the consent of the Senate?The question arose yesterday after Mr. Duterte angrily warned he will do precisely that if the Americans do not “correct” the cancellation of the US visa earlier issued to a close ally, Senator Ronald “Bato” de la Rosa.

Duterte’s disrespect for the truth is actually a disrespect for his audience- the Filipino people.He thinks so low of the Filipino people, presuming that they are stupid and will swallow hook, line, and sinker anything that he says.

Other than giving Oplan Tokhang defenders some brownie points to crow about in the eyes of their supporters, Jude Sabio's withdrawal of his communication does nothing to the preliminary examination being carried out by ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda’s office.

A Vietnamese academic pierced whatever illusion about the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea being worked out between ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and China and being coordinated by the Philippines.

Why is Malacañang panicking over the U.S. visa ban on officials involvedin the“wrongful imprisonment” of Senator Leila de Lima that has yet to be implemented?

A statement issued on New Year’s Day by the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs against alleged Chinese encroachments over the Indonesian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the Natunas may prove to be a diplomatic and legal game changer in the increasingly volatile South China Sea.