The appointment of Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano as foreign secretary is an indication that the Duterte administration is feeling the heat of a negative international image and needs somebody who can passionately defend the President’s human rights record as what the senator did last week before the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Why are the non-fans of President Duterte protesting the appointment of dancer – singer Mocha Uson as assistant communications secretary?
In dismissing the case filed against him at the International Court of Justice at The Hague, Netherlands last week, President Duterte cited the principle of territoriality.
Information empowers. But in the age of fake news which has found a fertile base in social media especially Facebook, lies being passed on as information have become a powerful tool for mass idiotization.
When news reports about the feud between House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez and Davao del Norte Rep. Antonio “Tonyboy” Floirendo Jr. was brought into open and was traced to the quarrel of the Davao lawmakers’ mistresses, my initial reaction was to suggest that they be given a copy of Jullie Yap’s book, “Etiquette for Mistresses.”
In the business of death, self-confessed hitman Arturo Lascañas had reaped a ghastly reward: He became a “ghost” employee of the Davao City Hall, whose paycheck got a boost from the salaries of other “ghost” employees.
China has denied that they are building an environmental monitoring station in Scarborough Shoal which they call “Huangyan Dao” as reported by Reuters last week based on a news report in the Chinese language newspaper Hainan Daily.
Not surprisingly, President Duterte resorted to incoherent rant when asked about the plan of Magdalo Rep. Gary Alejano to file a supplemental impeachment complaint to include developments in Scarborough Shoal and Benham Rise.
Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio T. Carpio reminded Sunday President Duterte of his “constitutional duty” to the Filipino people to defend the country’s national territory and suggested to him four ways he can do it as regards the reported China’s plans to set up an environmental monitoring station in Scarborough Shoal.
There are things that you do knowing that its chance of success is not high but you do it because you know it’s the right thing.
