Mayor Duterte and China: a demand for transparency
[Photo from ABS-CBN News]
Change is one thing. Undermining the principles of nationhood, of sovereignty, is yet another.
Several readers have asked for an article that puts together the pieces of information that have filtered through the blog discussions here during recent days about Mayor Duterte and China. Let me put it together as best as I can. You may correct or add to the picture in the discussion thread. I would note that I do not offer opinion on the Duterte candidacy, but do ask some hard questions that I think are important.
This matter came to a head on the 16th of April when a report was filed on Facebook by a pilot who observed something he had never seen before: a Chinese private plane parked at a Philippine airport, in this instance, at Davao’s airport. Below is a photograph of that airplane.
The underlying question asked by readers is, “does this represent foreign influence in the 2016 National election?” Well . . . it could be less, and it could be more. So let’s bullet-point some essential information and ideas.
Beijing Airlines Gulfstream B-8158 parked at Davao airport April 15, 2016 [Photo credit: Rafael Misa, via Facebook]
- The Gulfstream jet is owned by Beijing Capital Airlines. [Planefinder]
- Beijing Capital Airlines is owned by Hebei Aviation Group. Hebei is a subsidiary of Jizhong Energy Group Co., Ltd, based in Xingtai, China. Jizhong manufactures and markets coal-based products. [Bloomberg]
- The plane arrived in Davao on April 12 from Shenzhen, China, and departed on April 17, to Shenzhen, China. The Plane had previously been in Tokyo. [Flight Radar]
- The notorious ZTE corporation, embroiled in corruption allegations against former President Gloria Arroyo, is based in Shenzhen. [Wikipedia]
This is interesting information, mysterious for sure, but we know nothing about the passengers or purpose of the visit. They many be mining executives checking on a mine or some other visit totally unrelated to the 2016 Philippine national election.
Let’s build some more context to the mystery. “Sup’s” inputs helped here, too, with information from “Caliphman” and “chempo” about COMELEC regulations:
- Mayor Rody Duterte of Davao is running for president. He is on record as saying the strongest backers urging him to run are from the Chinese community. [Philstar]
- The mayor has also stated that funding for his pre-campaign advertising came in part from “an anonymous Chinese donor . . .“. He denied a rumor that he is getting funding from a Chinese mining company. It is reported by PCIJ that he spent P146 million in pre-campaign advertising. [GMA News]
- Mayor Duterte is more “fluid” on China than the Aquino Administration. He stepped back from an earlier comment that he would negotiate with China to his current position that he would allow the UN arbitration case to continue. He would negotiate a working partnership under an agreement that neither China nor the Philippines would claim ownership to contested areas. He does not ever see the Philippines fighting for the contested rocks and islands in the West Philippine Sea. [Standard]
- A key campaign plank of Duterte’s platform is the establishment of a national rail system that would be built by China. A likely builder, China CNR Corporation, is building a railway in Shenzhen. [Rappler] [China CNR Corporation]
- To put things in perspective, in Duterte’s words: ““If I do not have the money to put up the capital to build equipment [to extract the oil], I will just wait for my royalty or my share of the oil. Just build me a train around Mindanao, a railway, and a railway from Manila to Bicol and Manila to Batangas, to the tip, I’d be happy. My 6 years, tapos na ako (I’m done) if that is the only [thing] I can get from this.”
- A rail network is also a part of the Aquino government’s plans. There are several components to the plan emerging from different regions. The North South Rail Project gives southern Luzon a rail backbone. [Wikipedia] [North South Rail Project; ADB pdf file]
- The COMELEC Ombnibus Election Code reads: “Sec. 96. Soliciting or receiving contributions from foreign sources. – It shall be unlawful for any person, including a political party or public or private entity to solicit or receive, directly or indirectly, any aid or contribution of whatever form or nature from any foreign national, government or entity for the purposes of influencing the results of the election. [Election Code]
Well, the mystery deepens. Chinese urging Duterte to run. Rumors. Lots of campaign advertising. Lots of money. A multi-billion dollar train franchise. More money. Mining interests. A Chinese plane . . . during the heat of the election . . . and election spending.
The apparent deal, in very simple terms: swap Philippine claims to West Philippine Sea properties to China in exchange for the construction by China of a national rail system in the Philippines. Is that a fair swap?
And the lingering question. Always lingering. Where is the Duterte/Cayetano campaign getting its money? The budget is, by all appearances, in the hundreds of millions of pesos. Television advertising is relentless.
Let’s enrich the context even more.
- Mayor Duterte does not follow National Government policies. Indeed, he seems to abhor the whole idea of democracy. He doesn’t have patience for it, or for policies that do not fit his.
- The mayor promises to clean the Philippines of crime and drugs in 3 to 6 months, which suggests abandoning due process of things that get in the way, like investigations to get information, and trials. [Philstar]
- The Mayor has said he will abolish Congress if it does not cooperate. [Philstar]
- He has said he will invite communists to join his cabinet (three positions, via Luis Jalandoni of the National Democratic Front) and that the fighting with the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) would end when he is elected. [Asian Correspondent]
- The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) today (with its armed force, the New Peoples Army, or NPA) is considered an outlaw group, as a series of negotiations with the Philippine government have failed due to what government considers to be unreasonable demands from the CPP/NPA. The CPP holds to its goal of overthrowing the standing government of the Philippines to install a communist government. [Wikipedia]
- The history of negotiations is torturous, and filled with mistrust from both sides. [OPAPP]
“What we’ve got here is failure to communicate.” [from the movie “Cool Hand Luke“]
The essential question is, do Filipino voters know Duterte at all? It seems that his loyalties are to people and institutions that have been at odds with democracy, and the freedoms we enjoy:
- Close to communists
- Close to China
- Disregard for due process and human rights
- Willing to take government apart
- Willing to deal Philippine properties without input from the Legislature or people
The Mayor admits to being a socialist. Do people understand what that means in terms of restrictions on individual freedoms as a nation is homogenized down to sameness?
It seems to me that Mayor Duterte is a warlord on steroids, the steroids being fed to him by wealthy Chinese interests that we cannot fully understand (mining interests, railroad interests, island interests). He is like the Ampatuans, forming a law unto themselves that totally disregards national imperatives and laws.
One wonders what national sovereignty means if these subordinate “states” are allowed to go around or possibly undermine national interests.
- Is Mayor Duterte negotiating “deals” with Chinese interests outside the oversight umbrella of the Department of Foreign Affairs?
- Is he taking campaign money that is explicitly or even loosely connected to the awarding of a railroad franchise to China?
- Is he tacitly giving up exclusive economic rights to the West Philippine Sea, in exchange for election money or personal advantage?
These are fairly obvious questions.
Vice Presidential aspirant Senator Alan Cayetano is relentless at telling us what a noble character Mayor Duterte is. Okay, then being straight with us ought not pose any special challenge.
- Specifically, who is he talking to from mainland China? Document it.
- Specifically, where is his campaign money coming from? Document it.
Now the rules may not require identification of campaign money until after the election. But the questions being raised derive from an even more fundamental question:
Is the Duterte/Cayetano allegiance to the Philippines being compromised by deals with the China and/or the Communist Party of the Philippines?
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[…] communist sympathies and connections, who took campaign contributions from the CCP – has circulated around the Philippines since the campaign. Yuray’s analysis implies that the Chinese-mixed Filipinos in the north […]
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[…] some definition to the speculations from the comfort of my armchair. We do have one fact, that a private Chinese plane was parked in Davao during the presidential election campaign. We know that Chinese interests are influencing Filipino […]
The Society of Honor by Joe America 
The big question is “who is financing Duterte and what has he promised them in return?”
North Rail South Rail was aborted during GMA ,it was revived via PPP under PNoy.
Everything is all good if it is transparent.
NBN ZTE could have solved our internet speed problems,if it was done above board.
The north rail south rail is no different.
The DOTC deals with China,as long as it is aboveboard no problem.
Our taipans are what they are ,Taipans, they deal with China,nothing we can do about that.
We can not abandon our relationship with China,but we can bot surrender our sovereignty to them.
nakikita ng China ang Pilipinas, na ginahasa na noon ng Spain at USA…
ang iniisip nila, ang ganda sayang, dapat sana China ang nauna.
Nauna naman sila pero di pa sila Imperialistic noon.
Irineo, Nephew, we REALLY are down, down into the rabbit hole. 😦
You miss i7sharp…..me too.
“…ang ganda sayang, dapat sana China ang nauna”
Ahahahaha. I just had to log in and comment.
That was wicked!
LOL
Bill in Oz,
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/62443272-0608-11e6-9b51-0fb5e65703ce.html
Vast land the size of Ireland or Kentucky was bought by A Chinese consortium in Australia.
A few months ago,the consortium was stopped,but looks like they finally succeeded.
Are the Chinese buying Mindanao right under our noses? If Duterte wins,Agri deals like the one in OZ might be in the works.
During the Arroyo admin, such agri deals were aborted too.
link needs subscription so here is another.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/1087793/chinese-consortium-to-buy-1-of-australian-land/
1 percent of Oz. OMG.
Hey Karl
I never posted that link..I do not know that magazine…And when I tried to access it just now, it demanded I pay for a subscription….Ummmmm
Now the issue of Chinese buying land, houses and companies in Oz..Yes it is happening…Big time ! But it is happening under Australian government supervision and regulations..And none of it has gone on election campaigns.( Remember election campaigns in Oz are publicly funded and all private election campaign donations have to be accounted to the public
There is a flood of money leaving China for other countries.Why ? Because the Communist Party is cracking down on corruption and seizing the bank accounts and assets of the people who they think have been ‘corrupt’. One former politburo member ( and family ) has had an estimated fortune of $10 billion seized. So people are putting in place insurance plans…Normal & natural I think !
But then there is Duterte and Chinese money… for his election campaign..And that is illegal in the Philippines and in Australia
Hey Karl, thanks for the second link…Interesting that land is in my home state.South Australia.
I know that country..It is desert country : the average rain fall a year is 8 inches ( 200 mls.) There are a few creeks that run through it and in a wet year there is grass for cattle . The photo is completely inaccurate….
Because it is deser,t the farms ( we call them cattle ‘stations’ ) are huge. I once drove through a certified organic cattle station which was 600,000 hectares. And of course the value is low.I will look for a photo of this country so you can see what it really is like.
But am I worried : no.
Lots of photos here of the Kidman station country
https://www.google.com/search?q=Kidman+station+photos&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
Thanks Bill.
Sorry for the confusion. So no worries for you.
Me YES worries.
Duterte can revive GMas agri deals with China.
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/64800/news/specialreports/newsbreak-gov-t-leases-1-10th-of-rp-agricultural-lands-to-china-firm
He is rumored to have a lot of GMA people around him, can’t find the article on that.
But things are falling into place, a picture is emerging… that does not look good.
One should also consider today’s leftists/NPA, who look like China’s lapdogs.
Yes Karl..entirely agree with you. You should all be worried.
I will say it again. Th evidence says that Duterte is a Chinese stooge.
Google translates that as ” “Duterte ay isang Chinese sangkalan”.But my lady does not know the word ‘sangkalan.’
Tuta = lapdog is more often used in that context, “Duterte tuta ng Tsina” more idiomatic.
chopping block or wedge. We use sangkalan to chop onions and veggies.
Iyong pagnakaw sa Bangladesh Central Bank, lutong Makaw.
Kay Digong lutong Shenzhen siguro, hindi lutong Dabaw.
maybe I am just over reacting.But it was stopped by the SC.
—-
GOV @ WORK
Government at Work
DA, Jilin China firm up agri cooperation, trade
September 24, 2011
The Philippines through the Department of Agriculture and China, particularly Jilin province, recently committed to further strengthen bilateral cooperation and trade, particularly in agriculture and fisheries.
This was bared by Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala after meeting with former Chinese minister of agriculture Sun Zhengcai, September 22, 2011, in Manila.
Mr. Sun is currently the Party Secretary of Jilin, a major agro-forest-mineral province in northeast China, with a gross domestic product of more than $120 billion. He heads a 15-man delegation to explore investment and trade opportunities in the Philippines.
Sec. Alcala said they discussed possible agricultural and fishery technical cooperation and trade opportunities that will contribute to increasing trade between the two countries to US$ 60 billion in the next five years.
He said agriculture is one of the priority areas that President Benigno S. Aquino III has discussed with Chinese President Hu Jintao during President Aquino’s China state visit last month.
For his part, Mr. Sun acknowledged through an interpreter that China and the Philippines have huge potentials for cooperation in the agricultural and fishery sector.
He expressed particular interest in plantations, fisheries, and tropical plants. He said China particularly Jilin, can further extend technical assistance and investments in the area of agri-fishery and countryside infrastructure such as irrigation and post harvest facilities.
Situated in northeast China near the Russian and North Korean border, Jilin is a major agro-forest-mineral province. Its main products are rice, corn, sorghum, sheep, deer, timber, ginseng, ethanol, biochemicals, and industrial products like cars, train carriages and steel alloys.
Secretary Alcala said Jilin-based companies are welcome to invest in the country.
With Jilin’s strength in agriculture, I am certain that both sides can find mutually beneficial cooperation, especially in technical exchanges in rice and corn production, he said.
He cited the introduction of Chinese hybrid rice varieties in the Philippines, including agriculture technologies and equipment being used to boost agricultural productivity, particularly through the Philippines-China Center for Agricultural Technology (Philscat) in Munoz City, Nueva Ecija.
Sec. Alcala also promoted Philippine coco coir products as flood control and soil erosion agents.
Meanwhile, Sec. Alcala updated Mr. Sun on a 2007 Memorandum of Understanding forged among several Philippine government agencies (DA included) with Jilin province, China Development Bank, and Jilin Fuhua Agricultural Science and Technology Development Co. Ltd., involving the lease of one million hectares for grains and bio-fuel crops.
The agreement was suspended when a cause-oriented group questioned its legality before the Supreme Court.
I hope that the relevant government agencies will resolve the matter soon. The current administration is committed at making a transparent, predictable, reliable and profitable business destination for all our partners, Alcala said.
Mr. Sun and his delegation will also call on Vice President Jejomar Binay and meet with officials of the SM Group of companies, business taipans Lucio Tan and Carlos Chan, officials of the Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce, and participate in the Philippine-Jilin Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum.
http://president.gov.ph/gov_at_work/da-jilin-china-firm-up-agri-cooperation-trade/
@Irineo..After trying Google and getting my lady’s help I think you mean :
“Baked for Digong in Shenzhen maybe, not cooked in Davao.”
More like: pre-cooked in Shenzhen, just stir-fried and put the sauce in Davao.
We need a cartoon with Digong behind a wok, selling Chinese food on the street.
Filipino idiom lutong Macao.
Means pre arranged,fixed,rigged.
Like Macao cuisine of old,which is cooked one day or more before serving.
Joe failed to mention that the penalty for illegally accepting campaign contributions from foreign sources includes disqualification from office. Coming from a country expropriating Philippine waters and disputed territory, it is not only immoral as well as criminal but traitorous if not treasonous.
All the commercial partnerships before and after GMA’s time to the extent they were not massive kickback ploys were before China’s decision to seize by naked force what it could not legally obtain from the courts or negotiations. To treat the possibility of prospective commercial deals with China particularly its government as business as usual is like a father having a casual family dinner with a man who had just raped his daughter. I am sorry but I just do not buy into this scenario of peace and prosperity via business partnerships
with China at this time. This us what Duterte, Binay and Marcos propose and for this and other reasons, I hope they lose.
I was thinking more along the lines of a threesome, with Duterte in the middle, and a brunette (China) and blonde (US) attempting to pleasure Duterte—- but the ultimate question is if he can pleasure both (ie. keep ’em interested, and ultimately maximize their performance… errrr, for the benefit of the Philippines).
Yeah, sure the brunette’s been a little rough, but what ‘s the road map for a win-win-win scenario forward? Since it looks like Duterte’s gonna win, might as well help him play out his plans vis-a-vis China.
Yeah, sure, Lance, the brunette been a little rough. But the blond is the roughest dude of them all and that’s a fact.. Duterte will be screwed so bad come election time he won’t know what hit him down there. When it comes to a threesome like this one, the blond seldom lose. I won’t even subscribe to the proposition that the blond would attempt to pleasure such a bad ash as Duterte. No sir.
You’re right, Bert no arguments from me on that.
But think of the blonde now as the beautiful granddaughter of that first blonde. This younger version is more worldly, a co-ed from a private liberal arts college, who wants to make love to world…. the brunette however, is reminiscent of the mom from ‘Joy Luck Club’ in temper and outlook… but to be fair equally as beautiful.
The blonde’s there to ensure that it’s a love fest and not a f’ fest. Remember win-win-win is the goal.
Here’s the thing, Lance. The brunette is displaying a trait as too nasty and overly aggressive in bed, nothing to indicate it’s going to be a love fest but rather akin to sexual orgy…a f’fest if you may, that will inflict bodily harm to the fragile health condition and economic interests of the blond if there going to be a threesome. The brunette actually is asking for trouble and there can be no win-win-win outcome in this because the life of the blond is at stake.
Sure, and I agree that the younger version blond is the romantic type and a bit naive to the ways of the world.
But when survival is at stake, love and sexual pleasure were often times relegated to the back burner.
As to Duterte, well, he’s just a tramp, good for a f’fest but not for a love fest. Though I think his supporters think he’s still a virgin, hehehehehehe.
Agree. China has changed the diplomatic dance ever since it ascended to superpower status. The only thing that is holding China back from being more aggressive/assertive is the economic ties with Japan and the US. More importantly they hold the biggest slice of US debt even if they are liquidating a lot now to prop the yuan. A war with the US will vaporize that precious US debt and if that doesn’t happen an economic embargo from the US is also devastating (obviously that will crater the US and the world economy as well).
It does seem mysterious. Beijing Capital Airlines does not operate in Davao. Was that perhaps a chartered flight? How are such private flights cleared by the aviation authority, is it through Manila or directly by DVO. The logo on the plane is not that of Beijing Capital’s.
There is only one foreign international airline that flies to Davao — SilkAir from Singapore.
We cannot know for sure if that plane — sure it could be a chartered job because it’s a Gulfstream private jet — is ferrying moneyed tourists, or delegation of industry moguls who have vested interests not only in Davao but also all of Mindanao. But yes, it makes sense in that Mindanao has a lot of untapped resources that could’ve been used if it weren’t for the ongoing violence.
I bet my left lung that one of those moguls could try to dangle a suitcase of money — or solid gold — in front of the greedy warlords and they’ll stop fighting, and start talking about how much percentages they’ll take from the venture.
> Where is the Duterte/Cayetano campaign getting its money? The budget is, by all appearances, in the hundreds of millions of pesos. Television advertising is relentless.
Let me add this: we are aware that there’s a massive agitprop/PR operation where the objective is to flood social media, fora, and comment sections with messages praising Duterte. Whether the operation is done either manually by both paid commenters and fanatical volunteers (recall that the Chinese government pays its professional commenters to eliminate dissent in online fora), or by automation using bots (asides from tools available for sale in the deep net market, there are shady firms willing to carry out the spam operation for a fee), the objective is clear: dominate the online medium, make the enemy look weak and exploit his weaknesses, present your customer as the superior product.
This is based on my readings of the late Hugo Chavez and his successor Maduro to perpetuate the supremacy of the leading United Socialist Party of Venezuela, where instead of curbing Internet usage, they take massive advantage of social media using bots and human users to maintain its dominance while bullying its opponents.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolivarian_propaganda
————
It is now known for years that China is embarking on a soft-power approach to make itself look favorable in the world stage, notably in Africa where they have undertaken to invest in several public-works projects, donate valuable equipment (including military hardware) and know-how, as well as funding prospects for mineral and natural resource acquisition. They had to do it because in the event of an embargo, these assets are ready to be used as needed for industrial production, as well as having many allies in the United Nations to counter any opposition from the United States and Europe.
In addition to Africa, some of our neighbors along the Mekong River — Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam — are divided over as to whether they have to close ranks with China and prosper by sharing the river for trade, irrigation and security, or break away for the sake of sovereignty but at the price of losing the perks and favors.
Now with this election, of course, China is monitoring the situation, seeing which candidate is the most favorable to its foreign policy and the one willing to join the hegemony to obtain supposed economic and material benefits, even if it means the possible further loss of endangered species and destruction of the environment.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soft_power#China
The Venezuelan general elections saw the opposition coalition win two thirds of the seats last November- despite these dirty tricks Madlanglupa…
That was last year, but when Chavez was alive he was almost invincible. Maduro is anything but a mere shadow, a paper tiger.
The Salazar dictatorship in Portugal was only removed in 1974 (also by a kind of people power with military help) after Salazar was dead, replaced by Caetano…
When I was in Portugal, I was tempted to buy a book about Hitler and Salazar for kicks.. 😀
Now that you mentioned Venezuela — there have been comparision of Duterte to Hugo Chavez. And fellas, take a look at Venezuela now — the country is on the brink of catastrophic collapse. Inflation is 100% a month, restaurant menus prices are updated everyday, people take grocery bags of cash to buy food, market shelves are empty, streets at night are empty, govt services disappeared, gangs and mafias taken over cities, the thriving industry is kidnapping, people on the streets do not make eye contacts — they are that frightened and distrust each other.
Venezuela is illustrating what is the end result of socialism gone mad, the type that Bernie Saunders is proposing, and the candidates here who are promising free hospitalisation, free schooling, no taxes, free cakes, etcc..
If folks need to be frightened to wake them up, ask them to check up Venezuela on youtube.
Mind you, Venezuela is an oil producing country.
Personally, I think this morning’s news is enough to question his supporters’ own intelligence and prompt for self-examination.
Useful idiots:
I tried the link..I got a message ” This video does not exist”. Care to elaborate or offer another link ?
Convention at this blog is to provide info on what the link shows as a courtesy to readers. Kindly avoid disparaging comments as well.
Useful idiot
For other uses, see Useful idiot (disambiguation).
In political jargon, useful idiot is a term for people perceived as propagandists for a cause whose goals they are not fully aware of, and who are used cynically by the leaders of the cause.
—–
What was the video all about?
If I were China, why should I engage the Philippines in a shooting war and lose international goodwill when I can just buy a particular presidential candidate and make him win. Everyone wins, except the Filipino nation. (How do you say hahaha in Chinese?)
Curious Wil, I have tried to post the Simplified Chinese answer to your question twice.
哈哈哈
But each time it fails. Trying again for third time…
哈哈哈 Thanks, Bill!
Joeam, is there any truth to what I am hearing over the grapevine that Cebuano drug lord Peter Lim is financing Duterte?
I’m rather skeptical of the suspicion about Digong’s mainland China connections based on the sighting alone of the Gulfstream jet of a Chinese aviation group.
Note that this aviation company is a subsidiary of a manufacturer of coal-based products, not a coal extracting company itself. Given that Mindanao is host to a number of coal mining operations itself (Greeanpeace for example identifies San Miguel Corp — yes, the same SMC found in Poe’s pocket — as mother company of three coal mines in Mindanao. For all we know, Chinese were around to explore marketing ventures with any of these local coal mines. Not sure if anyone of the three is found anywhere near Davao, but even if none of them are, it still wouldn’t raise an eyebrow. Davao is home to Mindanao’s most modern airport and is host to field/central offices of big business interests. (Yup, the same Davao where that business-unfriendly Digong rules; even the Ayalas have a growing commercial realty footprint there.)
Spending P146M for a pre-campaign media war is certainly nothing to sneeze at. But let’s not forget, Digong only said he is declining contributions from big business interests currently engaged (and perhaps moving forward) in government contracts; that doesn’t include big businessmen who aren’t engaged in, or who don’t plan to enter into, government contracts.
And Digong does have his share of big business supporters. They include one section of the Floirendos (and to those eager to jump on a Marcos connection, hold your horses — the larger del Rosario/Lagdameo branches of the Floirendo clan remains firmly Liberal/Mar supporters), the local extended kin of the Cebu-based Gaisano clan, maybe the whole Alcantara/Dominguez clan (Sonny Dominguez, the owner of the old Lindenmere Suites in Makati, was a Digong classmate from Ateneo high school and a long time supporter) which has interests in commercial aquaculture and commercial industrial tree plantation interests in Davao for its wood-based local processing company), and the local Ayala family (much poorer versions of and unrelated to the Makati espanol clan, but who grew rich in local agribusiness and owner of the Eden Nature Park; the diseased patriarch Jesus Ayala was Mindanao economic adviser to Cory). Altogether, they should be more than enough to bankroll that P146M. (Maybe the challenge would be to look into whether these families in fact get involved in future government procurement contracts, assuming Digong wins).
If the point is to force a sinister nexus between Digong’s “connect” with local communists and that of mainland China, here’s a bit of archival news for everybody — China has stopped exporting revolutions since Mao’s death and Deng Xiaoping began preaching “market socialism” from 1977 onwards, and they haven’t looked back since! Local communists, on the other hand, have remained true soldiers of the Maoist version of “people’s war” and have condemned China’s “capitalist roaders” like Deng and the current leader Xi Jinping as modern revisionists since the the late ’70s (once it dawned on them that no more Chinese support was forthcoming, haha). The only reason why the CPP is relatively light-handed with its anti-China incursion position (though there have been a number of rallies led by Makabayan) is because the Party still sees the US as the prime driver of “imperialism”. Can’t stray too far far from the narrative, apparently.
And let’s not forget, Digong’s P146M is very puny — the bottom dweller in fact — compared to the pre-campaign spending of the other three serious contenders in the race.
– Jejomar Binay of the United Nationalist Alliance, P1,050,065,096;
– Grace Poe of the Galing at Puso slate, P1,016,414,123; and
– Manuel ‘Mar’ Roxas II of the Liberal Party, P969,173,267. (the third, and yet still more than six times what Digong spent)
Of course Digong’s likely to have spent more by now, and on into the final stretch in the campaign. But given his polling numbers now, I doubt that he will have to overreach towards faraway China (or any other foreign country for that matter) to get any more local contributors to his kitty. And going by his rather thin campaign ad presence even these days (he doesn’t have to spend much to get media’s attention, after all — he’s too controversial to be ignored as legit news for coverage), I don’t imagine he will have spent any much bigger by reporting time.
Even his campaign collaterals (different designs and small-batch types of Du30 shirts and ballers, not to include the frequent touting of jute sack and cardboard affairs held aloft by more “masa” supporters in his rallies) look quite evidently crowd-sourced and thus likely financed by his growing supporters among more affluent professionals.
May I ask for the source of your campaign spending figures? Haven’t done a lot of googling about this but your figures sounds like the figures coming from Du30 tv ads. I’m not sure about these figures and its too much disparity in spending. But props to your assertion about Digongs big businss supporters since this could be likely sources of funding. Can you also add your sources to this info? I’d like to read more on this.
http://cnnphilippines.com/news/2016/03/09/Presidential-and-VP-bets-spend-P6.7-billion-on-pre-election-campaign-ads.html
Wow figures are eye-popping. Digongs camp is closing the gap in spending at 700m. Bonanza for the media I guess specially ABS.
Very Nostalgic.
From here, eag97:
http://pcij.org/blog/2016/03/07/pre-campaign-ads-hit-p6-7b-bribery-tax-evasion-impunity
I am related to the late Chito Ayala..Almost all of my relatives in Davao are for Digong.
Langya Karl, bigtime ka pala ah hehe.
His wife Ma Fe was the sister of my maternal Grand mother at the same time niece of my maternal grandfather…..long story.
The one who took the photo of the Chinese plane,Rafael Misa is my cousin.He does not know it yet.
Haha. I was a grade school schoolmate of Lani, your cousin (Chito’s daughter). I got to first listen to a walkman through her, haha. And I remember just getting baffled about what she found so delicious about a Japanese snack that to me tasted nothing different from aquarium commercial feed haha.
Small world butod,I only got to meet her thru fb.When they were having parties in their QC place,I was just a kid then,I can not recall much.The last time I have been in Davao was during the 90s when my grand parents died,maybe we met,I just forgot.
Nah, unlikely. We belonged to different circles even in grade school, and besides she was a little, two grades off. The walkman and snack thing were incidental. And her circle was the perfumed set (well, Nenuco cologne at least, but remember this was grade school!), while mine was the more dugyutin variety (many wearing pants that were handovers from elder brothers hehe). We lost touch after grade school, so that was that.
I mean (by maybe we met)I must have met Lani before and I just forgot.Sorry ang gulo ko kausap.
> Even his campaign collaterals (different designs and small-batch types of Du30 shirts and ballers, not to include the frequent touting of jute sack and cardboard affairs held aloft by more “masa” supporters in his rallies) look quite evidently crowd-sourced and thus likely financed by his growing supporters among more affluent professionals.
It is, I’m afraid. Artisans joining the fray, too, anywhere from big-name rock bands to desktop publishing pros to entities such as MyPhone, all pledging gratis to make campaign materials for free in the name of “change”, fueled by inner hatred, impatience and anger against the “establishment”, as if they thought Duterte is a genius, has the magical answers to everything.
Yup. Which partly goes back to my main point — he doesn’t need to go to faraway China to sustain his campaign because he has enough financial supporters from local big business (those coming from his friends in Mindanao to start with, and presumably those from Cayetano’s, care of big business of BGC; and yet they can still theoretically pick and choose from these fat cats, declining the usual suspects from among big-business government contractors and franchise holders), he has growing legions of supporters from affluent professionals, and he’s getting very good polling numbers now to attract fresh new waves of finance supporters (remember, fat cats are mostly llamadistas — odds-on bettors — who’re naturally attracted to those favored to win). Plus, as I’ve said, he can afford a fairly thin media ad presence since he’s getting more than his share of news coverage anyway, being enough of a lightning rod as he is.
Well, I think that may change today.
He’s off his rocker. Like severing ties with Australia if he gets sworn in.
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/563428/news/nation/duterte-tells-us-australia-sever-our-ties-if-i-become-president
If he does not want foreign meddling,then we have no problem,China won’t meddle.(sarcasm) 😳🙄😜
Not just Australia !! Duterte said that the USA should also sever relations with the Philippines if he is elected. !!!
You are right Madlanglupa..This man is nuts…
@Irineo ““Duterte tuta ng Tsina””
Thanks for that..My lady is laughing…
“China has stopped exporting revolutions since ….1977 onwards,”..
China is not actually exporting revolution this time either. It is just trying to organise the election of a pro Chinese government in the Philippines. There is a huge amount at stake.
The entire imperialist expansion into the South China sea has happened in the past 20 years under the rule of a very corporate capitalist chinese leadership. And that expansion is uniting ASEAN countries and reawakened the Philippines alliance with the USA.
So it’s not just the actual South China sea, the islands and the oil and gas which may lie under the seabed, and control of the shipping lanes for the whole region, Chinese ‘face’ is at stake. A loss of face is very real if the Philippines is successful in taking this to the recognized international tribunal.There is a lot of face to lose if the rest of ASEAN support the Philippines.
So organisng an elected sympathetic government iin the Philippines hasgreat advantages.
I get you Bill, but my statement that you quoted was premised on what I understood from Joe’s entry — which included a bit of about the Mayor’s friendly ties with local Maoist rebels — on a probable mainland China-Duterte connection by way of the local communist movement. If that was how Joe intended it to play out as I thought it did, I’m simply saying that’s not quite likely.
Joe’s away taking a well earned break now. And I am not a local so I cannot give detail about links between Duterte & the NPA..Beyond my area of competence…But I would not be surprised if the NPA are supporting Duterte for their own reasons….Certainly NPA associated Filipino leftist intellectual .blogs are doing so…
I’m not saying Duterte has no connect to the local left/Maoists (he does, in fact, and admits to it openly, although tactically, for this campaign period at least, the left through the Makabayan bloc is flat-out committed to Poe. That explains why Bayan Muna’s Neri Colmenares is in the Poe-Chiz senatorial slate).
I’m just saying Mainland China and the local left are no longer connected to each other, for at least 35 or so years now. So my point is, if there’s a Duterte-China connect that Joe is pursuing, it’s certainly not by way of his friendly ties with the local left.
100% Agreed.
Yes agreed !
Recall that in Crichton’s The Rising Sun, his reimagined Japan seeks to force its influence across America by controlling industry, real estate, commerce, etc. But in this reality, Chinese seem to have taken cue by learning a lot about aggressive Japanese business tactics, and then wage war not with bullets but through trade and by subtly influencing destinies of nations. After all, “business is war”.
“The Mayor admits to being a socialist. Do people understand what that means in terms of restrictions on individual freedoms as a nation is homogenized down to sameness?” – Joe
Socialism in current practice is a difficult if not impossible concept to comprehend. It’s almost like trying to explain diabetes. The reason you urinate a lot and have blurred vision is because you eat too much rice and you rest and relax too much.
It would be more comprehensible to just associate Socialism with its current status. Before 2000, there were many socialist states, now there are only a few. Denmark is a flagship for socialism but there is one big difference between Denmark and the Philippines. Denmark is ranked by World Audit as the least corrupt nation in the world while Philippines is 83. That disparity makes Socialism extremely dangerous for the Philippines.
johnd
> Before 2000, there were many socialist states, now there are only a few.
Best guess is that right-wing sentiment is on the rise, fueled further by fears caused by terrorism, blamed wrongly on immigrants and refugees.
WHAT crime solution? SINAG agricultural group claims Duterte can’t even solve smuggling in Davao.
Forget Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte’s promise to get rid of criminality in three-to-six months; he’ll probably have trouble grappling with smuggling alone.
http://www.journal.com.ph/news/top-stories/duterte-chief-political-strategist-in-hot-water
And considering his anti-cigarette streak, if he were in office and attempts to ban cigarettes completely, I wouldn’t be surprised if smuggling hits an all-time-high.
Didn’t his son Paolo run his own smuggling/racket operation while his father was mayor?
Quote from: ZOBEX on March 16, 2016, 12:18:24 AM
Duterte is very corrupt, he and his partner Jovi run the most expensive stable of call girls in Davao City. Every night lined up in rows at the Seda. No competition in that city. Nothing goes into or out of the new airport or port facility without a shake of the hand. Recently he facilitated the shipping of 38 metric tons out of Davao to the Subic Bay port facility, stashed in a series of shipping containers. But when it got to Subic, someone smelled a rat and now, as of January, they have to keep playing a shell game moving around the containers in Subic because there are people looking for the containers. It’s stuck in Subic. Things never change, all the politicals need money for the elections.
Any proof of this Zobex?
http://www.tseatc.com/smf/index.php/topic,2977.msg32943.html#msg32943
I asked if he has proof. As of now no answer…
Seda exist in Davao, a hotel…………..
.,..the name of the girl is also real,……………….
More than likely everyone’s hunch is correct, but very difficult to prove (though still interesting).
NPA is probably the furthest from China right now, aside from the NPA’s thorn-on-the-side value for China, these two organizations are ideologically oppose (Iceland would probably be closer)—- the Chinese communists are capitalists. If there is a connection, it makes more sense that it’s direct, no need for the petty NPA to be involved.
But let me ask this, what if Duterte’s gamble proves correct, the Philippines opens up to China, and Duterte’s able to make good deals and mitigates negatives from a Chinese detente—- can the Philippines under Duterte play the non-aligned game and still reap maximum benefits from both the US and China? Why or why not?
OT: I’ve been here exactly one year now, LOL! , https://joeam.com/2015/04/19/shift-the-china-burden-to-the-us-take-care-of-the-philippines-and-look-east/#comment-119148
My first own blog article will have its anniversary in three days…
No advance greetings please, that is considered bad luck in Germany. Just found out how many DU30 support groups there are in Europe, don’t want to be watching my back… 😀
Just remember who placed the first comment 😉 .
Drape this strategically around your home, a little shock therapy for when they urinate,
He is going to find and get all of us… we are doomed… 😀
I was the first to comment? Maybe not.
Quo Vadis?
Lance was first to comment in the Welcome Article, which I accidentally erased…
I was still on a learning curve with WordPress at the time.
I remember now.
Happy Anniv Lance. Now where is jameboy and i7sharp your pals?
Mr ”nice guy” ………………….Sure Presidential material….:-(
MANILA – Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday told the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and those who filed a complaint against him on account of his alleged offensive remarks on rape to go to hell.
“Human rights? Idemanda ako? You go to hell! You go to hell! That’s my… Human rights? You go to hell!” Duterte told a cheering crowd.
The PDP-Laban presidential candidate added that he will not answer the summons of the CHR and will merely throw it away.
In his campaign speech before Aklanons of Kalibo, Duterte tried his best not to say anything bad about Mar Roxas, saying it would be disrespectful.
Roxas is from the neighboring province of Capiz.
But when the crowd howled, Duterte went on his tirade against Roxas, saying the administration candidate is also a thief like Binay.
http://news.abs-cbn.com/halalan2016/nation/04/20/16/duterte-tells-chr-womens-groups-go-to-hell
Well, one thing for sure…Wee Dong Wang Tu Wing Dee Wong number with China.. !!!
Well Rasec3, I’m sure that is your chinese experience..Thanks for sharing ith us another reason for Filipinos to seek the support of all their friends in the region
“Mayor Duterte is more “fluid” on China than the Aquino Administration. He stepped back from an earlier comment that he would negotiate with China to his current position that he would allow the UN arbitration case to continue. He would negotiate a working partnership under an agreement that neither China nor the Philippines would claim ownership to contested areas. He does not ever see the Philippines fighting for the contested rocks and islands in the West Philippine Sea. [Standard]”—this from Joe’s above article
“I’m rather skeptical of the suspicion about Digong’s mainland China connections based on the sighting alone of the Gulfstream jet of a Chinese aviation group.”—butod
*********************************************************************************************
Hi, butod. Reading from that paragraph I copy-pasted from Joe’s article stating Duterte’s political inclinations if elected president, my question to you is:
Isn’t there enough reasons for China to fund Duterte’s presidential campaign considering China’s aggressive moves such as reclamations and militarization in the entire South China Sea that might include expansions in the West Philippine Sea? Please, your take on that.
Hey, Bert. Sorry I missed out on your question for me earlier.
For me, it’s not so much a question of whether China has the means or motive to buy out prospective future rulers of foreign lands where they have strategic interests. Rather, it’s more a question of opportunity for a buy-out — i.e. is somebody like Duterte even inclined to be bought off by China? My plain answer is — highly unlikely.
As I’ve already discussed quite extensively, why would he even want to do so, when he has enough in his stable of rich supporters in Davao alone (and I’ve mentioned a number of them for starters in my first comment) to at least get him started? Sustaining logistics for the campaign can easily be followed through by Cayetano’s own rich “tenants” at BGC, who I’m sure are thankful enough for the cheap realty taxes of Taguig compared to neighboring Makati to want to “repay” in a manner of speaking. Besides, Duterte is a frontrunner nowadays — he’s not going to have any problems picking and choosing from forthcoming waves of llamadista fat cats eager to be friendly with an odds-on favorite, I imagine. (And without even bothering to knock on the doors of government contractors/franchise holders by the way.)
And again, look at his “tandem” pre-campaign campaign ad expenses — P700M, which is puny relative to his and Cayetano’s stable of rich (and certifiably Filipino) supporters who can easily pitch in to raise those sums. And rather also paltry, I may add, relative to the pre-campaign media expenses of the three others — Binay, Poe and Roxas — who have all breached the P1B mark, reaching as high up as P1.3B in the case of Mar (anybody care to be curious where those three might be getting their funds in turn?)
As to his inclinations moving forward with negotiations with China, I doubt whether he already has a formula cast in stone at this time, notwithstanding all his apparently off-the-cuff remarks about those prospects (likely just spitballin’, as Lance is wont to say).
From what I had observed about his governing style in my long years of living in Davao though, he strikes me as the pragmatic type — when he sees that a situation is locked too long in a stand-off, he tends to be rather inclined to find practical, workable and tactical (short term-to-intermediate) solutions to break the deadlock, so everybody could go home with some wins from a grueling war at the end of the day, and live to fight the bigger battle/s some other day. Unity in struggle, as leftist holdout-friends always say.
It’s got nothing to do with wanting to get bought off or being in the pocket of the adverse party, but rather an inclination towards getting real palpable gains in the short-term while awaiting more fundamental resolutions to the problem at some future time.
As to the qoute from Digong about getting his initial funds from a “Chinese supporter” (or something like that) that Joe also mentioned early in his article — I think I’m not alone here to think that it’s not at all uncommon to hear ethnic Filipinos of a certain age (especially Duterte, who’s not especially known to be PC anyways) to refer to Chinese-Filipinos/Chinoys as “Chinese”. Heck, I’ve even heard of elderly Chinoys refer to themselves as “Chinese”. So, likely, the “Chinese” reference refers not to citizenship but to ethnic descent.
I’m learning a little something from Occam’s razor, I think, hehe…
“From what I had observed about his governing style in my long years of living in Davao though, he strikes me as the pragmatic type — when he sees that a situation is locked too long in a stand-off, he tends to be rather inclined to find practical, workable and tactical (short term-to-intermediate) solutions to break the deadlock, so everybody could go home with some wins from a grueling war at the end of the day, and live to fight the bigger battle/s some other day. Unity in struggle, as leftist holdout-friends always say. ”
That observation of pragmatism matches my first impression of him – remember that I was THE Duterte supporter in this blog. BUT….
Davao is manageable. He worked out frogmatic compromises there… Pinas is huge.
I don’t mean to oversimplify our problems with China, Irineo. (By the way, Davao’s complicated, multi-layered, conflict-riven history is not exactly as manageable as one thinks, either; seething tensions among different players remain even until now. But yeah, somehow an uneasy peace reigns most times).
I’m sure the China question is going to be very complicated, and likely to be an ugly, seemingly intractable affair. I’m probably just a little more optimistic that Digong will handle himself better as future negotiator (assuming he even wins) than as a spitballer at this time. Paraphrasing former Ateneo de Davao president (and now businessman/Digong supporter) Emeterio Barcelon, Duterte says a lot of crazy things but governs sanely.
That being said, I’m not exactly opposed to a negotiating approach for China that’s similar to the way he negotiates in Davao, either. I imagine it as something akin to the way Pnoy reached out to the MILF to take the GRP-MILF talks to the next level — disarm a little, build some trust so initial talking points and progress could be made even as the international arbitration is proceeding, and see what can be worked out in the meantime while the fundamental differences are being threshed out.
Yes, I understand that China has already said that bilateral negotiations are only possible when its sovereign claims over the disputed waters and shoals are indisputably recognized by the adverse party from the start (and presumably that means also “demanding” the withdrawal of arbitration proceedings as a precondition), but I’m thinking it’s really just an opening gambit, a bluff, to get superior leverage from the start. There just might be room to negotiate in more pragmatic terms even on their end moving forward, with those demands set aside as precondition.
There’s going to be a lot a harrumphing on both sides early on and midstream for sure; but saner minds will always resume to unlock standoffs once the tension de-escalates.This is not going to be a zero-sum affair, for them nor for us.
I hope this doesn’t get me tarred as a tuta ng Tsina, haha..
Butod, on one side in the dispute is China.
On the other side, directly involved are the following countries : Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Viet Nam , Indonesia and Thailand, Viet nam & Indonesia have recently had direct conflict with Chinese ships when chinese ships encroached.
And then there are a host of other countries who’s shipping & trade pass through the South China sea. These nations ( Australia, the USA, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, India, Germany, France, Britain, etc etc..( For God’s sake, even Brazil which exports a lot of raw materials to counties in this region ). All of these nations have developed their trade and shipping through the region on the basis that the South China sea is international waters not owned by any nation. Some of these nations have recently supported the Philippines by asserting freedom of navigation rights flying or sailing close to the artificial islands made by China. Among them are the USA & Australia.
All these nations support an international settlement of this dispute through the Hague tribunal.
The only one that doesn’t is China.
So a change by the Philippines in it’s policy on this issue means selling out it’s allies & supporters in ASEAN and the rest of the world.
The Philippines has the sovereign right to determine it’s own national interests.But if it sells out it’s allies & supporters in the international community, it wil be remembered.
Bill, again you’re misreading me.
Please read my above comment again, slowly this time, and you’ll see that I’m not arguing for a withdrawal nor suspension of international arbitration against China. I’m saying there’s likely room for parallel actions related to China — that we might get the China to agree that the Phils will proceed with international arbitration while exploring options for bilateral talks where tactical cooperation/partnerships may be forged, with neither party necessarily surrendering their respective claims. Again, unity in struggle — look for areas where we can agree in the meantime, and agree to disagree (but table for some other day) on larger and more fundamental differences. Baby steps, is all.
I suspect it’s a path that might play in Mindanao..But I deeply suspect it will not play in an international context…..I sort of understand your thinking…But it will not play with so many other players that also have a stake in this…
I do share some of your skepticism as well. But we’re pretty much on our own right now anyways (affected east ASEAN neighbors are pretty much just silent supporters in the arbitration proceedings, but no clear tell what they intend to do on their own or together when Phils. wins; US won’t be expected to do anything more forceful than occasional fly bys over reef developments since these don’t directly affect US national interests at the end of the day), so what’s there to lose if we at least tried two parallel tracks in the meantime?
@Butod..In response to your comment of 11.11.pm last night….
Yes the neighbours are silent at the moment…Waiting to see what happens in the Philippines…All ears in fact…
And there is a more basic question : in over 30 years no agreement has been reached between the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia & Viet Nam about the location of the maritime boundaries and ownership of the seabed…..This problem predates China’s presence in the SCS…The lack of that joint agreement is a major issue.And one that the Philippines could take a major leadership role in.
Now that would earn friends support and cooperation.
Thanks for the well-reasoned assessment. My question is by making this off-the-cuff remarks isn’t he making his future negotiations with other countries (e.g. China etc.) much much harder since he is locking himself into some “extreme” positions. From my very amateur perspective diplomatic courtesy and etiquette is there for a reason so that the parties when it comes to negotiations (be they political, economic etc.) will start from a reasonable position to arrive at a good deal, compromise etc. The stakes are much higher because the parties represent huge blocks of population, sectors, industry etc. Making abrupt off-the-cuff remarks in public doesn’t help him when serious negotiations start. For example when he says he is willing to give away the Spratlys islands in exchange for a rail project in Mindanao he limited the negotiations to giving away the islands in exchange for a rail project in Mindanao, full stop. But if he said we can talk bilaterally about exploring options in the Spratlys in exchange for economic dev’t in Mindanao he can start from a position that the Spratlys remain ours but we exploit the resources jointly while China provides us a RAIL SYSTEM in Mindanao. He is giving the country a very small margin for error. We already are at a huge disadvantage militarily and economically and China is a very sharp bargainer. This is all in the context that we are treaty-bound to the US and there are other claimants in the region.
I’ll give Digong the benefit of the doubt when it comes to negotiating with individuals even at institutions or rebel groups for that matter at a local level but at a national level dealing with other countries, foreign institutions etc., being off-the-cuff or blunt or straightforward can actually be very disadvantageous and can have large negative consequences.
Absolutely ! the language of diplomacy and diplomats can be obtuse and obscure.But it serves to preserve options.Duterte has already destroyed options with his off the cuff, shhoting from the hip, remarks
It’s very puzzling for me, these types of negotiations are more in the form of a poker game and one cardinal rule is don’t give a hint of the hand you are holding specially if you are relatively weak.
Ah, okay, butod, good defense of the guy though I think most are matter of opinions from someone who admires someone. Thanks for obliging me, butod.
On my part, I think that China has enough reasons to support Duterte and that Duterte has the personal inclinations to accommodate China’s intentions in the West Philippine Sea and that’s basing from Duterte’s past actions and pronouncements, off the cuff remarks according to you but not to me since I believe he has a personal political agenda. To me it’s a matter of mathematics so to say, putting two and two and two together to reach a certain result.
Duterte’s P700M? That’s only the pre-campaign part. The present is really huge now and it will come out soon enough, you will see.
That’s alright, Bert, I didn’t really set out to convince you to see things my way, just obliging you what I thought was a question borne of genuine curiosity. We can always respectfully agree to disagree as faceless friends, hehe.
And really, I’m honestly alright with whoever wins in the elections, on the presumption that the elections are clean, and the true voice of the electorate is affirmed.
Cheers, pare ko, :).
Sighting of any aviation carrier, either in Davao or somewhere else is construed as just another post. We can not deliberate on the sighting by merely presuming and giving our baseless opinions punctuated by other issues not directly conforming to the sighting. It will just be an enveloped idea.Unless, we assured ourselves that evidence of flight documents and the outstanding proponents of hidden agenda are freely at hand. It’s nice to hear bright comments and concocted ideas that, somehow, require deep imagination, But as of the sightings and issues-bound partisan, they will remain assumptions. And assumptions do not warrant truth.
They may, in combination with other observations, warrant deductions and wariness. Much of what we do is not based on truths, as misinformation abounds. By putting the observations on the table, we can generate fact-finding. By ignoring them, we can find ignorance and the faults that flow therefrom. Good of you to visit with an interesting counterpoint.
I often think of this as ‘solving’ a 5000 piece jig saw puzzle where many of the pieces need also to be found to create the true ‘picture’. It is remarkable what a group working together can achieve…
And of course rather nerve wracking for those who wish to preserve secrets. Perhaps P J Arcilla is one of this latter group ?
Possibly. The old US television series introduction line popped into my mind: “There are 8 million stories in the naked city . . .”
I’d rather be in ties with China than the US…. The US can be the biggest terrorist of them all, and we just don’t know how they do it. China is more transparent with what they would want and pursue than US anyway
Okay.
When China takes over the WPS/SCS in totality and does not give the Philippines and Vietnam any “privilege”, don’t cry uncle Sam okay?
@Kyler where do you live?
If you ask me, I live in Hong Kong. I disagree with you that China is more transparent because she is never transparent at all. Do you think there is press freedom in China? How do I know this? Hong Kong having its own autonomy for 50 years from handover is one of the most vocal press in Asia. There are many human rights violation in China that just did not come to light because the Central government control everything. Have you heard about the Umbrella Revolution in Hong Kong? Hong Kong people are even wary of the central government because of its twisted interpretation of the Universal Suffrage provision on the British-Sino Agreement.
This is just one of the arguments why I do not agree with your transparency reason.
The USA saved your China from Japanese imperialism Kyler back in 1944-5. You would be talking Japanese now if the USA had not defeated Japan…But maybe China did not tell you that in your not so truthful or transparent history classes in school.
Kyler, kyler, kyler. Nationality, please. Location. Interest in the Philippines. The absolute inside out version of reality is just so typical of organized deception pros.
And what does China want in the west philippines seas?
Note that one enthusiastic propaganda site, philnews.xyz is registered through a Panama company set up to hide the ownership of domain names. The .xyz domain has close links with China. Go figure.
I tried visiting that site,and this is what I got.
Not funny at all.
http://www.philnews.xyz/2016/04/plot-assassinate-mayor-duterte-exposed.html
Well done Karl, I think you have just proved the Duterte- China connection mate. The ‘news’ report is either true or black propaganda to discredit Duterte’s rivals.
I doubt it is true.Such an attack would be way too destabilising politically and make the position of president a poisoned chalice.
So it is highly likely to be black propaganda..And it comes from a chinese controlled domain.
Now why would a chinese web domain be keen to promote such propaganda unless it was involved the whole campaign to elect Duterte as President
So Duterte tuta ng tsina !!
Check Mate,mate.
______
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Yes, well done Karl !!!
My Jollibee and greenwich pizza start suddenly tasting like chow king…
http://www.philnews.xyz/2016/03/jollibee-owner-caktiong-supports-duterte.html
🙂 🙂 🙂
Thanks Karl… just posted this on the Learning Center FB page with 4700 followers and the Leni for VP page with international coverage, so that it is clear what we are facing.
Welcome.Hat tip to Bob Couttie for his comment above.Thanks.
Thanks.
Yes. That is a startling discovery, but then it’s an open secret that some of the worst online scams and robberies are often conducted through Chinese-hosted servers, of the reason that they’re beyond the reach of any law-enforcement arm.
It is an old script of Defence Sec Enrile assasination attempt?
It’s merely a propaganda site. There is no such plot.
If anyone could check out a certain Jericho Montes, who runs several pro-Duterte agitprop sites…
http://reversewhois.domaintools.com/jericho-montes
Most interesting, Bob. Thanks for the tip.
A slight change of direction but not topic…
I wonder what Joe’s Australian ‘mate’ Peter Wallace thinks of Duterte now ? He has written such favorable columns about Duterte’s Davao in the Enquirer in the past..
So I was interested to read Wallace’s column this morning, to see what he would say about Duterte despoiling the memory of a fellow Australian woman who was gang raped and then murdered in Davao under Duterte’s watch.
Unfortunately Wallace chose not to mention Duterte in his column even though it is a major media story. Instead he writes about mining in the Philippines.And criticised Aquino for his ban on new mining projects of 5 years ago. And then goes on to give Roxas a serve for not supporting new mining projects in his campaign….
I guess we know where Wallace real interests now lie..And it is not in defending or honoring the memory of an Australian woman killed back in 1989 where Duterte was mayor.
Peter Wallet did the same as Poe…turning their back to their ”home land”
Haha Wallet. Wish I had thought of that.
> And then goes on to give Roxas a serve for not supporting new mining projects in his campaign….
Executive decisions and upcoming policies on mining — even if not yet voted — is a double-edged sword: either the country gets to benefit from the sale of untapped mineral wealth, or ignite fury from environmentalists who fear mining displaces local tribes and mess up the environment.
Agree a very contentious issue with almost no middle ground and in the context of a 3rd world country. I think economics for the short-term wins out here but the environmentalist should push for modern low-impact mining technology, the only compromise that makes sense.
Environmentalists give MDS the highest marks,but refuse to endorse her.
I support environmentalism with my whole hear but sometimes the “tree-huggers” drive me nuts. I guess as in any broad-based ideology there is a whole spectrum of beliefs and their fair share of radicals.
I really do not want to make a comment here about mining in the Philippines. In my own country it has been a source of valuable exports,well paid professional jobs, prosperity. and development in areas which are isolated and desolate with very few people.
What is the situation in the Philippines ? .
Most mining deposits and virgin forests are situated in tribal land, and thus is a very delicate problem, which is why the lumad are divided into factions over this issue, siding with either the government as militia or the hardline Maoists.
With the lack of responsible oversight, overridden by politicians more interested in self-enrichment, mining there is long considered a highly exploitative business, encourages greed and violence (i.e. Compostela Valley is long a hotbed for warlords’ private armies and insurgents, the AFP’s biggest problem), and causes irreparable damage to the environment, as miners are to get as much gold regardless of the consequences.
Thank you Madlanglups for this information..Is ” Lumad’ an actual tribal group or a collective name to describe a collection of smaller tribes ?
In some mining areas of Australia local indigenous aboriginal people have been trained and employed in well paid professional jobs.
And mining always takes place against a background of laws & regulations to avoid sacred sites and preserve the environment.
Yes, they’re the tribes such as the Manobo. A responsible mining company has to provide constructive solutions for everyone plus the environment while in the process of resource extraction, from start to end.
I AM NOT AFRAID OF DUTERTE ANYMORE
In the beginning, many of us were worried about Duterte’s approach to crime management. Tough talk, shocking statements. But as we discover more about him and his team, the fear is replaced by DERISION.
Yes, he may well be the next president.
But the main worry now for me is not his heavy handedness, but his gross incompetence for matters bigger than anything he has handled before.
To date:
1. He has backpedaled on the China issue, and after being shown the futility of bipartisan talks, now support the multilateral, judicial approach of the Aquino govt.
2. He has apologized, then disowned, then apologized again, then… re the rape joke, which he says was not a joke but which he uses repeatedly to elicit laughter. His daughter is either a rape victim or a drama queen, or both, or fake on both counts.
3. He has admitted his deficiency in economics, international trade and global politics. Who are his advisers then on this matter? Are they credible and have personal integrity?
4. He says that he will cut off relationships with the US and Australia because he was censured for his rape joke. Come on. Who believes him on this? The masa Dutertards? Who respects him for this statement?
In addition he and his staff already share some characteristics with a convicted plunderer, Joseph Estrada:
This view is reinforced by the presence of Lito Banayo.
1. Tardiness in his appointments. He saves the day with his jokes and stories, but avoids saying anything substantial.
2. That persistent need to demonstrate his manliness, often demeaning women.
3. An aversion to discussion and informed talk, which Erap was notorious for. One-liner aw-shucks, smart-ass statements are all he uses.
4. A communications team that cannot get its act together because the principal insists on shooting his mouth off. Remember Jerry Barican (bless his soul), Ricardo Puno and Rod Reyes and how they all contradicted each other while Erap went on air?
With Duterte, you have Cayetano, his daughter Sara, PDP Laban and Peter Lavina all giving incoherent explanations for Duterte’s statements. Who is running the show here?
We all know what happened to Estrada.
Duterte doesn’t have the gravitas, the ability to think things through. All he has is bluster. With crime management, I am willing to give him that.
My prediction is that even if he wins, the fear will turn into contempt and derision for him, specially if he does not deliver on the other matters – traffic, economy, inclusive growth, China, etc.
Ang bayag na bakal ay puro kalawang.
PS I am keeping an open mind on him. I hope Rene-Ipil will clarify/refute my points.
4. RIP as well to Rod Reyes.
The problem with this article is the writer’s presupposition that Digong can’t be trusted as a leader and read all the data favouring his line of thought. The Chinese supporters are meant to end the kidnapped and getting killed….the kind of thing that will continue under your pet boy Roxas.
Jorge, always good to get your brand of critical thinking here.
Oh no no no. You are putting words into mine. Refute my points by pointing out Duterte’s capabilities aside from crime fighting. Provide proof of that capability.
Jorge tell me how how will he get us out of trouble,he is getting us in trouble now.He offends Australians and uses the election campaigns to tell them to mind their own buisness and to go to hell? He agitates a CIA man in the US ambassador,that is a recipe for disaster that will make his agit prop team look like amateurs.
Now FVR wants out,he is asking his men to seek for someone to talk to Duterte.Only Alunan is left bowing his head in shame.
If you got this far, Jorge, you would have seen a whole lot of comments supporting and contradicting the original Joe Am post…There has been a very good discussion and a whole lot of mew info discovered…I suspect more will emerge. The argument is not finished..
.
Remember Charles Englund?
He just posted an essay of Bernie Sanders containing paragraph with rape jokes.
He is telling us that it is no big deal.
and Duterte tells the diplomatic community to go where? is it still not a big deal?
Presence of the Plane doesnt match up with Duterte campaign locations:
Duterte Locations April 12-16 2016
April 12,2016: Duterte campaigns in Cainta, Rizal, at 1 pm; in Marikina at 4 pm; and graces a concert at the Amoranto Stadium, Roces Avenue, Quezon City, at 9:30 pm.
April 13,2016: Duterte campaigns in Bulacan. At 11:30 am he is in San Miguel; 3 pm in Baliuag; and 5 pm in Malolos then Meycauyan.
April 14,2016: Duterte does the rounds of Batangas City starting at 3 pm. By 5:30 pm, he is in General Trias, Cavite.
April 15,2016: Duterte is in Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro, at lunch time, and proceeds to San Pedro, Laguna.
April 16 2016: Duterte attends the Masbate Rodeo Festival at 11 am.
Source: http://www.rappler.com/nation/politics/elections/2016/128979-campaign-schedule-april-11-april-17
Am not covering up for Duterte, since with enough money, anybody can be anywhere in the country in the span of a few hours.
Its also normal for foreign governments are known to cover their tracks.
Only the DFA can provide us info on who was on the plane.
Update on B-8158
https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/b-8158
B-8158
21 April Macau to Manila &
21 April Manila to Shenzhen
April 21: “…Mayor Rodrigo Duterte took time off their campaigns”
“while Duterte just finished campaigning in Aklan and in Cebu.”
Source http://cnnphilippines.com/videos/2016/04/21/Campaign-Trail-April-21.html
Three links sends a comment to moderation. Thanks for info.
Nice update………….
Do you remember this Antare?
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/760249/if-elected-duterte-will-commute-daily-to-work-from-davao
hahahahahaha 🙂
Ps, since we ”discovered” it the Chinese are talking now to him by their Chinese counterpart Christopher “Bong” Go, executive assistant of Duterte…
http://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/in-depth/122784-rodrigo-duterte-campaign-team
Duterte got a headacke from that language and the Chinese did not understand the words fuc..ng put…ng ina and go to h…ll
🙂
Hey guys I know this might be off-topic but can some of you give a little background about this;http://www.thinkingpinoy.net/2016/02/how-to-get-away-with-plunder.html. I’ve spotted some outright errors here and there but I haven’t done a lot of digging. Just wanted to get your thoughts about this since this is one of their attack pieces against the administration and by extension LP and Mar. Thanks in advance.
As I stated before and I will say it again, ThinkingPinoy is Pro Duterte. Now reading through with your link, it has become very obvious by now. And they were talking explicitly about Power Grab.
Is it not what the leftists wanted ever since everytime they shout their mantra ” Ibagsak”?
Is this one of the pro-Digong website thats is into agitprop? Or is it just a leftist publication? First time I went to the site.
I disagree. To me, it does not mean squat if a website is pro or against anyone. If one has half a brain, it is more important to ask if the facts presented are verifiable and complete, the logic used clear and flawless, and the conclusions reached sensible and flow naturally from relevant facts and logic. Thinking Pinoy has some good articles and some trashy ones and that is true regardless of whether it is proDuterte or not. Many here in this blogsite are lazy or biased to think critically for themselves as to whether ideas or messages have any substance but instead focus on who the author is and his supposed motivation. If this was GRP or CPM where thats the practice its understandable but this blogsite I was led to understand is a forum that is more intellectually mature and sophisticated than that.
“Many here in this blogsite are lazy or biased to think critically for themselves as to whether ideas or messages have any substance but instead focus on who the author is and his supposed motivation.”
Kindly name a few of the “many” who are lazy or biased and don’t think critically for themselves, so they can defend themselves. I rather think their main “fault” is that they they disagree with you and so you undertake that scurrilous business of name-calling directed toward a lot of earnest, intelligent, respectful people. To say I am disappointed with this comment of yours is a gross understatement.
Joe, you are correct that calling people names is uncalled for and I apologize for doing that.I do think you have a tendency to allege motivations instead of focusing on the substance of the issue. Not only is guessing at a person’s intentions unproductive for those who are genuinely interested in knowing the pros and cons supporting an issue, it is also makes the issue personal which is why in logic it is referred to as “poisoning the well”.
You are right, I do. It is often necessary to police the blog, as a policeman wears a gun when others do not. The blog Tanod, Karl, is also authorized to wear one. Others are asked to show restraint, and it is impressive, what a good job they do. I am also occasionally flawed at sticking to my own principles, especially when new people come winging in dealing trash.
caliphman, I could agree with your description of the ‘many here’ in The Society as ‘lazy or biased’ if you’re thinking of yourself included in that description hence I think your comment is kind of self-deprecating.
Bill, of course I am just as guilty as anyone else in saying or doing what I have been critical about. I do regret labeling persons as possibly lazy and halfbrained as it is the acts or statements themselves I am unhappy with and which I should have described as such. I abhor ad hominem attacks and the type of argumentation I am unhappy with is ad hominem in nature because it is directed at the person and not at the subtance of his idea or message. For this lapse, I am sorry and it was just as halfbrained statement on my part. Perhaps those who disagree with discussing the substance of articles based on their merits rather than who wrote them would be willing to fiscuss why or why not this should be the primary practice or principle in this blogsite?
The editorial standards of the blog are clear. Discuss the issues and refrain from attacking personal character. The only reason you weren’t given the standard 30 day suspension for violating this policy is because you are a worthy contrary voice and I know you sometimes wear your passions on your keyboard.
Thank you Caliphman. for your reply../.Time has prevented me checking out the other voting survey websites..But I will get there shortly..
Today I have been in the streets of Binonda…And thought struck me. How easy it is, from fear, to not meet the glance or sight of those passing by.
But how remarkably rewarding it is to acknowledge the existence and humanity of those walking by, in the simple act of seeing and a smile…
Bill, I watched last night the start of Chef Bourdain’s series on his gourmet travels to Manila. Its hard not to associate the his delight of discovery at experiencing new sounds, sights, tastes and friendly people with what you expressed in your post. I used to hang around Binondo many decades ago in my youth and its a place to I would enjoy revisiting.again.
Hi @Caliphman. In this blog or in any other forum, agreeing to disagree is a given.
I was not attacking the author of the blog. I don’t even know the author of this blog. ThinkingPinoy is the title of the blog, right? So it is the article or series of articles that I am talking about. I have said that the blog or to put it clearly, the articles of the blog is proDuterte. You may agree or disagree with me on that. That is your choice.
I may not be as eloquent as you are but please do not call people lazy or something just because they do not agree with your point of view.
Please read my comments carefully. I said some articles in Thinking Pinoy are good and some are trashy and that has nothing to do with whether the site or its author is proDuterte or not. The latter is a lazy, unintelligent and illogical way of refuting a specific article because it does not address the merits of its content. If you read my response to Joe on this thread, I retracted my statement describing those who use this type of argumentation as lazy or halfbrained who I deliberately did not name because I did want it to be understood as a personal attack. Rather I object to the use this kind of rebuttal as it adds little of value to the issue and is a type of ad hominem attack in itself which in high school logic classes are known as “poisonong the well”. It is aptly termed as in court cases involving rape, the defendant many times tries to rebut the testimony of the victim by impugning her reputation. Believe me, if I truly felt anyone deserved to be labeled with a disparaging remark I would not hesitate to do so. Joe and I exchanged such pleasantries before at the other website where this is common practice but I frequent this place because it is more civilized.
So as you may see, I do not attack people just because they do not disagree with me as you remarked. I try to listen and understand what they have to say and respond to the content of their comments.
Duterte’s recent remarks have drawn have drawn a lot of Australian media attention. Lindsay Murdoch one of Australia’s best journalists is currently in the Philippines. He has written about Duterte in this article.
http://www.smh.com.au/world/by/Lindsay-Murdoch
The U.S. will never allow China to gain dominant influence in the Philippines. Never. People should ponder that when thinking about what a vote for Duterte means. Manila never recovered from World War 2.
Agree.
If the U.S. is pushed out of the Philippines it would be a geo-strategic disaster and end the ‘move to Asia’ policy. I think many people in Asia underestimate the ruthlessness of the U.S. when their vital interests are at stake.
No Purple, balls ! You have got it wrong..The USA left the Philippines bases in 1991 when asked to leave.. It was not a leaving that the USA wanted to do.But they did it. The USA has Guam which is US territory and Micronesia islands plus bases in Japan & if it needed in Taiwan.
And that policy is an old policy dating back to the 1950’s. After all surely you ( a Chinese national ? ) remember that the USA supported China against Japan financially, economically and even with military equipment from 1935 till 1947. That is why China survived the Japanese empire’s attempt to conquer China & make it a Japanese colony.
But when the Chinese Communist party won the civil war in 1947, the USA up & left the China mainland & it’s interests there. They did not want to stay where they were not welcome.
And it is an odd kind of ruthlessness Purple that buys every year from China huge quantities of Chinese exports and so helped your country regain prosperity and power & influence.
I tend to agree with you, purple.
Let that be a warning to China.
China should stay very far away as in be gone from the West Philippine Sea.
Or suffer the consequencies of that ruthlessness you’re talking about.
On Rappler this evening…Interesting and informed.There are also a bundle of aggressive caps lock comments mostly in Tagalog which seem to illustrate the fascist nature of the movement.
Duterte: Sieg Heil? by Patricio N. Abinales
This disproportionate nature of pro-Duterte voices is the first element to what I would now call the makings of a real – and first – fascist movement in the country
If we are to weigh the number of asides by the supporters of Mayor Rodrigo V. Duterte against those who took him to task for his rape comments – all in social media – the heft will favor the former. I have never seen so much vicious response to a valid criticism of the mayor’s foul mouth.
Most of these ripostes are ad hominem in nature, ranging from the most bile characterization of the critique to tagging the critic as part of a vast right-wing, Aquino-yellow conspiracy to upend the mayor’s campaign. Some go to the extent of issuing threats ala-Duterte to those who insist the Mayor is not fit to be head of the nation.
A smaller percentage consists of an unwavering fidelity to Duterte – he is my president, no matter what he said and no matter how blemished his record is – even as there is a silent acknowledgement that he had not been acting presidential. Only a small percentage, a minute one, would engage Duterte opponents using reason, evidence, and analytical superiority.
This disproportionate nature of pro-Duterte voices is the first element to what I would now call the makings of a real – and first – fascist movement in the country. Duterte is the Vozhd, who has the interest of “the Filipino people” in mind, ready to defend this against those who try to sow divisions within the community – from the drug addicts on the corner to the intellectuals and elites of the metropolis. He his Der Alte who can do no wrong, his standing made more admirable by his unabashed declarations of his “failings” – from the womanizing and the pain it caused his first wife, to the killing of drug addicts, to the swagger to show Panabo prisoners that he could be like them when it comes to women, especially Anglos or mestizas. He is almost, well, God-like in his imperfections.
The second component of this new-fangled fascist movement is its unusual composition. Duterte “base of support” is not the poor – it is mainly the elite and the middle class. These are the two “sectors” of society that are most worried about their possessions and desire peace at any cost so that they can pursue their avarice.
When Marcos declared martial law, it was the elite and the middle class that were the first to commend the dictator for bringing “peace and stability” to a nation in turmoil. The two sectors who are the most adept at hiding their greed and materialism under the mantle of civility, they finally took a stand against their erstwhile patron when the regime assassinated one of their own – in the most vulgar of manner: blowing Aquino’s head off at the tarmac.
This odd composition of followers is not merely people who are going to vote on Election Day. The sociologist Nicole Curato came back from Leyte and her communing with Duterte supporters. Her Facebook description talks of a vibrant grassroots movement that with near-fanaticism, has been campaigning for the Mayor. She writes:
I have met and interviewed Duterte supporters as part of my fieldwork in Tacloban. They are professionals who took a leave from their jobs to organise volunteers for the campaign. They are small business owners who donate modest amounts of money to print posters and tarapaulins (sic). They are students who go to communities to explain why vote buying is wrong. They are mothers struggling to put their lives together after Haiyan but found a way to raise P20 pamasahe to get to attend his sortie. A lot of them are young. All of them strongly reject politics as usual – the type where money runs our democracy, imperial Manila dominates the political conversation and promises made to the people mean nothing….I am not a fan of the mayor. But I am impressed with the energy and commitment of his supporters on the ground. This could be the legacy of the Duterte campaign – a committed grassroots movement that supports an imperfect but authentic candidate.
Vibrant democracy?
One can say that these types of mobilization signify a vibrant popular democracy. However, they are also what fascist movements are associated with – the zeal that got people like Benito Mussolini, Adolf Hitler, and Evita Peron to power.
The social forces that compose this coalition, in turn, is mirrored by the political forces that have committed resources and people to the mayor. The organized supporters of Duterte include business associations which, with little fanfare, are contributing to campaign coffers. In alliance with these “reactionary forces” are cadres and sympathizers of the Communist Party of the Philippines who see in the mayor an ally and a friend. There were some hitches along the way when the mayor blurted out his pro-rape statement. The Party’s legal organization Gabriela had to criticize Duterte especially after other women’s group took it to task for failing to respond immediately to his comments. But everything is hunky-dory again, especially since the campaigns have begun to shift to other issues.
A creature of this sort came into being in Hitler’s and Mussolini’s march to power. Socialists and even Communists were drawn to these leaders’ nationalism and populism. Their anti-European, anti-American stance also was an additional appeal. Of course, they were immediately eliminated or marginalized once the Nazis and the Brownshirts had seized state power. Will this be the fate of the Left under President Digong?
The next weeks will determine whether these observations are right. If not, and the Duterte movement is indeed a democracy, unified in the name of the nation, tolerant of criticisms, and putting premium constitutionalism rather than one man rule, then I will be more than happy to eat crow. – Rappler.com
Patricio N. Abinales is an OFW.
The ideology of Mang Dolpo (Adolf Hitler) was nationalism mixed with socialism: Nazism.
Hitler went against the ethnic group that owned a large part of the retail sector and agricultural trade: Jews. German businessmen got Jewish businesses at bargain basement prices because of the so-called Arisierung: Aryanisation. The largest mail-order shop today, Neckermann, was sold to that family by Billy Joel’s grandfather. The Piano Man has a brother who plays classical piano, speaks German and has returned to the old country.
There also was a certain Dr. Walther Spiecker, who bought four garment shops in Hamburg, Köln, Stuttgart and Berlin from Jews who had to pay their “leaving money” to the Nazis and were under pressure. He was 1/4 Hungarian, just enough to satisfy the criteria of the race laws of having three German grandparents and no Jews or Slavs in his ancestry dating back to farmer Johann Gottfried Spiecker just after the 30 years war. He was imprisoned by the Dutch in Holland for some kind of crookery at war’s end.
He divorced his first wife who was more of a Social Democrat for a fervent Nazi. He disinherited his two daughters by his first wife, one of whom married a scion of the Mendelssohn clan, not considered Jews anymore but always under suspicion (that man’s aunt Henny Mendelssohn was rich, but had to pay yearly bribes to the Nazis to avoid trouble) and the younger one married a Filipino studying in Paris just like her. The Filipino is my father, the younger daughter my mother, Dr. Spiecker was my grandfather.
Looking at old family pictures, my English brother-in-law noted how his sisters and his mother all looked very gypsy. My grandfather did not look like that. I remember an old great-aunt and her deep dark eyes. Her and my grandfather’s Hungarian grandfather was a very successful businessman – gypsies often were. Could just have been the dark Hungarian type though. Could a bit of survival opportunism been in the mix? I don’t know.
There are so many red flags on Duterte. It’s gonna be bloody scary if he wins. He has to be stopped!
On Wed, Apr 20, 2016 at 3:00 PM, The Society of Honor by Joe America wrote:
> Joe America posted: “w Change is one thing. Undermining the principles of > nationhood, of sovereignty, is yet another. Several readers have asked for > an article that puts together the pieces of information that have filtered > through the blog discussions here during recent da” >
This is a campaign to pull down Duterte from the hearts of the voters. This is not going to change my support and for the others too for his candidacy.
Do you ever fear, Anteneh, that your passion has walled you off from information needed to judge well? Thanks for visiting the blog.
Today the Enquirer published yet another column by Antonio J Montalvan….I know that this columnist is a rabid Aquino biter..But occasionally he has interesting information,,The opening couple of paragraphs about Duterte’s followers today are an example of that….
“THE MOST bizarre social media post I have seen in recent days was that of a Facebook user so incensed at another post that ranted at Rodrigo Duterte’s rape joke…..She said she would gladly offer her daughter to be raped by Duterte. As if that wasn’t enough, she proceeded to say that it would be an honor for the family. By now, what’s no longer more weird is the Duterte supporters who threaten to kill those who oppose their candidate. …….
Manila must have awakened by now to the specter of Rodrigo Duterte hovering over the country’s center of power. It should. Never before has there been such an inexplicable collective behavior toward a presidential candidate that shuns all civilized values and mores. ”
I am not sure if the social media post actually exists or if it a figment of Montalvan’s imagination..But the thought that any parant would write about their daughter is totally astonishing
The poor and powerless have been driven to all kinds of rationalizations and fantasies to concoct a leader who will exorcise the demons inhabiting their conscious and subconscious being for a lifetime. Lots of anger to be released, and I am sure they will enjoy the various sufferings that others are put through.
I saw a posting on Facebook “Freedom Wall” group this morning with a lot of guns…
the byline by that Duterte supporter was “preparing for civil war”… the responses by other supporters were like “yeah lets get rid of all the bad people”.
It actually looks rather bad. If Duterte loses, his followers will run amok. If he wins, they will run amok.
The Führer will be happy either way… 😦
Ein Volk, Ein Reich, Ein Führer.
During Marcos times it was: isang bansa, isang diwa.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/04/25/philippine-presidential-frontrunner-vows-to-kill-his-children-if/ – TELEGRAPH UK
The crime-fighting Philippine mayor who has emerged as surprise frontrunner in presidential elections has said that he would kill his own children if he discovered they were taking illegal drugs.
http://globalnation.inquirer.net/138921/singapore-embassy-seeks-legal-advice-over-fb-post-on-pm-lee-duterte – Singapore is looking for legal advice:
The Singapore Embassy in Manila is seeking legal advice over a false post online that went viral on social media claiming that its head of government, Prime Minister Lee Hsien-Loong, is supporting the presidential bid of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte.
In a post on its Facebook account, the embassy said it is taking the online post very seriously, calling it a “clear misrepresentation.”
http://www.zeit.de/news/2016-04/25/philippinen-umstrittener-philippinischer-praesidentschaftskandidat-duterte-baut-vorsprung-aus-25103203
http://unternehmen-heute.de/news.php?newsid=352420
Die Zeit (a thought leaders paper, ex-Chancellor Helmut Schmidt was one of it’s chief editors) and Unternehmen Heute (a business publication) featured Duterte today.
http://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/92133/evaluating-dutertes-statements
As has been pointed out, Duterte’s remarks may impact on the Filipino-American community in the US which has grown in number over the years and has come to embrace and be embraced by their fellow Americans. Not to mention the number of American investors who have set up shop in the country.
There are also Filipino-Australians in the Land Down Under, and Duterte’s crass, crude comments on Hamill have so far not caused a backlash on them. The Davao City mayor may be unafraid to run off at the mouth since he has yet to be voted on by the Filipino people.
The mayor’s statements against the US and Australia may also be his way of testing the waters, so to speak, by sparking debate on the extent of American or foreign influence in the country.
While the mayor may excuse his statements against the US and Australia by proclaiming that he isn’t anti-American but “pro-Filipino” — a line commonly used by militants in denouncing alleged US interference in the country’s political and economic affairs — Duterte’s friendly tack with the Chinese government and his willingness to negotiate with them over the Spratlys dispute has people thinking whether he’s betraying the nation’s interests and is trying to veer the country into subservience to the People’s Republic of China.
All these speculations and fears and he’s not even elected into office yet. The mayor’s statements portray him as someone who won’t tolerate criticism and opposition and, based on his own tales, is likely to shut down or silence that opposition.
If anything, Duterte’s statements and actions should merit careful evaluation before anyone decides voting him into office.
The first ever civil blog I entered and read on the threads, that made me more curious of what is really happening in Philippine politics.More power Joe and other blogger contributors.
Thanks for the encouraging words, Nestor.
Somewhat related, somewhat off-topic, but I find this interesting….
https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fellen.tordesillas%2Fposts%2F10154141210734282&width=500
So? All these have been happening under d current admin w/out advantage to d country. At least w Duterte’s vision, there will be a national railway. Chinese presence has been strengthened such that only US or any other developed nations’ intervention is necessary just to “frighten” d Chinese not even to evict them… All these during d current admin!!’ Who
Should they blame but themselves?!!! Maybe, any nincompoop s a better alternative!
There will be a large railway soon, yes, but it will be courtesy of Japan’s funding (and the doing of the current administration that allowed them to trust us enough with a $2 billion loan): http://www.philstar.com/business/2015/11/27/1526565/japans-2-b-loan-fund-philippiness-largest-railway-system
And it is very likely that Chinese presence will increase even more under any candidate who isn’t Mar or Miriam (I have no idea about Grace). Duterte, for all his “visions”, is more willing to let the Chinese in here than he is willing to do so for Americans. Binay is open to bilateral talks with China, perhaps simply to illustrate the point that everything the Aquino administration has been doing is wrong—-and he fails brilliantly at it.
DAVAO CITY, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – With over 7,000 islands separated by water, the Philippines has faced major challenges in bringing about fast and efficient travel within the country, thereby creating barriers in terms of trade, tourism and unity among Filipinos. Not anymore.
Previously, we reported that presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte promised, if elected, to abandon the Philippines’ claim to the Spratly islands in the South China Sea provided China builds trains that would make it easier for Filipinos to travel within their country.
Duterte’s statement caught the attention of the Beijing government and asked for more specifics.
In response, Duterte unveiled his plan for a Pan-Philippine high-speed railway system that would connect the northernmost province of the Philippines to the southernmost tip in Tawi-Tawi. The Davao City mayor wants China to pay for building the system.
China is reportedly very interested but is withholding a final decision until after the May 9 Philippine presidential elections — just in case Dueterte does not win.
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And by the way, Sir Joe, this guy might be a Duterte troll too…..
Or Chinese
No need for Chinese train……
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/571308/scitech/technology/dost-launches-very-first-pinoy-made-hybrid-train/top_picks?order=4
Cool. Very.
After the events in yesterday’s news and the political melt down of US relations with PH. I am convinced Duterte is China aligned. The break off of US military exercises and the China loan for arms are the nails in this coffin for me.