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Since coming to power in June, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has made global headlines, a rarity for national leaders in Southeast Asia. His comments on his country’s relations with major powers – the US, China, Japan and Russia – have been extraordinary for their divergence from conventional wisdom. Now the time has come for him to demonstrate his leadership finesse in representing the region. The Philippines is the incoming chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, succeeding Laos, which has done a good job despite limited resources and modest expectations. In contrast, the Philippines has the most outspoken leader in Asean and expectations are high that it will raise the bloc’s profile to a new level in the year ahead as it takes over the rotating duty at the helm. Adding to this sense is the fact that the chairmanship coincides with the association’s 50th anniversary. Manila has indicated it is ready for the task, even conceiving the sweeping, snappy new theme “Partnership for changes, engaging the world”. READ: Duterte formally accepts PH hosting of Asean summit in 2017 It’s clear that whatever the Philippines has in mind for its tenure as Asean chair will have to take into account the historic importance of this milestone, coming at a time when the region is facing serious challenges. Several agenda items stand out as being the most critical. Firstly, the Philippines will give top priority to making Asean a people-centered, peopled-oriented community. The Asean Economic Community has entered its second Read More …

President Rodrigo Duterte. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/JOAN BONDOC LIMA, Peru — President Rodrigo Duterte arrives here for his first Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Economic Leaders Meeting before midnight Thursday under the gaze of a curious foreign press, many of whom may be wondering what controversial thing he will say next. There’s been a marked interest in the Philippine president among foreign journalists, according to Malacañang insiders privy to requests for media coverage of Mr. Duterte’s activities in this annual trade summit featuring the leaders of 21 Pacific Rim economies. “Our past presidents don’t usually get that much attention from the foreign press,” said one source, who disclosed that at least one international media agency and a Peruvian news organization were seeking an opportunity to cover or interview the firebrand Mr. Duterte. The requests have been forwarded to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), though it is not believed he will have time to speak to media during the two-day event. The Philippine leader, who will be departing from the Philippines on Nov. 17 (Manila time) with a short layover in New Zealand, is expected to land in this South American country at about 11:30 p.m. Thursday (Lima time). Lima is 13 hours behind Manila. READ: Duterte flies to Lima, Peru this week One Philippine official earlier said Mr. Duterte, whose propensity for making outrageous declarations such as “separating” from the United States or cursing out US President Barack Obama and the European Union, would have a bigger stage in the Apec Read More …

President Rodrigo Duterte. JOAN BONDOC/INQUIRER FILE PHOTO Malacañang has broken its silence on the firestorm created by President Rodrigo Duterte’s remarks comparing himself to Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler and that he would “be happy” exterminate 3 million drug addicts like the demagogue’s extermination of Jews. READ: Duterte ‘happy to slaughter’ drug suspects; cites Hitler In a brief radio briefing Saturday morning, Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella clarified the President did not in any way praise Hitler as a role model in his remarks that he said were “oblique” or skewed explanations of what he meant. “The Philippines recognizes the deep significance of the Jewish experience especially their tragic and painful history. We do not wish to diminish the profound loss of 6 million Jews in the holocaust that deep midnight of their story as a people,” said Abella who did not entertain any question during the interview over state-owned DZRB radio. “The President’s reference to the slaughter was an oblique deflection of the way he has been pictured as a mass murderer, a Hitler, which is a label that he rejects,” said Abella. Abella, however, stood by the President’s statement that the unresolved killings of drug suspects by police and vigilantes would have a positive effect on the country. “He likewise draws an oblique conclusion that while the holocaust was an attempt to exterminate the future generation of Jews, the so-called extrajudicial killings, roundly attributed to him, will nevertheless result in the salvation of the next generation of Filipinos,” said Abella. Latest Read More …

President Rodrigo Duterte. AP FILE PHOTO An international human rights group on Friday criticized President Rodrigo Duterte for his speech where he drew parallel between the executions of drug addicts in the Philippines and the killings of Jews by Adolf Hitler. “With this latest outburst, President Duterte has sunk to new depths. Governments—both in the region and around the world—should speak out immediately and condemn these outrageous statements,” said Josef Benedict, Amnesty International’s (AI) Deputy Director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific in a statement. “They serve no discernible purpose other than to put more lives at risk.” Reacting to his critics who have compared him to Hitler, Duterte on Friday said he was willing to kill millions of drug addicts to solve the country’s problems. READ: Heil Digong? “There are 3 million drug addicts (in the Philippines). I’d be happy to slaughter them,” he said. “If Germany had Hitler, the Philippines would have…,” he said, pausing and pointing to himself. Various individuals and organizations including Jewish groups have condemned Duterte’s “disgusting rhetoric.” AI, which has slammed Duterte for his shoot-to-kill order against officials suspected of being involved in the drug trade, noted the rise in human rights violations since Duterte’s election. READ: Amnesty Int’l hits Duterte’s shoot-to-kill order to curb drugs “Since coming to power, there has been a surge of state-sanctioned violence and unlawful killings across the Philippines. Instead of stopping and condemning these human rights violations, and ensuring those responsible are held to account, he has vowed Read More …

CEBU CITY, Philippines—An American national was found dead along a road in Barangay (village) San Miguel, Cordova town, past midnight on Friday.Keneth Larrivee, 65, was last seen drunk while walking home after attending a benefit dance in the area, said PO1 Cesar Ian Padillo, desk officer of police station of Cordova, a town located on Mactan Island, Cebu.He said Larrivee was seen slumped on the ground, about 500 meters from his house, by residents who also came from the dance.Thinking that the American had fallen asleep, they went to his house and told his Filipina wife that they found Larrivee on the ground.When his wife came to check, she was surprised to find an open wound on Larrivee’s head. She immediately rushed him to the Lapu-Lapu District Hospital where he was declared dead on arrival by the physicians.Padillo said the American may have slipped and hit his head since Larrivee was drunk while he was at the benefit dance./rga   RELATED STORIES American found dead inside deep well in Negros Occidental American found dead inside hotel room Latest South Korea picks new site for US missile defense system American found dead on Cebu road WATCH: Man turns mirror into gigantic touchscreen iPhone Cebu police chief relieved Recommended Disclaimer: Comments do not represent the views of INQUIRER.net. We reserve the right to exclude comments which are inconsistent with our editorial standards. FULL DISCLAIMER View Comments For feedback, complaints, or inquiries, contact us.