US President Donald Trump on Saturday invited his Philippine counterpart Rodrigo Duterte to Washington in a “friendly” call in which the leaders discussed the “threat” of North Korea, the White House said. The announcement comes amid rising tensions over Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs following its latest test-fire, as well international criticism of Duterte’s drug … Read more
US President Donald Trump on Saturday invited his Philippine counterpart to Washington in a “friendly” call in which the leaders discussed Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs and their countries’ alliance, the White House said. Duterte has faced international condemnation for his brutal crackdown on crime, which has claimed thousands of lives and led to warnings … Read more
US President Donald Trump invited his Philippine counterpart Rodrigo Duterte to Washington in a “friendly” call in which the leaders discussed the “threat” of North Korea, the White House said. The announcement comes amid rising tensions over Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs following its latest test-fire, as well international criticism of Duterte’s drug crackdown that … Read more
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte warned Southeast Asian leaders Saturday they were facing a “massive” illegal drug menace that could destroy their societies, as he called for a united response. Duterte, who has faced international condemnation for his own crackdown on drugs that has claimed thousands of lives, also insisted that outsiders should not interfere in … Read more
The Philippines’ police chief has defended the detention of a dozen people inside a closet-sized secret cell in a case that raised further alarm about abuses under President Rodrigo Duterte’s deadly war on drugs. The government’s human rights commission discovered a dozen men and women packed into the tiny cell behind a wooden cabinet during … Read more
A dozen people have been found stuffed inside a closet-sized cell hidden behind a book shelf in a Philippine police station, triggering further alarm about abuse under President Rodrigo Duterte’s deadly war on drugs. Members of the government’s human rights commission, accompanied by journalists, found the men and women in a surprise visit to the … Read more
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte hosts Southeast Asian leaders this week, and there is much interest in how the popular politician who boasts about not being a statesman will handle the event. Many Filipinos love Duterte, 72, for his man-of-the people habits, such as eating food with his hands, wearing casual clothes even in formal situations … Read more
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday called the New York Times an “asshole” and rejected fresh criticism of his deadly drug war, on the eve of him hosting an Asian summit. Duterte let loose with the crude insult two days after the major US newspaper wrote an editorial headlined: “Let the World Condemn Duterte”, and … Read more
A Philippine lawyer on Monday filed a complaint at the world’s only permanent war crimes court against President Rodrigo Duterte, alleging his war on drugs has caused some 8,000 deaths. Lawyer Jude Sabio urged the prosecutor at the International Criminal Court in The Hague to investigate Duterte and senior adminstration officials and bring charges of … Read more
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday described two major media outlets as “sons of whores” and warned them of karmic repercussions for their critical coverage of his deadly drug war. Duterte’s verbal attacks on top television broadcaster ABS-CBN and the Philippine Daily Inquirer newspaper came in a pair of speeches in which he also lashed … Read more
The Philippines tourism secretary urged the media Wednesday to “tone down” coverage of President Rodrigo Duterte’s deadly drug war, complaining that reports on extrajudicial killings were scaring away foreigners. On a trip to Thailand accompanying Duterte, Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo insisted the Philippines was a safe destination but said journalists were making the country a … Read more
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has described European lawmakers as “crazies” in a salty-tongued rebuttal to criticism of his deadly drug war, while vowing again that all traffickers will be killed. Duterte fired his broadside in a late-night speech Sunday in Myanmar after the European Parliament issued a resolution last week condemning “the high number of … Read more
Philippine Vice President Leni Robredo said Wednesday the nation’s drug war had left Filipinos feeling “hopeless and helpless”, with trust in the police eroded by thousands of summary executions. In a video message to a United Nations meeting on extrajudicial killings posted online, Robredo also called for international scrutiny on President Rodrigo Duterte’s controversial crackdown. … Read more
Sally Antonio is exhausted from working three jobs since police killed her husband and son, a typical Philippine drug war widow enduring a life sentence of impoverished misery. While President Rodrigo Duterte’s unprecedented crackdown has claimed the lives of 7,000 people, the impacts on their families are the largely untold stories in what rights groups … Read more
The Philippine police chief said Monday his forces had “reloaded” and were back fighting their president’s deadly war on drugs, just over a month after they were withdrawn because of widespread corruption. President Rodrigo Duterte said in late January he had suspended all police from his crackdown on illegal drugs, which has claimed more than … Read more
Photos showing hundreds of prisoners in a Philippine jail sitting naked while being searched for contraband have triggered accusations of further rights abuses in President Rodrigo Duterte’s deadly war on drugs. The inmates of the Cebu provincial jail were woken before dawn on Tuesday, herded into the jail’s quadrangle and forced to strip while anti-drug … Read more
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s campaign to bring back the death penalty for drug-related crimes has cleared a major hurdle, with supporters backing it in congress but critics denouncing the plans as “inhumane”. The death penalty bill, along with a proposed measure to punish children as young as nine as adult criminals, are key planks of … Read more
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said Tuesday he would recall police to fight his drug war, a month after he withdrew them and denounced the force as “corrupt to the core”. “I need more men and I have to call back the police again,” Duterte told reporters, adding he had instructed his police chief to find … Read more
The Philippine foreign minister told the UN rights council on Monday that Manila would “destroy criminals” in a defiant defence of President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war. “There can be no middle ground for the well-being of our people. We will not be kind,” Perfecto Yasay told the opening of the 47-member council’s main annual session … Read more
More than 1,000 people took to the streets of Manila on Saturday to protest Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s brutal war on drugs, following the arrest of his most high-profile critic. The protestors massed outside the national police headquarters where Senator Leila de Lima was detained on Friday, in a demonstration against the alleged death-squad murders … Read more