Maniolas

THE ARMED Forces of the Philippines is seeking clarification from the Department of National Defense on the reported threat of President Duterte to abrogate the Philippines-US Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (Edca) and take a new foreign policy direction. AFP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla said the AFP was reserving comment on the issue until a clarification from Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana was received on what the Commander in Chief really meant. On Sunday, the President told an audience at the Maskara Festival in Bacolod City that his administration was reviewing the Edca. He said that although it was an official document, it was not signed by former President Benigno S. Aquino III. Mr. Duterte made the threat following reports the United States might sanction the Philippines because of the President’s deadly war on drugs. “If you Americans are angry with me, then I’m also angry with you,” Mr. Duterte had said. Padilla said he believed the President just wanted to explore relations with other countries. “The current status of our country is we are friends with all our neighbors. We abide by the constitutional policy of always prioritizing peace and that’s exactly what we are doing, so within the scope of our capabilities we are able to protect our interest at the moment,” he said. Padilla said the AFP chief of staff will hold talks with his counterpart in the US Pacific Command in a meeting in the country this month. Looking into coup talk Meanwhile, the AFP is “seriously Read More …

US President Barack Obama and Philippine President Duterte          AP TIT FOR TAT. President Duterte insisted on Monday that he snubbed US President Barack Obama after the latter canceled their bilateral meeting scheduled on Sept. 6 on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit in Vientiane, Laos, last week. The fiery Philippine leader said he skipped the Sept. 8 meeting between Obama and Asean leaders, following Washington’s criticism of Manila’s war on drugs that has claimed thousands of lives. “I purposely did not attend the bilateral talks between Asean countries and the president of the United States,” Mr. Duterte said at Rizal Hall in Malacañang where he delivered a speech before outstanding police officials, military officers and school teachers. “I really skipped that one … . You just cannot (lecture) a president of a sovereign state. Even Obama. It would have been wrong for him to do that. That is why I disrespected them,” he added. Mr. Duterte sparked a storm a day ahead of the Asean summit by calling Obama a “son of a bitch” during a predeparture news conference in Davao City in which the Philippine leader warned that the latter should not question him about his war on drugs, which had left thousands dead. Asked by a reporter how he would explain the killings to Obama, Mr. Duterte said in a long answer that the Philippines had long ceased to be a US colony and that he was answerable to Read More …

ON HIS RETURN on Saturday from a 24-hour visit in Jakarta, President Duterte said he discussed with President Joko Widodo the case of Mary Jane Veloso, who was convicted by an Indonesian court of smuggling drugs and sentenced to death. “There are the things which I cannot divulge now because it will not be in keeping with good manners and right conduct. Let me talk to the family first because if I say something now, I’ll be telegraphing my message. Whether it is good or bad, you have to consider the feelings of the family first,” the President told reporters. Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. said the two governments felt no urgency on taking action on the case. “Her scheduled execution had been deferred because she would be testifying in the deposition case against her illegal recruiter. After prosecuting the illegal recruiter who (is one of) the main principals here, and if it turns out in the trial in the Philippines that Mary Jane (was) a victim, then at that point we can ask for clemency soon,” Yasay added. Veloso was granted a last-minute reprieve from execution in April last year after the surrender of her recruiters, Kristina Sergio and her partner Julius Lacanilao, in the Philippines. Veloso was arrested in April 2010 at Yogyakarta airport in Indonesia after 2.6 kilograms of heroin was discovered in her luggage. She was sentenced to die in October 2010. Indonesian authorities have said Veloso’s execution had been postponed in view of its commitment Read More …

THE ADMINISTRATION needs to clearly spell out the “independent foreign policy” being adopted by President Duterte for the international community to understand the path the Philippines would be taking in the next six years, a security analyst said. “The President must clearly define what he means by an independent foreign policy in order for the international community to know our intents and values,” Chester Cabalza of the National Defense College of the Philippines (NDCP) told the Inquirer. “Our independent foreign policy should regard the importance of present alliances notwithstanding the long-term goal of self-reliance in its defense posture to safeguard its people and territory,” Cabalza said. Mr. Duterte emphasized the Philippines’ independent foreign policy during a speech in Davao—before his unusual debut on the world stage at the recently concluded Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit—where he directed obscenity-laced remarks at US President Barack Obama. As a result, the White House canceled a scheduled bilateral meeting between the two leaders. Mr. Duterte fumed at Obama’s intent to discuss human rights issues with him, but later regretted spewing an expletive. He, however, continued with his tirade against the United States when he showed the brutality of American troops against Filipinos in World War II in a speech before heads of state at the Asean summit. No fan of longtime ally Mr. Duterte also said he was no fan of the United States, a long-time ally and strategic partner of the Philippines. “Interpreting the Constitution, the government can and may forge Read More …

MASSACRE OF MOROS President Duterte shows photos of the Bud Dajo Massacre of Moro people, which involved American soldiers on a counterinsurgency mission in Jolo in 1906, in questioning US criticisms of his current campaign against illegal drugs, especially extrajudicial killings. He spoke after his new appointees took their oaths of office. JOAN BONDOC PRESIDENT Duterte said on Monday he wanted U.S. forces out of his country’s south and blamed America for the restiveness of Muslim militants in the region, marking the first time he publicly opposed the presence of American troops in the country. Duterte has had an uneasy relationship with the U.S. since becoming president in June and has been openly critical of American security policies. As a candidate, he declared he would chart a foreign policy that would not depend on America, his country’s treaty ally. The U.S. military in 2002 deployed troops to train, advise and provide intelligence and weapons to Filipino troops battling the al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf militants in the southern Philippines. When the American forces withdrew in February last year, U.S. officials said a smaller contingent of U.S. military advisers would stay. Details of the current U.S. military presence in the south were not immediately available. Duterte did not mention any deadline or say how he intends to pursue his wishes. The U.S. Embassy did not immediately issue any reaction. In opposing the U.S. military presence in the southern Mindanao region, Duterte cited the killings of Muslim Filipinos during a U.S. pacification campaign in Read More …