Maniolas

U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter speaks at a press conference during a defense ministers meeting of ASEAN , Friday, Sept. 30, 2016 in Kapolei, Hawaii. AP PHOTO KO OLINA, Hawaii—US Defense Secretary Ash Carter on Friday opened talks in Hawaii with his counterparts from 10 Southeast Asian nations, even as US relations with the Philippines, a longtime American ally, grew shakier. In opening comments to the meeting at a seaside resort on the island of Oahu, Carter said he wanted to encourage more regional cooperation in Asia and the Pacific on key issues like maritime security and combatting terrorism. As part of a broader Obama administration push to “rebalance” its security interests by paying greater attention to Asia and the Pacific after 15 years focused mainly on the Middle East, Carter is pitching the idea of an Asian security “network.” “The network will help us uphold important principles like resolving disputes peacefully; ensuring that countries can make their own choices free from foreign coercion and intimidation; and preserving the freedom of overflight and navigation guaranteed by international law,” he said. A more immediate issue not mentioned by Carter in his formal remarks, however, was a steep deterioration in relations with the Philippines. When Carter visited the Philippines in April, he praised the strength of the partnership. Earlier this week in San Diego he called US-Philippine defense relations “ironclad.” That seeming closeness took a sharp downturn when Rodrigo Duterte was elected president in June. In early September, President Barack Obama canceled Read More …

President Rodrigo Duterte. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/JOAN BONDOC President Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday faced a barrage of criticism from the United Nations, Israel, Western governments and international rights groups for drawing parallels with his brutal war on drugs and Adolf Hitler’s extermination of Jews before and during World War II. Even longtime ally the United States has hinted at impatience with Mr. Duterte over his latest inflammatory comments, with Pentagon chief Ashton Carter and the US Embassy in Manila both saying the Philippine leader’s remark about being “happy to slaughter” 3 million drug addicts is “deeply troubling.” READ: Duterte’s Hitler remarks ‘deeply troubling,’ says Pentagon chief Early on Friday, Mr. Duterte, speaking to reporters at Davao International Airport after arriving from a two-day official visit to Vietnam, said his critics were threatening to bring him before an international court for the killing of thousands of people in his bloody war on drugs and complained that they were picturing him as “a cousin of Hitler” even if nothing had been proven against him. Noting that Hitler had murdered millions of Jews, Mr. Duterte said he was also willing to kill the 3 million drug addicts in the Philippines if it were the only way to solve the country’s drug problem.   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. “You know my victims. I Read More …

In this Sept. 27, 2016, photo, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte addresses Philippine Marines in suburban Taguig city east of Manila, Philippines. As the body count mounts in the Philippines’ war on drugs, and its combative president’s rhetoric plumbs new depths, the mood in Washington toward the key Asian ally is hardening. Influential U.S. lawmakers are warning that the extra-judicial killings in the drugs war–that Duterte on Sept. 30 compared to the Holocaust–could affect American aid. AP WASHINGTON — As the body count mounts in the Philippines’ deadly war on drugs, and its combative president’s rhetoric plumbs new depths, the mood in Washington toward a key Asian ally is hardening. Influential US lawmakers are warning that the extra-judicial killings in the drug war — President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday compared it to the Holocaust — could affect American aid. And while the Obama administration maintains that its 65-year-old alliance with the Philippines remains “ironclad,” a senior US diplomat is cautioning Duterte against more anti-US posturing. READ: Pentagon: US-PH ties ironclad “I think it would be a serious mistake in a democratic country like the Philippines to underestimate the power of the public’s affinity for the US That’s people power,” Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel told The Associated Press. Russel did not draw a direct comparison, but past Philippine presidents have been toppled by popular protests dubbed “people power,” including former dictator Ferdinand Marcos, who was ousted in 1986. Duterte has bristled at US criticism of the drug war and repeatedly 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 …

Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella. FILE PHOTO The Philippines is not undermining the tragic history of the Jews. Malacañang issued this statement Saturday following the international outcry over President Rodrigo Duterte’s statement where he drew parallel comparisons between the execution of drug addicts in the Philippines and Adolf Hitler’s killing of millions of Jews during the Holocaust. “The Philippines recognizes the deep significance of the Jewish experience especially their tragic and painful history,” Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella said in a statement. “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,” he added. Abella explained that Duterte was just deflecting comparisons between him and the former German strongman—a label, which the President does not accept. READ: Heil Digong? “Hitler murdered 3 million innocent civilians whereas Duterte was referencing to his “willingness to kill” 3 million criminal drug dealers—to save the future of the next generation and the country.  Those are two entirely different things,” Abella said. Various individuals and organizations including Jewish groups have condemned Duterte’s “disgusting rhetoric.” The Anti-Defamation League, an international Jewish group based in the United States, said, “The comparison of drug users and dealers to Holocaust victims is inappropriate and deeply offensive. It is baffling why any leader would want to model himself after such a monster.” The Philippines was one of the nations which welcomed exiled Jews during the Holocaust. READ: When PH was the only door open to fleeing Read More …