By CHARMAINE DEOGRACIAS WASHINGTON DC – Incoming Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is not expected to swing to China’s side opposite of the United States but will instead place the country in between the two big powers, foreign policy and defense experts said in an Asia Pacific Foreign Policy and Defense Seminar at the East
By ELLEN T. TORDESILLAS A video of the exchange between Gina Lopez, incoming President Rodrigo Duterte’s choice as secretary of Environment and Natural Resources, and a pro-mining advocate is going the rounds of social media. Lopez was asking the man to choose between food and minerals because she argued that mining that extracts minerals from
By ELLEN T. TORDESILLAS CENTERLAW, a non-government organization dedicated to the promotion of the Rule of Law in the Philippines and Asia, reminded President-Elect Rodrigo Duterte that as president of the Philippines, which he will be in 23 days, he is legally bound to ensure that every one within Philippine sovereignty is accorded due
By ELLEN T. TORDESILLAS TO control the damage wrought by President-elect Rodrigo Duterte’s verbal assault on media during his press conference Tuesday justifying the extra-judicial killing of journalists, Peter Laviña, spokesman for Duterte’s transition team said media, his principal’s remarks were “taken out of context, misinterpreted, and misunderstood.” That is adding insult to
By ELLEN T. TORDESILLAS PUTANGINAS are staple in incoming president Rodrigo Duterte’s language. His supporters love it. Mas malutong ang mura, mas malakas ang palakpak. Those were in rallies during the campaign. If parents brought along their children to those events, that was their sole responsibility to expose their children to those kind of gutter
By Diana G. Mendoza A civil society organization advocating and promoting family planning has found a new champion in incoming President Rodrigo Duterte. The Forum for Family Planning and Development Inc. (The Forum), a nongovernment organization that counts longtime experts of population and development in its leadership, welcomed Duterte’s plan to push strongly the Responsible
By ELLEN T. TORDESILLAS ONLY ten days that Pastor Apollo Quiboloy and incoming President Rodrigo Duterte haven’t talked with each other and the “Son of God” is already hurting. Sharing with media the Pastor’s hurt feeling, Quiboloy’s spokesperson, Mike Abe, said the last face-to-face meeting of the two was at 3 a.m. of May
By CAROLYN O. ARGUILLAS, MindaNews DAVAO City – The chair of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has congratulated presumptive President-elect Rodrigo Duterte for his “historic victory” during the May 9 Presidential election and vowed to “partner with you and your administration.” Addressing the letter dated May 10 to “His Excellency… President-elect Duterte,” MILF chair
By ELLEN T. TORDESILLAS FORMER Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro is being eyed by President-elect Rodrigo Duterte to be his foreign secretary, not as defense secretary, as some new reports say, a source close to Duterte said. In an interview before the May 9 election, the source said Teodoro has not yet responded to the
By ELLEN TORDESILLAS CHINA is hopeful that relations with the Philippines will be better under the government of Rodrigo Duterte, who will succeed President Benigno Aquino III on July 1. In a regular press conference in Beijing Wednesday, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lu Kang was asked about statements by Duterte that he is willing to talk
