Last Tuesday presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella was quoted as telling reporters how President Duterte felt about the drug-related killings, both by the police and vigilantes, under his watch: “I think he’s very concerned and, in fact, bothered and troubled. He is deeply and profoundly concerned.” Did Abella accurately fathom the President’s innermost feelings on the…
It was relieving for those keenly concerned with peace to be reassured early this week that the Duterte government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines remain committed to resume, in the last week of August, the long-suspended GPH-NDFP formal peace negotiations. The misunderstandings and exchanges of mutually hurting words between the two sides…
This week the Philippine STAR is celebrating its 30th founding anniversary. I join its loyal readers in commending the editorial staff, the management, and the employees for the paper’s sustained growth and dedicated pursuance of its declared goal: that, through responsible reporting and opinion writing, truth shall prevail. Also I thank the Philippine STAR for…
Five days before President Rodrigo Roa Duterte delivers his first state-of-the-nation address on Monday, he was gifted by the Pulse Asia Survey with the report that its nationwide survey on July 2-8 (his first week in office) showed a 91 percent trust rating for him – both across the nation and socio-economic classes. (His predecessor,…
On July 12, as expected, the UN Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled to uphold the Philippines’ maritime rights in the South China Sea and dashed (no pun intended) – as having no legal basis – China’s “nine-dash-line” sovereignty claim over nearly all of the sea. And as also expected, China rejected the ruling. President Xi…
Both by its extensive propaganda blitz and by conducting military drills in the Paracels, China seeks to impress upon the world its resolve to assert sovereignty over almost all of the South China Sea – no matter how the UN Permanent Court of Arbitration will decide: to uphold or negate such a claim. The decision…
Formally speaking as President of the Philippines soon after making his oath of office last Thursday, Rodrigo R. Duterte made it abundantly clear that “Malasakit, Tunay na Pagbabago” (Compassion, Real Change) define the character and direction of his administration. He emphasized that he had articulated these battlecries during the presidential campaign “in behalf of the…
Early this week in Manila, the defense chiefs of the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia wound up discussions they began last month in Vientiane, Laos. They agreed to conduct “trilateral maritime and air patrols” in their “maritime areas of common concern,” particularly in the Sulu Sea where the three countries share borders. They will establish a…
Within three weeks from his inauguration as the 16th President on June 30, Rodrigo R. Duterte will resume the formal peace negotiations – in limbo since 2013 – between the government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines. The talks will reopen ahead of his first state-of-the-nation address on July 25. And to enhance…
Judging by this year’s version of the US-Philippine joint military exercises, Balikatan 2016 has taken a new direction, courtesy of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement. From the declared purpose, since 2002, of “enhancing interoperability” between the two allied armed forces, Balikatan is now being placed by the American side squarely within the “context of existing…
“Only in the Philippines could a leader like Ferdinand Marcos, who pillaged his country for over 20 years, be considered for a national burial. Insignificant amounts of the loot have been recovered, yet his wife and children were allowed to return and engage in politics…” The quotation is from Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore’s prime minister…