EXPAT NEWSPAPER 0612 - 0625

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THE PHILIPPINES’ FORUM FOR INTERNATIONAL READERS SINCE 1981 www.expatphilippines.ph

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June 12-25, 2016 Vol. XXXIV No. 18

Thousands of male festival goers and devotees scramble for suman (sweetened sticky rice) thrown by onlookers from surrounding houses and buildings, as the statue of San Isidro is carried aloft, in a fun-filled procession of thanksgiving at the Mayohan or Hagisan ng Suman (literally, "throwing of sticky rice treats") Festival in the Municipality of Tayabas, Quezon Province, held annually on May 15, in honor of San Isidro Labrador, Patron Saint of the Harvest. Photo by Macjanry Imperio

Intense scrutiny precedes Duterte reign By TIMOTHY JAY IBAY

Is the public jumping the gun on the President-elect?

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ver the past couple of weeks, President-elect Rodrigo Duterte has been a staple of news headlines for a slew of statements that have stirred (to say the very least) different groups’ sensibilities. And while taking offense to the “insinuation” that members of the media that are killed, if they are corrupt, deserve it; and to seeing the chief executive wolf whistle a female journalist are absolutely merited – perhaps the question really should be, why is anyone even surprised anymore? The is the same man who, during the campaign trail that eventually got him nearly 16 million votes, swore about the Pope, told him to go home and not to visit the largely Catholic country again; made a comment (joke, narration; depending on who you ask) about a

gang-raped/murdered Australian lay minister, saying “the mayor should have been first;” and has openly vowed to kill (extrajudicially) criminals and those involved in the drug trade, basically shoving laws on human rights to the side. The man has changed neither his tone nor his message. He is singing the same tune that got him the record-number of Presidential votes. But that hasn’t prevented intense scrutiny upon him, even as he has yet to officially assume the Presidency. Decoding Duterte Duterte’s aides, in his defense, have asked the media and the public for a little consideration. “We need a little understanding. He does not have any bad intentions,” Duterte’s desig-

nated Justice Secretary, Vitaliano Aguirre II said, adding that the President-elect has even advised incoming cabinet members to “learn how to decipher him.” Designated spokesperson Salvador Panelo, commenting on Duterte’s controversial statements on media killings, said that the Davao City mayor of 20 years was “taken out of context, misinterpreted and misunderstood,” curiously while on live TV. “Just because you are a journalist, you are not exempt from assassination, if you are a son of a bitch,” was part of Duterte’s response when asked how his administration would address the problem of media killings—one that has made the democratic nation of the Philippines one of the most dangerous placpage 2 es on earth for journalists (the

‘Federalism to hasten overall development of Phl’ Former Sen. Aquilino Pimentel weighs in on potential change By RICHARD RAMOS

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hile it cannot be denied that the Philippines has consistently remained to be the “chic man of Asia” in recent years due to a thriving economy, a robust stock market, and steady GDP growth, much more could still be achieved if the country adapts federalism as its system of government. For decades now, budgetary allotments, decision-making and political influence has remained transfixed in the National Capital Region, or specifically Manila, thus causing over-centralization of power and resources up north while the rest of the country receives scant attention from the national budget. “This highly centralized unitary form of government has caused an imbalance of economic resources in the page 3 Philippines, resulting in the


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