Maniolas

Screengrab from www.liberation.fr A French newspaper has tagged President Rodrigo Duterte as a “serial killer president” amid a piling body count in the administration’s bloody war on drugs. Duterte landed on the front page of France’s “The Liberation” daily, which featured the Philippine government’s relentless antidrug drive in its four-page story. The article also touched on Duterte’s expletive-laced statements against US President Barack Obama and Pope Francis, and his controversial remarks that drew parallels with Adolf Hitler’s killing of Jews and the war on drugs. READ: Duterte ‘Hitler’ talk reaps international censure In a radio interview on Sunday morning, Interior Secretary Mike Sueno said the “serial killer” tag against Duterte was “very unfair.” “Kung hindi ito ginagawa ni Pangulong Duterte, magiging narco-state tayo… Sa aming pananaw, walang extrajudicial killings dito dahil karamihan sa mga namamatay ay ‘yung mga lumalaban sa kapulisan,” Sueno told radio DZMM. (If President Duterte doesn’t do this, we will become a narco-state. In our point of view, there are no extrajudicial killings here because most of those who die are those who fight the police.) The Liberation was among the latest foreign media outfits that reported on the Duterte administration’s antinarcotics campaign, which continued to draw international attention amid criticisms of suspected extrajudicial killings and human rights abuses. International publications like The Guardian, TIME, The New York Times, and the Washington Post previously featured different aspects of the war on drugs. Duterte and his men have repeatedly criticized the foreign media for supposedly spinning his statements. As of Read More …

SCREENGRAB FROM EDWIN TUYAY’S FACEBOOK From being dubbed Asia’s latest strongman, the Philippines’ new President Duterte has ensnared the imagination of the foreign press in the three months he has been the leader of this mostly Catholic nation with his deadly and unrelenting antidrug war. Often described as “foul-mouthed” and the “Filipino Donald Trump” for his acerbic tongue, the man who once graced the cover of Time magazine as “The Punisher” has found fresh infamy among foreign reporters who have descended on Manila to cover the daily bloodletting of suspected drug pushers and users found lifeless in its dimly-lit and grime covered streets. At present, the police data keepers put the toll at over 3,600 dead, more than half of whom labelled as “deaths under investigation”—a euphemism for those killed by unknown vigilantes since Mr. Duterte assumed power in July. The rest were killed in violent police encounters, their bodies typically found beside an old .38 caliber pistol.  At least two—a father and son—were killed inside a police station where the cops said they had struggled and tried to fight it out. The President has officially denied endorsing the killings, but in visits to police and military camps around the country he has publicly told law enforcers he would legally back them up if they killed suspects who threatened them harm. He has also raffled off Glock pistols, while at the same time publicly reading lists of supposed drug dealers. “It is never wrong for a President and the police Read More …

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, left, talks with Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Zhao Jianhua, right, during the 115th Police Service Anniversary at the Philippine National Police (PNP) headquarters in Manila Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2016. (Noel Celis/Pool Photo via AP) A drug rehabilitation center in Nueva Ecija funded by the Chinese government is set to be completed, President Rodrigo Duterte has said. In an expletive-laced speech on Friday directed at the United States (US) and the European Union (EU), Duterte lauded China for helping the Philippines in its war against illegal drugs without “any publicity.” “Four million drug addicts is no joke. We are not a rich country. It is only China who has helped us. I requested the military to open their camps to allow people who’d want to donate rehab facilities,” he said during the National Banana Congress in Davao City. “China is about to complete sub rosa. Walang hambog, walang news, neither any publicity, it’s about to be completed,” he added. The President said the rehabilitation center situated at Fort Magsaysay in Palayan City, Nueva Ecija would be able to house at least 1,400 drug addicts. The Department of National Defense (DND) has earlier said that it was considering four military camps to serve as drug rehabilitation centers. READ: 4 military camps eyed as drug rehab centers Aside from Fort Magsaysay, DND said it was also looking into Camp Macario Peralta in Jamindan, Camp Kiribatan in Bukidnon, and Camp Capinpin in Tanay, Rizal. While Duterte cited China’s willingness to help, Read More …

Filipino Americans holding a voter registration drive in Las Vegas. INQUIRER FILE LOS ANGELES – Filipino American voters are leaning left this election, with more than half favoring Democrat Hillary Clinton over Republican Donald Trump, according to a new survey. The survey by the National Asian American Survey (NAAS) released Oct. 5 also shows 41% of Filipino Americans identifying as Democrats. New voter trends, patterns of civic engagement, as well as political concerns of Asian Americans are being revealed by the survey, including telling data about the Filipino American community’s political leanings. The telephone poll was conducted from August to September of this year, and surveyed about 1,694 registered voters in 11 different Asian languages, with the data weighed by ethnicity, gender, and age. A total of 201 Filipino Americans participated, the third largest origin after Chinese and Asian Indians surveyed. “Asian American Voices in 2016 Election” was a nonpartisan, scientific effort to poll registered Asian American and Pacific Islander voters on issues of civic engagement, according to Karthick Ramakrishnan, who directed the survey. Partnering with community organizations like APIAVote, the survey’s goal was to address the “pressing need for Asian American voter outreach, especially with the continued lack of contact by political parties and candidates,” Ramakrishnan explained. More Asian eligible voters Since 2000, the number of AAPI eligible voters has grown by more than 1.2 million in each presidential cycle, the survey reported. It also found that a majority of Asian Americans (2-to-1 average) self-identifies as Democrat (about 41%), Read More …