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On controversial kiss, Duterte says, ‘Ask my daughter Inday Sara’

President Rodrigo Duterte downplayed the various reactions to the controversial kiss with a former overseas Filipino worker in South Korea. "The logical answer is to ask my daughter if she was hurt," he said in a press conference early Wednesday morning. He explained that during his campaign for mayor of Davao City, he would kiss women "lips to lips." "Style ko 'yan e, maghanap kayo ng ibang style ninyo. There is nothing wrong (points to his lips)," referring to his critics. "Inggit lang 'yan sila... smack. A simple kiss, you cause an uproar. Inggit lang yan sila. Sabihin mo sa kanila, palitan ang pustiso nila," he added. Duterte also said that his daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, was around during his campaign. "'Yung anak ko, Inday and yung isang anak ko, talagang selosa yun. Baka she'll put me to task, kaya ayoko munang umuwi," he said, referring to his daughter with common law partner Honeylet Avaceña, Veronica "Kitty" Duterte. "Alam mo di ako makipagaway sa anak na babae. Lalo na si Inday, hindi ko talaga kaya, pa cool off muna ako dito ilang araw sa Manila," he added. He said there was no malice in the kiss. "We enjoyed it," he added. Duterte also said, "I do not do it in public if there is malice" and that "I can only generate an emotion if I kiss a woman I love." Duterte further explained that he would also embrace even those who are sick. "Embrace ako, lalo na may sakit, I always assure them government is there for you nandun ako sa baba, kasi galing ako doon. (Kahit) may mga infection na lumalabas na sa damit," he added. — BAP, GMA News

Si Duterte? 'Wala pa yan sa Kalingkingan Ni Pnoy' -Kit Tadtad

Fatou Bensouda : No Evidence warranting Duterte`s ICC prosecution

He curses like it's his mother tongue. He threatens criminals like it's the most natural thing in the world. He lashes out against powerful international leaders without batting an eye. And he makes no apology for initiating a drug war that may have sparked an alarming wave of extra-judicial killings in the Philippines. Now, he is saying martial law may be the solution to the country's crime problem. But are these enough to warrant an international investigation against Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte? Since he was elected into office on May 10, 2016, there have been at least 2,236 drug-related deaths in the country. Of this number, 1,287 were killed in police operations while 788 were pulled off by unidentified assailants, based on monitoring by the ABS-CBN Investigative and Research Group. READ: MAP, CHARTS: The Death Toll of the War on Drugs These figures and the daily reportage of drug pushers and addicts being killed in raids have fueled suspicions of human rights violations under the administration of Duterte. Though there has been no definitive proof yet, critics have attacked the President for it--from lawmakers, Church officials to even members of the international community. ICC JURISDICTION The noise has been so loud that it has reached the ears of the International Criminal Court (ICC), the global body that tries genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and most recently, crimes of aggression. "The failure of the government to address this situation currently prevailing of unexplained extra-judicial killings and providing remedies in terms of prosecution of perpetrators could result in the possibility of the ICC exercising jurisdiction over those matters if we fail to do so," Commission on Human Rights chair Chito Gascon said during a Senate inquiry in August. Created in 1998 through the United Nations treaty called the Rome Statute, the ICC has jurisdiction over 124 of its members, including the Philippines, which became a signatory 16 years ago. POTENTIALLY LIABLE And ICC's chief prosecutor seems to think there is basis to look into what's happening in the country. Despite not mentioning Duterte, Fatou Bensouda said she was "deeply concerned" about the the fact that Philippine officials seem to condone the alleged extra-judicial killings, even encouraging the use of lethal force against the targets. "Let me be clear: any person in the Philippines who incites or engages in acts of mass violence including by ordering, requesting, encouraging or contributing, in any other manner, to the commission of crimes within the jurisdiction of the ICC is potentially liable to prosecution before the Court," she said in a statement last October. Since the Philippines is a state party to the ICC, it has had jurisdiction over genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes committed by Filipino nationals since 2011, when the country became a signatory, she added. "My office, in accordance with its mandate under the Rome Statute, will be closely following developments in the Philippines in the weeks to come and record any instance of incitement or resort to violence with a view to assessing whether a preliminary examination into the situation of the Philippines needs to be opened," she said. PRIMARY JURISDICTION But Kabayan Party-list Rep. Harry Roque, the only ICC-accredited lawyer in the Philippines, said this is not up to Bensouda because she still has to get authorization from the court. "That's one of the peculiarities of the ICC," Roque told ABS-CBN News. The prosecutor also has to prove that the Philippines is "unable or unwilling to investigate" because the state party still has primary jurisdiction over the alleged crimes, he explained. And even if she does get authorization to launch a full-blown investigation, Bensouda still has to prove that the crimes were committed as "part of a widespread or systematic attack against a civilian population." Amado Valdez, former dean of the University of East's College of Law, said this seems unlikely because police are just following protocol during their raids. "Wala naman akong nakikitang systematic na pagpatay kundi ang system na ginagawa nila is to make an investigation. May mga record naman yung iba so this is not systematic," he said. (I don't see any systematic killings but a system of investigating. There are records of these so this is not systematic.) PREMATURE It's also not clear what elements Bensouda wants to investigate, whether she wants to try Duterte for direct involvement or for command responsibility, said Roque. More importantly, he said the President has only been in office for more than three months so it's too early to prove anything. "Talagang premature pa to say the President that he will be tried," he said. Plus, the ICC has its own share of controversies, the most potent of which is its alleged bias against African countries. Just recently, Gambia and South Africa announced their withdrawal from the international tribunal. SIMILAR OUTCOME Roque predicts a similar outcome for the country in case Duterte does go on trial, especially since the Philippines is the only Southeast Asian country to ratify the Rome Statute. "There's a problem sa cooperation when it comes to sitting presidents," he said, although noting it was only obvious for the ICC to focus on African countries because of the atrocities happening in the region. The ICC Office of the Prosecutor is currently conducting preliminary examinations regarding situations in Afghanistan, Burundi, the registered vessels of Comoros, Greece and Cambodia, Colombia, Gabon, Guinea, Iraq/UK, Palestine, Nigeria and Ukraine. Share Facebook Share on Twitter GPlus LinkedIn Read More: international criminal court ICC rodrigo duterte war on drugs extra-judicial killings crimes against humanity

Sen Poe and Sen Kiko Tandem in 2022 Presidential Election? Source Say`s

No Joke: Matobato Campares Himself To John Wick before International Media

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has said he personally killed suspected criminals to set an example for police.

Duterte made the comments in a speech late on Monday night to businessmen as he discussed his campaign to eradicate illegal drugs, which has seen police and unknown assailants kill thousands of people since he became president on June 30.

'I used to do it personally,' he said, 'Just to show to the guys (police) that if I can do it why can't you,' Duterte said in his speech at the presidential palace.

'And I'd go around in Davao with a motorcycle, with a big bike around, and I would just patrol the streets, looking for trouble also. I was really looking for a confrontation so I could kill.'

After speaking about police killing suspects during the current crime war, Duterte said he led similar efforts when he was mayor of Davao, the major southern city that he ruled for most of the previous 20 years.

Duterte, 71, also responded to criticism from human rights groups and US President Barack Obama about his anti-crime tactics, vowing he would not be intimidated by their criticism into stopping

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4031670/Philippines-Duterte-says-personally-killed-people.html#ixzz5HT8qzXmN
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Rights groups have previously accused Duterte of running vigilante death squads in Davao that killed more than 1,000 suspected criminals, including children accused of petty crimes.

Duterte has variously denied and acknowledged involvement in the death squads.

But he easily won presidential elections in May after promising to roll-out his Davao law-and-order policies across the nation.

He pledged that 100,000 people would die in the crackdown and that so many bodies would be dumped in Manila Bay that fish there would grow fat from feeding on them.

Since taking office in late June, police have reported killing 2,086 people in anti-drug operations. More than 3,000 others have been killed in unexplained circumstances, according to official figures

Often masked assailants break into shanty homes and kill people who have been tagged as drug traffickers or drug users. Rights groups have warned of a breakdown in the rule of law with police and hired assassins operating with complete impunity.

In October, Duterte compared himself to Adolf Hitler and said he would be 'happy to slaughter' three million drug addicts

Duterte has insisted that police are only killing in self-defence and gangsters are murdering the other victims.

But he has also said he will not allow any police to go to jail if they are found guilty of murder in prosecuting his crime war.

Surveys show a majority of Filipinos continue to support the charismatic Duterte and his crime policies, accepting his argument that drastic action is required to stop the Philippines from becoming a narco-state.

In October, Duterte compared himself to Adolf Hitler and said he would be 'happy to slaughter' three million drug addicts.

He later apologised for the Hitler reference but said he was 'emphatic' about wanting to kill the millions of addicts.

In September, a self-confessed Davao death squad member told a Senate hearing into the drug war that then-mayor Duterte personally gunned down a justice department agent and ordered the murders of opponents.

The confessed hitman, Edgar Matobato, said one of the victims was fed to a crocodile.

Duterte's aides denied the claims, sought to discredit Matobato and orchestrated the removal of the president's chief political opponent as chair of the Senate hearing.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4031670/Philippines-Duterte-says-personally-killed-people.html#ixzz5HT8txKSS
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'Si Calida, kailan?' Trillanes asks after Duterte axes PhilHealth chief

Si (Solicitor General Jose) Calida kailan?"
This was the question raised by Senator Antonio Trillanes IV when sought for comment on President Rodrigo Duterte’s order to replace Celestina Ma. Jude Dela Serna as interim chief of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth).
The senator said the President was quick to remove officials not close to him.
"Kapag hindi dikit sa kanya, tanggal agad. Si Calida na mas malaki ang halaga ng corruption, ayaw niya tanggalin kasi maraming alam na sikreto,” he said in a text message to GMA News Online.
Senator Francis Pangilinan earlier called for the resignation of the Solicitor General insisting that there is conflict of interest when Calida-family owned Vigilant Investigative and Security Agency Inc. (VISAI) secured contracts worth over P150 million with the National Parks Development Committee (NPDC), the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC), Department of Justice (DOJ), Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, and the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) between 2015 and 2018.
Senator Risa Hontiveros has also challenged the President to fire the government's top lawyer and file appropriate cases against him.
Calida said he would not quit his post as he can handle the accusations thrown at him.
President Duterte has repeatedly defended Calida.
"'Yung kay Calida naman bakit ko siya i-fire, out na long before he became a SolGen, 'yun ang negosyo niya, 'yun ang negosyo ng tatay niya. Actually inherited ni Calida ‘yan," he said in his speech before the Filipino community in South Korea.
"Basta may bidding lahat, anything in government basta may bidding ka, walang problema, okay 'yan. Kung siya ang nanalo, eh di siya... sabihin, putulin mo hanapbuhay ng tao, why? Are you sure you will be there for all times?" Duterte added.
Meanwhile, Senator Joseph Victor Ejercito said he has been requesting that the President appoint a financial expert with actuarial knowledge to the PhilHealth post.
“PhilHealth means management of funds. With PhilHealth's current situation, and not to undermine capabilities of doctors, we really need a financial wiz to fix all its troubles,” he said in a message to reporters.

“I am very much concerned with PhilHealth's financial standing at the moment. Really disturbing,” he added.
Ejercito expressed hope that the Office of the President and Office of Executive Secretary would continue search for a permanent PhilHealth President and CEO with financial and actuarial expertise.
He added charges should be filed not only against Dela Serna, but against past officials like former Health Secretary Janet Garin and former PhilHealth president Alexander Padilla who were allegedly responsible for mismanaging the funds resulting in its current financial state.
Duterte removed Dela Serna amid a Palace investigation into her alleged excessive travels. Earlier, the Commission on Audit released its report finding that Dela Serna spent P627,293.04 to cover her travel expenses to and from her home province of Bohol to Manila.
Appointed to replace her is Dr. Roy Ferrer, who has served as PhilHealth board member. —JST, GMA News