Published by The Diplomat
The Philippines’ Office of the Solicitor General has threatened to file a case in the court if the Commission on Elections (Comelec) does not unilaterally revoke its Memorandum of Agreement with news website Rappler on pursuing voter awareness and fact-checking campaigns ahead of the national and local elections scheduled for May 9. Meanwhile, the government’s anti-communist task force said it plans to file charges against Rappler over an article that fact-checked the agency’s statement against Leftist legislators.
The Hypocrisy of President Duterte’s UN Speech
Published by The Diplomat
On September 22, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte addressed the United Nations General Assembly during its 76th session as a leader condemning global injustice while committing himself to pursue governance reforms.
He talked mainly about the hoarding of vaccines by rich nations, the lack of concrete and sustained action to address the climate crisis, the danger of foreign interference in countries dealing with “complex problems,” and the obsolete mechanisms of the U.N.
Duterte might have appeared convincing at first because he was right on the mark in calling out the actions of rich countries that have led to the alarming disparity of vaccine distribution in the world. He was also correct in highlighting the accountability of developed nations in the slow rollout of reforms that will supposedly reduce their carbon emissions.
But for those who are familiar with what has happened in the Philippines over the past five years, Duterte’s U.N. speech sounded comical, if not tragic, due to the failure of the Filipino leader to “walk his talk.”
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