Category Archives: nation

Rodrigo Duterte is far from the President he promised to be

By admin | November 17, 2017

Published by Channel News Asia Almost one year since Duterte took over as the Philippines’ President, he continues to enjoy high popularity ratings, despite having a reported reputation as a misogynist and harbouring a questionable attitude towards the importance of human lives. His crime-fighting agenda may have earned him significant political brownie points before he […]

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Is the Philippines’ Duterte Forming a Junta?

By admin | October 24, 2017

After naming a general as his next secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte quipped that he will soon establish a junta and allow the military to take over the country. Duterte may be joking but for some of his critics, there’s nothing funny about an idea that […]

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Lingering Questions Remain on Duterte’s Martial Law in the Philippines

By admin | September 14, 2017

According to the 1987 Constitution, Congress is supposed to convene a joint session in order to review the government’s martial law proclamation. But leaders of both houses of Congress said a joint session is unnecessary since the majority are supporting the president’s decision anyway. This is unfortunate, since there are questions related to martial law […]

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Why the Philippines’ Duterte Should Rethink the Vice Presidency

By admin | September 1, 2017

Various political analysts and commentators have already shared their views on Rodrigo Duterte’s first year as president of the Philippines. But so far, only a few have said something about Vice President Leni Robredo’s first year in office. Those unfamiliar with the Philippine political system might ask the relevance of discussing Robredo’s performance as vice […]

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What Does Duterte’s Martial Law Mean for the Philippine Peace Process?

By admin | August 9, 2017

Though it is still early days, what has been the impact of the Mindanao-wide martial law on these ongoing peace initiatives thus far? Since the declaration of martial law, most of the headlines have been devoted to the Maute group and the ISIS threat in the Philippines, while very little has been discussed about its […]

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Back-to-basics grassroots organizing in the time of Duterte

By admin | July 21, 2017

*Summary of my contributed essay to the workshop organized by the Third World Studies Center of the University of the Philippines-Diliman and the Conflict Research Group of the Ghent University. The workshop’s theme is “Politics and Power in the Philippines: Towards a Contemporary Research Agenda”. Published by Bulatlat Political forces vie for national dominance but […]

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Is Rodrigo Duterte Really Anti-American?

By admin | July 17, 2017

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has a reputation of being a staunch critic of the United States government. However, it is probably more accurate to describe him as being critical of former U.S. President Barack Obama but not of current President Donald Trump. A few months after becoming president in 2016, Duterte launched a series of […]

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Duterte’s Drug War is Distracting From His Social Reform Agenda

By admin | June 18, 2017

Mention the name Rodrigo Duterte and what comes to mind is the bloody “war on drugs” that has claimed the lives of more than 7,000 Filipinos. Amid the continuing spate of killings in the Philippines, it is almost impossible to discuss the social reform agenda of Duterte’s government, which came to power less than a […]

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The China Benham Rise Controversy: A Wake Up Call for the Philippines?

By admin | June 1, 2017

News about Chinese ships surveying the waters of Benham Rise, located east of the northern part of the Philippines, has triggered a bit of panic in Manila’s political circles in the past few weeks. Perhaps the renewed sense of nationalism over the issue of Benham Rise could embolden policymakers and economic planners to draft a […]

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What Do the New Philippine Protests Mean for Duterte?

By admin | April 11, 2017

For two straight weekends, thousands have gathered in the streets of Manila to condemn the deterioration of the human rights situation in the Philippines. On February 18, the Catholic Church mobilized an estimated 20,000 people to participate in a “Walk for Life” as a form of protest against the rising “culture of violence” in the […]

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