Rodrigo duterte

MANILA, Philippines – In the past month, the public was more likely to see President Rodrigo Duterte in a collared shirt flanked by men in camouflage than in a barong accompanied by Cabinet secretaries. Anyone who has watched his recent public speeches live will notice that most of them were given in the presence of soldiers, inside the covered court of a military camp. From July 21 to August 12, or in less than a month, the President has visited no less than 14 military camps across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Here is a complete list of these camps with the dates of his visit: No other president has dropped in on so many military camps in his first weeks in power. In a previous article , written after his visit to 6 camps, I wrote about what he did and said during these visits. The core of these trips were his speeches, delivered in front of hundreds of soldiers – from scout rangers to navy officers to army medical ... » Learn More about Why has Duterte visited 14 military camps in less than a month?

United States senators have set in motion a process of sanctioning Philippine officials linked to the detention of opposition Senator Leila de Lima and alleged extrajudicial killings (EJKs) under the Duterte administration. For one, the US Senate Foreign Relations committee passed a resolution condemning De Lima's imprisonment and calling out the Philippine government for its "role in state-sanctioned extrajudicial killing by police and other armed individuals as part of the 'war on drugs.'" The same resolution declared its opposition to the arrest and detention of human rights defenders and political leaders in the Philippines who have "exercised their right to freedom of expression." It also denounced the "harassment, arrest, and unjustified judicial proceedings" against media, particularly Rappler and its CEO Maria Ressa. Beyond putting a spotlight on human rights and press freedom issues in the Philippines, the US Senate resolution 142 included terms of ... » Learn More about Why the Global Magnitsky Act matters to the Philippines

Facebook in its Facebook Sports newsletter sent out on Tuesday, July 27, said that Olympic gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz was the most mentioned athlete globally, covering the previous 24 hours. Simone Biles, the American gymnast who retired from the 2020 Olympics citing mental health issues, was second most mentioned on Facebook. Rayssa Leal, the 13-year-old Brazilian skateboarder who took home silver in the women's street skateboarding event, was third. On Instagram, Diaz was third most mentioned, following Leal and Italo Ferreira, the Brazilian surfer who made history as well by taking home the gold in the sport's first official Olympic appearance. The Philippines, which has topped the world in terms of average time spent on social media for six straight years, made sure it was heard after Diaz's historic win. The country was the loudest country on Facebook, said the company, measuring the number of people talking about the Olympics on the platform. ... » Learn More about Hidilyn Diaz most mentioned athlete globally on Facebook after Olympic victory