Free Republic

President Rodrigo Duterte disclosed late Tuesday night that he did not bother to dignify Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s mention of extra judicial killings irritants and related human rights issues at the sidelines of the 31st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit. President Duterte described the brief exchange with Trudeau as “a personal and official insult” to him. “I said that I will not explain. It angers me when you are a foreigner and you do not know exactly what is happening in this country,” the president explained during a press briefing after the ASEAN Summit ended. “You don’t...

U.S. President Donald J. Trump and Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte met in Manila, Philippines on November 13, 2017, to discuss a broad range of shared interests and priorities. Both leaders praised the enduring United States-Philippines Alliance, built on a strong foundation of shared values, sacrifices, and history, and bolstered by common interests, people-to-people ties, and full respect for legal and diplomatic processes. They pledged to expand cooperation and reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening the bilateral alliance—a 70-year partnership that has stood the test of time and ensures both countries’ mutual security and contributes to regional peace, stability, and economic prosperity....

Trump and Duterte seem to have warmed to each other after meeting for the first time on Saturday at an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) group meeting in Vietnam. On Sunday, Duterte crooned hit Filipino love song “Ikaw” (You) at a gala dinner for summit leaders in Manila, saying it was on “the orders” of Trump. One of the song’s verses, translated from Filipino, begins: “You are the light in my world, a half of this heart of mine”. “Ladies and gentlemen, I sang uninvited, upon the orders of the commander in chief of the United States,” Duterte said later, according...

Months before Trump was elected, Rodrigo Duterte proved the strength of anti-establishment populism in the Philippines by taking the presidency in a campaign filled with black-and-white promises to wipe out crime by killing drug pushers. And when his administration did indeed start killing hundreds of suspected drug pushers and alleged addicts, US-Philippine relations – historically one of the strongest alliances in Asia – plummeted. At its lowest point, Duterte called former president Barack Obama a “son of a whore” for criticising his human rights record. For Trump, however, the Philippines is bringing out the red carpet.

When Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte sits down for his first face-to-face bilateral meeting with President Trump on Monday in Manila, he will come to the table with an unusual request. Duterte wants the United States to return war trophies seized more than 100 years ago: three historic church bells that were taken from the Philippine village of Balangiga after a bloody clash during the Philippine-American War. In 1899, fighting broke out between U.S. troops and Filipino nationalists after Spain ceded control of the Philippines to the U.S. following Spain's defeat in the Spanish-American War. The nationalists seized control of the...

Sunday on Full Measure, we have an incredible cover story from The Philippines where President Duterte is drawing international attention for his radical tactics in fighting drug crimes and Islamic extremist terrorism: he has given the green light for police and ordinary citizens to shoot down drug dealers–and users–in the streets without trial. And he’s installed martial law in the troubled southern region where ISIS is said to be moving in. We’ll talk to President Duterte’s vocal opponents and also some of his supporters as he enjoys popularity ratings that are the envy of any national leader.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has declared the city of Marawi "liberated" from militants, even as fighting continues... Mr Duterte's declaration came a day after the army said they had killed top militants Isnilon Hapilon and Omar Maute. The two men led the Abu Sayyaf and Maute groups which formed part of the insurgency in Marawi. Both groups have pledged allegiance to, or have links to, IS.

President Donald Trump will ask U.S. allies to pressure North Korea on its nuclear program in an upcoming trip to the Asia-Pacific region. He'll also meet with controversial Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. Trump has praised Duterte for his deadly war on drugs that has left thousands dead, according to a leaked transcript of an April phone call. In December, Duterte said that in a phone call, Mr. Trump praised his anti-drug crackdown. "He wishing me success in my campaign on the drug problem," Duterte said. As of August, the operation has slaughtered over 7,000 drug users, according to Human Rights...

'President Trump will definitely receive a very warm welcome in Manilla,' Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano in a statement on Saturday. 'President Trump's visit underscores the improving relations between the Philippines and the United States, which no less than Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told me is on an upward vector,' the statement added. The comments come after Cayetano met with Tillerson last Wednesday in Washingotn to discuss strengthening the longtime links between the two nations. Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte drew in Chinese and Russian media last week when he asserted the importance of the Philippine-US security alliance,...

The president of the Philippines is singing America’s praises for its assistance in the fight against the Islamic State — the exact opposite of what was being said around this time last year. Muslim militants with direct ties to ISIS overran Marawi, a city in the southern Philippines, in late May. Since the radicals first raised the black ISIS standard above the city four months ago, hundreds, possibly thousands, of people have been killed, and hundreds of thousands have been displaced. Efforts to liberate the city from the radical Islamic terrorists are ongoing. The Trump administration has been, from the...

CIELITO “Honeylet” Avanceña, common-law wife of President Rodrigo Duterte, attended the United Nations General Assembly luncheon hosted by the First Lady of the United States, Melania Trump. The Davao businesswoman was spotted in a video posted by the White House during the UN luncheon on Thursday, wherein Mrs. Trump called for the protection of children victims of “drug addition, bullying, poverty, disease, trafficking, illiteracy or hunger.” Malacañang, however, has yet to give clear details about Avanceña’s trip to New York. The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said Avanceña was invited to attend the side meetings of the UN General Assembly...

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday asked the head of the country’s Commission on Human Rights (CHR) if he was a paedophile for focusing on the killing of teenagers in the government’s bloody war on drugs. Duterte also suggested to lawmakers using CHR’s proposed 678 million pesos budget to buy the police body cameras if they don’t want to restore funding for the agency, which he has clashed with repeatedly over his anti-drugs campaign. The CHR requested a budget of 1.72 billion pesos for 2018, but the government proposed 678 million instead. Duterte’s allies in the lower house of Congress...

The people love President Duterte. They support his war on drug dealers and Islamic terroritsts. The global elites hate him. He will not conform to their global vision for the Philippines. President Rodrigo Duterte this week announced his approval to bomb mosques in Marawi. Islamic terrorists stormed the city in May. The radicals ransacked churches, murdered innocents and destroyed Christian churches.

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines may receive grants amounting to $433 million from the United States’ Millennium Challenge Corp. (MCC) starting next year owing to apparent improvements in governance and other key indicators. In a report released last Wednesday, the MCC included the Philippines in a list of candidate-countries under the “low income” category eligible to receive assistance for 2018. Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III welcomed the development. But should the MCC decide to push through with the grant­, he said the Philippine government would still need to go over the conditions set by the agency under the compact and...

MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte called himself a "humble friend" of the United States on Monday, taking a break from his notorious hostility towards Washington to grant a warm reception to visiting U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Duterte's often profanity-laden tirades against the United States has become his trademark during his year-old presidency, but he appeared happy to meet Tillerson, who was in Manila to attend a regional security meeting dominated by North Korea's missile tests, and maritime squabbles. "I am happy to see you ... and you have come at a time when the world is...

With all of the unrest going on in other parts of the world this summer (North Korea, Venezuela, Turkey, Syria, etc.), it’s not too surprising if we miss some of the stories coming out of the Philippines. But they’ve got their own share of troubles to worry about. Their new president has been raising eyebrows around the world with his war on drugs, which sometimes entails killing the occasional mayor of a smaller city, as well as some external threats as well. But they remain one of our allies, at least for now, and you take your friends where...

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has fired back at US senators who criticized abuses during his ‘war on drugs.’ While the US lawmakers opposed any possible trip by Duterte to America, the leader said he had no intention of visiting the “lousy” country. “There will never be a time that I will go to America during my term, or even thereafter,” Duterte said on Friday, as quoted by Reuters. The Philippine leader was also surprised that the senators would think he was willing to go to the US. “I've seen America and it's lousy,” Duterte said.

The only word I find for it is cloddish. I refer to the latest CIA-instigated attempt to initiate regime change against outspoken Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. The so-called ISIS terror attack in the minerals-rich southern Philippines island of Mindanao, a predominately Muslim part of the mostly Christian nation of 100 million people, took place literally in the midst of President Duterte’s talks in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Duterte-Putin talks in turn followed Duterte’s attendance in Beijing on May 15 for the first New Silk Road or Belt Road Forum. America’s colonial asset since 1898 was clearly walking...

The Embraer Super Tucano is the sole compliant bidder for a Philippines Air Force (PAF) requirement for a new close air support (CAS) aircraft. The PAF has prioritized CAS and air to ground munitions procurement as a result of the takeover by Muslim extremist insurgents of the city of Marawi on the southern island of Mindanao. An Embraer spokesperson said the company is committed to fulfilling the requirement. The PAF is seeking six aircraft for CAS to complement, and eventually replace its aging fleet of OV-10 Bronco twin turboprops. The Broncos have recently flown missions over Marawi, dropping 500-pound Mk...

MANILA, June 28 (Reuters) - A Philippine government panel led by President Rodrigo Duterte has approved 305.64 billion pesos ($6.05 billion) worth of infrastructure projects aimed at spurring one of Asia's fastest growing economies. The Southeast Asian country is boosting infrastructure spending to create jobs, lift economic growth to as much as 8 percent, and attract foreign investors turned off by high power prices and transport bottlenecks. The biggest project approved for bidding and construction was the 211-billion pesos railway project north of the capital Manila that will be funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency, Economic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia...