Oct 142017
 

SELFIE WITH THE DFA CHIEF. Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano grants a selfie with Consul General Tess Dizon de Vega (2nd from left), and other officers of the FilAm Press Club of New York — Marivir Montebon (left), Cristina Dc Pastor (right), and Elton Lugay of the Inquirer International, outside the Philippine Consulate General Office in New York on September 21, 2017 at 3 a.m. (Philippine time). (Photo by King Rodriguez/Presidential Photographers)

MANILA, Oct 7 (Mabuhay) –Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano defended President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs in an in-depth interview on Al Jazeera on Friday.

Cayetano answered UpFront host Mehdi Hasan’s questions regarding the country’s anti-illegal drug campaign, including more than 3,000 deaths as a result of police operations.

The DFA chief told Hasan that the victims of the drug war were drug dealers despite the host questioning the lack of due process in anti-drug operations.

“How do we know that? You didn’t try them. You didn’t prosecute them. You didn’t charge them. You shot them on sight. That’s not a democratic way of solving crime, is it?” Hasan asked.

“You’re absolutely saying it as if you’re not on the ground. Come and look. So, if I pull a gun on you here, right now, and you shoot me, it’s your fault? Or it’s my fault?” Cayetano said.

Hasan countered, “That’s not what I asked. I said three and a half thousand people have been killed… Are they all criminal drug dealers?”

“Yes,” Cayetano answered.

In one part of the interview, Hasan asked if the police officers arrested by the government admitted to “false killings” or framing victims of the drug war.

Cayetano replied that the officers were “charged for murder” and did not admit to such accusations. (MNS)

Apr 172013
 
Donaire: “He’s no Manny Pacquiao”

By Elton Lugay INQUIRER.net US Bureau 7:47 am | Thursday, April 18th, 2013 Dethroned Donaire talks to the press. Photo by Elton Lugay NEW YORK CITY–Nonito Donaire, also known as the Filipino Flash, said he did his best. He lost his WBO super bantamweight title to Guillermo Rigondeaux in a decision on April 14. “I thought that he wasn’t better than me,” he told Inquirer.net. “I did my best. I thought I should have done something different but I didn’t.” But Donaire’s “best” was not good enough for judge Jon Stewart and others on the panel, who decided in favor of his Cuban opponent. The Donaire-Rigondeaux match had turned the legendary Radio City Music Hall–known for its Christmas musicals with the Rockettes’ shiny dancing legs–into an arena for brutal boxing and its loud, rowdy fans. In a quieter post-fight moment, Donaire reflected on his loss. Teenage singer Tiffany Viray of New York performed the Philippine National Anthem before the Donaire-Rigondeaux fight. Photo by Elton Lugay “I wanted to give an exciting fight for everybody, but you know he (Rigondeaux) was really a good fighter, so he deserves a congratulations from the judges,” Donaire conceded. Filipino boxing aficionados had mixed feelings about Donaire’s disappointing performance. Bartender Daphne Yao said Donaire is “no Manny Pacquiao.” “He’s not hungry enough, not poor enough, not flawed enough,” she said. Stony Brook University student Adrian del Rosario said Rigondeaux was a “bad match” for Nonito. “I won’t say Rigo is a better fighter, but it’s Read More …