Duterte back in the Philippines Friday

MANILA, Philippines — President Duterte arrives home today after a successful visit to China and Hong Kong where he wooed investors at the recently concluded Boao Forum for Asia and mingled with the Filipino community.

Duterte was set to arrive past midnight at the Francisco Bangoy International Airport in Davao City from Hong Kong.

The Philippines netted an estimated P3 billion worth of economic and infrastructure assistance from Beijing as a result of the latest bilateral talks between Duterte and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said China pledged P3.8 billion in economic and infrastructure assistance through various agreements signed by the two countries’ line agencies.

Roque said nine Chinese companies also signed letters of intent to explore business opportunities in the Philippines, with an estimated investment value of $9.5 billion.  

In Hong Kong, activists yesterday criticized the deaths tied to Duterte’s war on illegal drugs and his supposed failure to fulfill his promises hours before he met with members of the Filipino community. 

‘Rising tyranny, dictatorship’

About 50 Filipinos and Hong Kong locals staged a protest along Middle Road to assail what they described as the “rising tyranny and dictatorship” of Duterte.

The activists, who claim to be backed by 34 sectoral groups from different Asian countries, also chided the President for allegedly endorsing human rights violations and extrajudicial killings. 

“Some people are saying that he is still very popular. But that cannot hide the fact that the economic and social conditions in the Philippines are worsening and are not getting better. His popularity cannot cover the fact that there are thousands of people who are protesting, who are fighting his tyranny and dictatorship,” Eman Villanueva, chairman of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan-Hong Kong-Macau, said. 

“We are just here to send our message to our President. We are not terrorists. It is our President who has been killing our people in our country. We should be the ones who are given protection, not this President,” he added. 

Villanueva said Duterte has failed to improve the lives of Filipinos, forcing them to work in other countries.

He also accused Duterte of not respecting the independence of co-equal branches of government by calling on Congress to impeach Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno. 

“The situation of human rights in the Philippines is also deteriorating, even much worse than the time of the former dictator (Ferdinand) Marcos. He even called on Congress to impeach and remove the Chief Justice. This is a total disrespect to the rule of law and also to the checks and balance of the government,” Eman said. 

“This is even much worse than the record of the previous administration. We are here today to tell the Philippines that he should stop doing this,” he added.  – With Alexis Romero