12 h. ago ‘13’ or ‘27’ lovers? Rodrigo Duterte kisses goodbye to his womanising days

Former president Rodrigo Duterte, a self-proclaimed womaniser, once bragged that he had a wife, a second wife and at least two girlfriends. Now, in The Hague facing a war crimes trial that could see him sentenced up to 30 years in jail, the 80-year-old has some advice for the women in his life. “To all his girlfriends – look for somebody else. Somebody with plenty of credit cards,” his son, Congressman Paolo Duterte, told supporters in The Hague on Monday, relaying the patriarch’s words after...

Politics

12 h. ago Philippines’ Duterte ends womanising era, leaving ‘13 to 27’ lovers behind

Former president Rodrigo Duterte, a self-proclaimed womaniser, once bragged that he had a wife, a second wife and at least two girlfriends. Now, in The Hague facing a war crimes trial that could see him sentenced up to 30 years in jail, the 80-year-old has some advice for the women in his life. “To all his girlfriends – look for somebody else. Somebody with plenty of credit cards,” his son, Congressman Paolo Duterte, told supporters in The Hague on Monday, relaying the patriarch’s words after...

Politics

3 d. ago Philippines’ Rodrigo Duterte wants to keep Davao house for sentimental reasons

Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte has stepped in to defuse a potential family feud over his Davao City house that was put up for sale, saying he is unwilling to offload the property due to its sentimental value. Duterte’s partner Honeylet Avancena said she was seeking buyers for the residence, citing her emotional concerns ever since the Davao mayor was held in a detention centre in The Hague over his charges linked to his war on drugs, in which thousands of purported dealers and users...

Politics

1 week ago Will Australia host Duterte’s interim release from The Hague detention?

Australia is a possible destination for the interim release of the Philippines’ former president, Rodrigo Duterte, who is currently being held at the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) detention centre in the Netherlands. Philippines’ Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio said her father’s lawyers were looking at Australia for his release to a third-party country, The Philippine Star newspaper reported on Tuesday. Duterte has been detained in The Hague since March over alleged crimes linked to...

Politics

1 week ago Sara Duterte warns against Marcos’ US pivot, ‘leaning’ on a foreign power

The Philippines’ Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio has called on the country to steer away from its “unbalanced” foreign policy in an implicit criticism of President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr, as she offered her clearest indication yet of where she stands on China. In a speech delivered to a group of Filipinos at the Parliament Gardens in Melbourne on Sunday, Duterte-Carpio warned against leaning on “a foreign power” and allowing its weapons systems to be deployed in the Philippines, calling such...

Events

1 week ago Philippines’ Sara Duterte takes aim at US ties, attacks missile deployment

The Philippines’ Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio has called on the country to steer away from its “unbalanced” foreign policy in an implicit criticism of President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr, as she offered her clearest indication yet of where she stands on China. In a speech delivered to a group of Filipinos at the Parliament Gardens in Melbourne on Sunday, Duterte-Carpio warned against leaning on “a foreign power” and allowing its weapons systems to be deployed in the Philippines, calling such...

Events

2 w. ago How the next Philippine president could reshape its South China Sea policy

With Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr about halfway through his six-year term, questions are growing over whether his successor will uphold his firmer stance on the South China Sea or, as one senior official has warned, retreat to the symbolic “jet ski” posturing and softer policies seen under his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte. Last month’s midterm elections delivered a split Senate, with Marcos-aligned candidates winning five of the 12 contested seats and Duterte allies clinching the...

Politics

3 w. ago ‘Sara has momentum’: how Philippine VP won round 1 of impeachment row

Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio has won round one of her impeachment battle after her allies in the Senate tossed back the bid to the Lower House on claims it was “defective” and “unconstitutional”. The unprecedented move on Tuesday, which was settled by a vote of 18-5, has triggered an intense debate online about the senators’ actions and Duterte-Carpio’s political future. “I think, for now, Sara has momentum even if the president still has three years left in his term of office,”...

Politics

3 w. ago Philippine senators split over legality of delaying Duterte’s impeachment trial

Mounting calls from legal scholars, civil society and protest groups are putting the Philippine Senate under pressure to launch an impeachment trial against Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio – even as her allies move to have the case dismissed. Duterte-Carpio was impeached by the House of Representatives on February 5 on a wide range of serious charges that include large-scale corruption and plotting to assassinate President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr, his wife and the speaker of the house –...

Politics