Son of World’s Most Anti-Drug President Accused of Smuggling $125M in Meth

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has made a name for himself carrying out a most brutal war on drugs, publicly urging police and civilians to summarily execute drug users and dealers. This campaign of mass murder has so far claimed thousands of lives.

President Trump even called Duterte in April to praise him personally, saying, “I just wanted to congratulate you because I am hearing of the unbelievable job on the drug problem.”

What would the bloodthirsty president say if his own son, Paolo Duterte, was involved in drug dealing?

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That question might be answered pending the result of a Filipino Senate investigation. While his father is hell-bent on a drug war crusade, Paolo is accused of being involved in a $125 million shipment of crystal meth from China into the port in Manila.

“Senator Antonio Trillanes, a staunch critic of the president, displayed to the Senate panel photographs of Paolo Duterte beside a businessman who was behind the shipment in which the alleged drugs were found.

The president’s son-in-law, Manases Carpio, who has also been accused of links to the May drug shipment from China, told the hearing he had no involvement…

Mr Trillanes said he had intelligence information from an undisclosed foreign country that Paolo Duterte was a member of a criminal syndicate, citing as proof a “dragon-like” tattoo with secret digits on his back.”

Paolo, who is the vice mayor of the city of Davao, denied the accusations and refused to answer questions, adding that his bank accounts were “irrelevant” to the inquiry. Trillanes said both Paolo Duterte and Manases Carpio have a hundred million pesos in bank accounts that are not reported as required.

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“We can compel the opening of these accounts by having cases filed against Paolo for ill-gotten wealth because he is a public official and this is not reported in his SALN,” said Trillanes.

Paolo also refused to show the tattoo, which Trillanes says has secret digits that can be decoded by the U.S. DEA. Trillanes suggested that only someone with influence like Paolo would be able to smuggle drugs into Davao, where Paolo serves as vice mayor.

Whether Paolo is innocent or not, he gets the luxury of a formal inquiry where he can invoke a constitutional right to remain silent. Ordinary Filipinos don’t have these privileges under Rodrigo Duterte, and instead, are murdered on the spot for the suspicion of dealing drugs.

While low-level street dealers and users die by the scores in Duterte’s brutal drug war, the bigger players—such as those involved in shipping $125 million quantities of crystal meth into the country—can buy themselves protection.

The black market always fosters relationships between top drug dealers, law enforcement, and dirty politicians, as we see in the U.S., especially with Border Patrol and the Mexican drug trade. In the Philippines, it would be most profitable for someone in Paolo’s position to fill the voids being left in the drug trade as State forces wreak terror and havoc.

Power corrupts, and too often it turns out that those leaders carrying out crusades against a “moral blight” are neck deep in the target of their false outrage. Drug crusaders turn out to be enabling and profiting from the drug trade, such as the cargo ship owned by Mitch McConnell’s family that was found carrying 90 pounds of cocaine.

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Rodrigo Duterte represents the dystopian culmination of the War on Drugs. What’s happening in the Philippines can happen anywhere obsessive leaders, with the backing of the majority population, use absolute power to wage war against the behavior of ingesting substances deemed illegal by the State.

And, if Paolo Duterte is found to be involved in massive drug dealing, the Duterte government will be a poignant reminder that the State’s drug war crusade serves to wipe out the competition so corrupt politicians can reap the profits of drug dealing.

Duterte Lashes Out At Chelsea Clinton's Comments: "How Did You Feel When Your Father Was F***ing Monica Lewinsky?"

A few days ago, controversial Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte made a fairly "unsavory" quip in a speech to soldiers about his decision to declare martial law following a prolonged battle with drug lords and ISIS threats in this country.  In what was meant as "sarcasm," at least according to Duterte, he told soldiers that the ramifications of martial law would fall upon the presidency alone and that he would take the blame if soldiers "rape three women."  Per the Daily Mail:

"For this martial law and the consequences of martial law and the ramifications of martial law, I and I alone would be responsible."

"Just do your work. I will handle the rest. I will be imprisoned for you. If you rape three (women), I will say that I did it."

Of course, as Sean Spicer recently found out when he idiotically compared Assad to Hitler, there are a couple of topics that should just be off limits in political speeches...and rape is one of them. 

Not surprisingly, the comment immediately drew international criticism including the following tweet from Chelsea Clinton...you know, because we"re apparently supposed to care what she has to say still.

Not funny. Ever. https://t.co/XUIo85noBQ

— Chelsea Clinton (@ChelseaClinton) May 26, 2017

But, as we"ve learned before after he called Obama a "son of a whore," Duterte is not the type to back down from the pressure of public opinion and/or the twitter rants of former first daughters.  Therefore, it"s not terribly surprising that he lashed out at Chelsea with the following:

"These whores, they hear "rape". Like, like Chelsea, she slammed me. I was not joking, I was being sarcastic. Listen to the speech. I do not laugh at my own jokes."

"I will tell her, when your father, the president of the United States, was f***ing Lewinsky and the girls in the White House, how did you feel? Did you slam your father?"

And, just in case there was any confusion, Duterte has subsequently asked Chelsea again: "I repeat, when President Clinton was fucking Lewinsky, what was your statement or your reaction?"

"It is a crime actually committed by soldiers, mostly Americans in Okinawa," he said, referring to several rape cases involving U.S. servicemen stationed in Japan, most recently last year.

"But, we never heard of a Filipino. But I am just warning them that anything they do, I have to answer for it. I take full responsibility for your foolishness. I speak sarcastically."

"You Americans, like Chelsea, be careful because you live in a glass house," he said.

"I repeat, when President Clinton was fucking Lewinsky, what was your statement or your reaction?"

Somehow we suspect Chelsea"s going to pass on offering up her thoughts on the topic of her father"s infidelities despite Duterte"s repeated requests for additional information.

BREAKING: Authenticated Transcripts Show Trump Praised Genocidal Dictator For Mass Murder

President Donald Trump has explicitly endorsed the mass murder of innocent civilians who’ve done nothing more than use a substance deemed illegal by the state.

In April, Trump reportedly had a “very friendly conversation” with Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, who has repeatedly bragged about his ongoing campaign of summarily executing people who use and sell drugs in the Philippines. Following that conversation, Trump invited Duterte to the Oval Office.

Now, thanks to an official transcript of the phone call, obtained by The Intercept, we know Trump went much farther than a simple conversation between two heads of state. The American president actually heaped praise on Duterte for his systematic extermination of civilians.

According to The Intercept:

“You are a good man,” Trump told Duterte, according to an official transcript of the April 29 call produced by the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs and obtained by The Intercept. “Keep up the good work,” Trump told Duterte. “You are doing an amazing job.”

Trump began the call by telling Duterte, “You don’t sleep much, you’re just like me,” before quickly pivoting to the strongman’s drug war.

“I just wanted to congratulate you because I am hearing of the unbelievable job on the drug problem,” Trump told Duterte at the beginning of their call, according to the document. “Many countries have the problem, we have a problem, but what a great job you are doing and I just wanted to call and tell you that.”

“Thank you Mr. President,” replied Duterte. “This is the scourge of my nation now and I have to do something to preserve the Filipino nation.”

The Intercept notes that the transcript has been authenticated by “well-placed sources in the Palace and the Department of Foreign Affairs by reporters at the Manila-based news outlet Rappler.”

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Duterte has been rightly condemned by several countries around the world, and the UN for human rights abuses, by directing national police and vigilante death squads to roam the Philippines and execute drug users and dealers on the spot. So far, 7,000 people have been murdered by police, who have also used Duterte’s directive to murder government officials and community leaders who don’t fall in line.

Duterte has promised pardons and immunity for the killers, and continues to call for even more slaughter. The Filipino president has also proudly admitted to killing people himself.

“Hitler massacred three million Jews, now, there’s three million drug addicts. I’d be happy to slaughter them,” Duterte proclaimed in September.

President Trump called him a “good man” doing an “amazing job” in the April phone call, and said former President Obama “did not understand that.”

It almost defies belief that in this day and age, the supposed ‘leader of the free world’ would explicitly praise a modern-day extermination campaign by a government against its citizens.

Trump is ramping up his own war on drugs back in the U.S., by appointing rabid prohibitionist Jeff Sessions as Attorney General. Sessions has already sent a directive to prosecutors to seek the maximum penalty for drug charges. Apparently, Trump thinks summary executions of drug users is even better.

When Trump was elected, this writer posited that Donald Trump will use anti-establishment sentiment to form a new authoritarianism. He has already displayed many signs of doing so, but the call to President Duterte praising his murderous drug war may be the biggest yet.

Filipino Defense Minister Changes Course, Takes Harder Line on China

January 17, 2017   |   James Holbrooks

(ANTIMEDIA) Manila — On Monday, a Philippines’ foreign minister announced his country had filed an official complaint against China — a move, as Anti-Media reported, that actually demonstrates a strengthening diplomatic bond between the two countries rather than a weakening one. On Tuesday, the Filipino defense minister took a harder line on the issue of China’s installation of military hardware on artificial islands in the South China Sea.

“The actions of China militarizing those disputed features are very troubling,” Defense Minister Delfin Lorenzana said in a statement. “They do not square with the Chinese government’s rhetoric that its purpose is peaceful and friendly.”

On Monday, Filipino Foreign Minister Perfecto Yasay told CNN Philippines that “when we take action in engaging China in this dispute, we do not want to take such aggressive, proactive action that will not solve the problem.” Yasay said the filing of the official complaint, as the diplomatic process dictates, was to ensure “the interests and rights of the Philippines are properly protected.”

Regardless of his harsher words, Minister Lorenzana would seem to agree with Yasay’s approach. He stated, according to Reuters, that “a diplomatic protest was the correct procedure,” but despite warming ties with China, “the government still had a duty to protect the national interest.”

The South China Sea dispute, which centers on regional nations such as Vietnam as they combat China’s nearly all-encompassing territorial claim to those waters, was thrown into the spotlight once again last week as incoming President Trump’s pick for secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, brought a staunch anti-China position with him into his Senate confirmation hearing.

“We’re going to have to send China a clear signal that, first, the island-building stops,” he stated when asked if he supported a more aggressive posture toward China, “and, second, your access to those islands also is not going to be allowed.”

Tillerson went on to call China’s actions in the South China Sea “extremely worrisome,” arguing China’s absolute control over those waters would have a negative impact on the global economy as the trade routes there see around $5 trillion worth of traffic annually.

“They’re taking territory or control, or declaring control of territories that are not rightfully China’s,” the would-be secretary of state said.

For its part, China has continued to stand firm on its one-China policy, which regional nations who wish to deal with the superpower are required to adhere to.

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This article (Filipino Defense Minister Changes Course, Takes Harder Line on China) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to James Holbrooks and theAntiMedia.org. Anti-Media Radio airs weeknights at 11 pm Eastern/8 pm Pacific. If you spot a typo, please email the error and name of the article to edits@theantimedia.org.

Philippines File Complaint Against China – But It’s Not What You Think

January 16, 2017   |   James Holbrooks

(ANTIMEDIA) Manila — The Philippines has filed an official diplomatic protest against China, the country’s foreign minister revealed Monday, over its installation of military hardware on artificial islands in the South China Sea. While, on the surface, this may appear to be the first speed bump in the budding China-Philippines relationship, it’s actually further proof of President Rodrigo Duterte’s increasing willingness to work with China — diplomatically.

“I just want to ensure the Filipino people that when we take action at engaging China in this dispute, we do not want to take such aggressive, provocative action that will not solve the problem,” Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay told CNN Philippines on Monday.

The complaint, Reuters writes, was filed at the Chinese embassy in December after Filipino officials received “a report from the U.S.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies about a weapons buildup on seven artificial islands in the Spratlys.”

Of that report, Yasay stated “we cannot engage China in a war,” but also made clear the Duterte administration is doing its duty to its people. Yasay said that upon learning of China’s actions, “we made sure that the interests and rights of the Philippines are properly protected.”

Diplomatically. With an official complaint. That’s the distinction.

It was not so very long ago, remember, that Duterte was calling President Obama a son of a whore — publicly, for the world to see. In fact, the very word Yasay used to describe the type of action the Philippines shouldn’t take on the South China Sea issue, “provocative,” is precisely the word repeatedly used to describe Duterte’s behavior toward the United States before he pivoted to China.

So the complaint, ironically, is actually further indication of an increasing cooperation between the Philippines and China. Yasay has already stated that last year’s ruling at the Hague — a Filipino victory in which China was denied its near all-encompassing claim to the South China Sea — would not be on the agenda at this year’s ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) summit.

This means, quite clearly, that President Duterte has no intention of holding China to the Hague’s verdict.

All of this should make the coming weeks and months quite interesting, to say the least, as incoming President Trump’s anti-China stance will no doubt intensify once he takes office — right as some countries are working to de-escalate tensions with the regional superpower.

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This article (Philippines File Complaint Against China – But It’s Not What You Think) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to James Holbrooks and theAntiMedia.org. Anti-Media Radio airs weeknights at 11 pm Eastern/8 pm Pacific. If you spot a typo, please email the error and name of the article to edits@theantimedia.org.

"Friends, Long Live" Duterte Tells Russian Navy, Hopes Moscow Will Become Philippines' "Ally And Protector"

On Tuesday, in a surprising move confirming the ongoing pivot by the Philippines away from the US sphere of geopolitical influence, and toward the China-Russia axis, the Russian destroyer Admiral Tributs and sea tanker Boris Butomato unexpectedly arrived in the Philippines to conduct military training exercises in what the Russian media described as "an unprecedented navy-to-navy contact between the two nations."

Russian destroyer Admiral Tributs has docked at the Manila South Harbor

The warships arrived in the region on Tuesday as Russian Navy Rear Admiral Eduard Mikhailov proclaimed a joint mission between Manila and Moscow to target the region’s two most pressing security concerns, maritime piracy and terrorism. The Rear Admiral said that "we’re very sure in the future" Russia and the Philippines will "get such exercises, maybe just the maneuvering." Alternatively, "maybe just use some combat systems and so on," he noted, so as not to tip Russia’s hand concerning its regional naval strategy.

A spokesman for the Philippine Navy told reporters this is the first official interaction with the Russian navy, an arch rival of its former colonial master and closest ally in the region, the United States. Mikhailov said they were willing to help train Philippine counterparts to fight piracy and terrorism and they hope to foster stronger security in the region.

Fast forward to today when Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte said that he hoped Moscow, the Obama administration"s sworn uber-hacking rival, would become his country"s ally and protector as he toured one of the two Russian warships on a four-day visit to Manila. Duterte"s remarks came a day after Russia"s ambassador said his country was ready to supply the Philippines with sophisticated weapons and aims to become its close friend.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte alights from the Russian Navy vessel Admiral
Tributs, a large anti-submarine ship, after his tour in metro Manila, Philippines

"We welcome our Russian friends. Anytime you want to dock here for anything, for play, for replenish supplies or maybe our ally to protect us," said Duterte while shaking the hands of Rear Admiral Eduard Mikhailov, head of the Flotilla of the Russian Navy Pacific Fleet. Rear Adm. Eduard Mikhailov and Russian Ambassador Igor Khovaev, escorted Duterte and several cabinet members around the anti-submarine ship Admiral Tributs. At one point the Philippine leader looked out from the ship"s deck and pumped his fist in the air. After signing a guest book, he said "Friends, long live!" He added: "That"s from the heart; I hope you can come back more often."

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, gestures as he talks with Russian Rear
Adm. Eduard Mikhailov, third from right, and Russia"s Ambassador to the
Philippines Igor A. Khovaev

As NBC News adds, as a gesture of good will, Filipinos were allowed to tour the huge ships and Russian marines demonstrated their combat capabilities. Tobacco and beer magnate Lucio Tan, the 4th richest Filipino according to Forbes magazine, was among civilians who toured the ship. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, who accompanied Duterte on the ship tour, expressed optimism about "the start of a partnership" between the two countries" defense establishments when he met with Russian navy officials Thursday night.

"May our common aspirations for regional and global peace and security enable us to become good partners, cooperating and coordinating towards tranquil and safe seas for all," Lorenzana said on board the Admiral Tributs.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte (3rd L) talks to Russia"s Rear Admiral Eduard
Mikhailov (4th R) at the anti-submarine navy ship Admiral Tributs

He said during his trip to Russia in early December, he agreed with Russian defense officials to finalize a memorandum of understanding that will be the basis of future military engagements, including joint military exercises. It is expected to be signed during Duterte"s planned trip to Russia in April.

The visit by the Russian navy ships is the third to the Philippines and the first under Duterte, who while pivoting toward Russia and China, has repeatedly lashed out at outgoing President Barack Obama and his administration for criticizing Duterte"s deadly crackdown on illegal drugs.

Duterte is due to go to Moscow in April. The visit by the Russian warships was the first official navy-to-navy contact between the two countries. Last month, Duterte sent his foreign and defense ministers to Moscow to discuss arms deals after a U.S. senator said he would block the sale of 26,000 assault rifles to the Philippines due to concern about a rising death toll in a war on drugs launched by Duterte.

In contrast, he has reached out to China and Russia - whose leaders he has met recently - in a dramatic shift in Philippine foreign policy that has put Washington in a dilemma.

The Philippines has depended heavily on the U.S., its treaty ally, for weapons, ships and aircraft for years, although it has turned to other countries for defense equipment. Russia and China have been delighted to fill the void.

Duterte Says US Ambassadors Are CIA "Spies" As Alleged US Plot To Overthrow Him Emerges

Coming at an awkward time, just as the US accused Russia of doing (once again, without a shred of valid proof as opposed to a report which the DHS was quick to disown) what the CIA has done to other nations for decades, earlier today everyone"s favorite volatile, vulgar and outspoken Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte derided U.S. ambassadors as "spies", responding to a media report of an alleged American plot to destabilize his government, a job he said some envoys were appointed solely to do.

Quoted by Reuters, the former mayor said though had received no intelligence reports of any U.S. plan to undermine his presidency, he believed most ambassadors were in cahoots with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), which had a track record of meddling in other countries" affairs. 

The reason for the latest outburst is because the Manila Times newspaper on Tuesday reported a former U.S. ambassador to the Philippines had prepared a "blueprint to undermine Duterte", citing a document it had received from a what it described as a "highly placed source".

The Manila Times said Philip Goldberg, who recently ended his term as ambassador in Manila, had outlined various strategies over an 18-month period to destabilize Duterte. That would include supporting the opposition and co-opting the media, the military, neighboring countries and senior government officials to turn against Duterte and isolate him economically.

Duterte has previously called Goldberg a "gay son of a bitch" and referred to him in three successive live television interviews on Thursday, as Washington"s "superstar" with a track record of trying to undermine governments.

He may well be right: Goldberg was expelled as ambassador to Bolivia in 2008 by then President Evo Morales, who accused him of siding with his rightist opponents and of orchestrating street protests. The United States rejected that and said his expulsion was a "grave error".

"Maybe he will deny it but it"s not good," Duterte said of Goldberg"s alleged blueprint, which he said was plausible because of Goldberg"s history.

The U.S. State Department, which has yet to admit on the record that it is in the government overthrow business, naturally described the allegations as "false."

Duterte, however, had a more cynical view: "most of the ambassadors of the United States, but not all, are not really professional ambassadors. At the same time they are spying, they are connected with the CIA," Duterte said in a television interview.

He added that "the ambassador of a country is the number one spy. But there are ambassador of the U.S., their forte is really to undermine governments."

Meanwhile, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and the Pacific Daniel Russel dismissed the Manila Times report.

"No such blueprint exists," he said in a statement on Tuesday.

"The United States respects the sovereignty of the Philippines and the democratic choices made by the Philippine people."

Sure it does, and just to "prove" it here is a paper which showed that between 1946 and 2000, the US intervened in foreign elections "only" 81 times, of which 65% were covert.

Duterte: "I Will Burn Down The United Nations"

The United Nations is making a lot of enemies.

Yesterday, when the Obama administration refused to veto a UN vote over Isreal settlements, one which provoked Israel to lash out at the Obama administration saying "friends don"t act that way", but more importantly defied Trump who in a previous tweet urged Obama to veto the resolution, the President-elect had one message, or rather tweet, to the UN:

As to the U.N., things will be different after Jan. 20th.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 23, 2016

However, Trump is not the only one to hold a prominent grudge against the international organization, which many have accused of being nothing but an ineffective, if material, waste of taxpayer funds: taking Obama"s threat several steps further, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to “burn down” the United Nations headquarters in New York, in response to mounting international criticism over his bloody crackdown on suspected drug dealers.

“You go and file a complaint in the United Nations, I will burn down the United Nations if you want,” Duterte said, quoted by the New York Times. “I will burn it down if I go to America,” he added during a speech at an army base in the country"s southern city of Zamboanga.

Earlier in the week, Duterte called Zeid Ra"ad Al Hussein, a top UN official, an “idiot” and “son of a bitch” after the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights suggested launching an investigation into Duterte"s own accounts of killings when he was mayor of Davao City, and the “shocking” number of deaths during the ongoing anti-drug war.

“This guy [Zeid] is ever the joker or crazy,” Duterte said during a televised speech, repeatedly calling him stupid. “You UN officials, sitting there on your asses, we pay you your salaries. You idiot, do not tell me what to do... Who gave you the right?” he said quoted by Reuters

Needless to say, the UN does not appear to be very popular among the Philippines ruling elite.

In September, the outspoken Philippines leader refused to meet UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and even threatened to leave the UN after it criticized his ‘War on Drugs.’ A UN official told Reuters it was “basically unheard of” for a leader to be too busy to meet the secretary-general.

More than 6,000 people have been killed as part of Duterte"s crackdown, a third by police and the rest still officially under investigation. Duterte says the shootings by police were in self-defence.

Duterte’s "controversial" methods of cracking down on illegal drugs stem from his 22 years as mayor of Davao City. Last week, Duterte admitted he personally killed suspected criminals during his time as mayor of Davao City (the third most populous metropolitan area in the Philippines with more than 1.6 million inhabitants), patrolling the streets on a motorcycle.

“In Davao I used to do it personally. Just to show to the guys [the police] that if I can do it, why can"t you,” Duterte said, as quoted by AFP.

He added that he would “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.”

As for his parting shot at the UN"s employee and the overall organization, Duterte lashed out: “please shut up because your brain is lacking there,” he told Zeid.

“Go back to school. You United Nations, you do not know diplomacy. You do not know how to behave to be an employee of the United Nations" adding “You do not talk to me like that, you son of a bitch."

And now, Trump seems to agree.