January-2020.Pdf

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

January-2020.Pdf DOLE TO HIRE LARGE CLEAN-UP CREW FOR TAAL REHAB P3 Reklamo sa amo? Wagas na kaltas, atpb.? Itawag mo na! DOLE HOTLINE 1349 KUWAIT REAPS BAN IN PINAY DEATH EQUIVOCATION, FUDGED REPORT ON VILLAVENDE SLAY, FORCE PH TO SHUT DOWN photo by Dodong Echavez, IPS OFW DEPLOYMENT TO KUWAIT A MAN OF MANY PARTS. Secretary Silvestre Bello III does not only preside over the country’s employment sector, he is also President Duterte’s chief consigliere in the goverment’s peace AND INVOKE LABOR PACT talks with the CPP-NDF. Last January 25, 2020 Secretary Bello was a recipient of the Rotary Golden Wheel Award for Peace and Conflict. Photo shows Rotary International District 3780 P2 Governor Bernadette Herrera-Dy handing the award to Secretary Bello. DOLE TO STAGE ME EVAC AMID US-IRAN SPIRAL, GOV’T STAGES PLAN TO BRING HOME OFWS P3 photo by Dodong Echavez, IPS photo by Dodong Echavez, IPS photo by POLO-Tokyo, Japan photo by OWWA RWO1 photo by Dodong Echavez, IPS NEWS OVERSEAS EDITOR’S NOTE GOOD NEWS Bagong taon, Germany hires Behind turmoil, a Assistance await bagong sweldo more Pinoy nurses silver lining returning OFWs P2 P5 P4 P3 2 January 2020 Kuwait reaps ban in Pinay death AN alleged attempt to cover follow the provisions of the professionals including Filipino “Those who went home for that the ban had the imprimatur up the true cause of death of a standard employment contract crew seafarers for Kuwait.” vacation and those with existing of President Rodrigo Duterte Pinay overseas Filipino worker the Philippine government Sec. Bello, however, quali- contracts are still allowed whose program priorities has resulted in the imposition and Kuwait agreed on during fied that skilled workers and to travel to Kuwait. Only include workers’ welfare and of a total deployment ban of the 2018 Memorandum of professionals who have unex- workers with new contracts OFW security. Filipino workers to Kuwait by Agreement between the two pired contracts or categorized are covered by the ban. This is Earlier Sec. Bello had directed the Philippine government, countries. as “Balik-Manggagawa,” and meant to ensure the protection the POEA to temporarily Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello “Under the 2018 MOU, we those who will be cleared by the of our workers in Kuwait,” the suspend the processing and III recently said. were supposed to come up Secretary of Labor are exempt- secretary said. deployment of OFWs to Kuwait. Sec. Bello made the statement with a standard employment ed from the ban. The resolution also noted –Paul R. Ang last January 16, 2020 when he contract in order to provide disclosed a glaring disparity sufficient protection for our between an earlier finding from OFWs in Kuwait. But the welfare the Kuwait Ministry of Health and security provisions in the and the latter autopsy report MOU have not been enforced from the National Bureau of by the host country. We have Investigation (NBI) on the not finalized anything,” Sec. remains of OFW Jeanelyn Bello stated. Villavende, who was brutally The labor secretary said murdered by her Kuwaiti the ban will remain in effect employer late last year. and no Filipino worker will “Our poor OFW was sexually be deployed to Kuwait as long abused and the Kuwaiti as justice is not met for the authorities attributed her death Villavende family and if the to a cardiac arrest induced agreements in the 2018 MOU by her physical injuries. How are not enforced. could they say that? Even some The total deployment ban of her internal organs were came into effect when the missing. Their report is in grave POEA Governing Board passed contrast with the findings of Resolution No. 4, series of 2020 the NBI that she was sexually which states that “a total ban abused,” Sec. Bello stressed. is imposed on the processing photo by Dodong Echavez, IPS Sec. Bello added that another and deployment of all domestic mitigating reason for the total workers or household service DOLE OFFICIALS MEET PARENTS OF OFW KILLED IN KUWAIT. Labor and Employment Secretary Silvestre Bello III talks with the parents deployment ban was the failure workers (HSW), semi- of Jeanelyn Villavende, the household service worker who died in the hands of her employer in Kuwait, with Overseas Workers Welfare of the Kuwaiti government to skilled, skilled workers and Administration (OWWA) Chief Hans Leo Cacdac and International Labor Affairs Bureau (ILAB) Director Alice Visperas. Apart from death, burial benefits and livelihood to be extended to Jeanelyn’s family, Bello discussed preparations being made by DOLE on the arrival of her remains. BAGONG TAON, BAGONG SWELDO Kasambahays in NCR, C. Luzon and E. Visayas get much deserve pay hike THE new year looks happy employers to pay, and other received a monthly minimum A happy new year domestic workers and their indeed for kasambahays, or relevant data affecting the wage of P4,000 will now get a families and the employer’s domestic workers, in different interests of both employers and monthly minimum of P4,500. indeed for Eastern capacity to pay. regions of the country as domestic workers. Those in other municipalities Visayas kasambahays Kasambahays in the region their wages were significantly The new order will apply to in Central Luzon who were deserve the pay hike since increased over the holidays all kasambahays, in the National previously getting P3,500 EASTERN Visayas also petitions for their wage increase by respective regional wage Capital Region, whether will now receive a monthly received a much-awaited raise of had been pending since 2016, RD boards. on a “live-in” or “live-out” minimum of P4,000. the monthly salaries for domestic Centi said. In Metro Manila, the pay arrangement. The wage order “After holding extensive public workers during the new year. “We are more than happy that increase of domestic workers was published in the Philippine hearings, the board found Regional Director Yahya Centi we are able to perform our duty was approved last December Star last December 18, 2019. It it necessary to increase, not announced the pay raise during for the good of our kasambahays by the Regional Tripartite took effect last January 2, 2020. only the prevailing minimum the first flag-raising ceremony and domestic workers here in Wages and Productivity Board –Kim Lagcao wage in the region, but also for the year for DOLE Region 8 Region 8. They truly deserve - National Capital Region the monthly salary of our employees last January 6, 2020. the increase considering that no (RTWPB-NCR). The NCR wage kasambahays,” RD Angara- RD Centi said that the adjustment has been made to Central Luzon their wages in the last three years board issued Wage Order No. Campita said. “This is in regional tripartite wage board even though prices of goods have NCR-DW-02, providing for the kasambahays get pay addition to the other mandatory had approved a wage increase been increasing in the region,” new monthly minimum wage benefits such as SSS, PhilHealth, for domestic workers for the increase RD Centi said. for domestic workers in the and Pag-ibig coverage that they region’s six provinces. Wage Order No. RBVIII- The new wage order shall National Capital Region (NCR). IN CENTRAL Luzon, DOLE are also entitled to,” she added. DW-02 mandates an increase apply to the following domestic The order mandates all likewise raised the monthly The wage order covers all of P2,000 in the monthly wage workers in the region whether employers to pay an additional minimum wage of household workers who regularly rates of kasambahays in Eastern on a “live-in” or “live-out” P1,500 to the salaries of their helpers over the new year. perform domestic work in one Visayas. For chartered cities arrangement: general house domestic workers. Metro household on an occupational Regional Director Zenaida and first class municipalities, help, yaya, cooks, gardeners, Manila kasambahays will now Angara-Campita, said that the basis, whether in a “live-in,” or the new minimum wage will laundry persons or any person get a monthly minimum wage wage hike for domestic workers “live-out,” arrangement. now be pegged at P4,500 who regularly performs of P5,000, up from the previous in Central Luzon took effect on The order, however, does not while kasambahays in other domestic work in a household on P3,500. January 1, 2020, 15 days after it cover service providers, family municipalities in the region will an occupational arrangement. The increase comes in the was published in a newspaper drivers, child caretakers under get monthly wage of P4,000. The Meanwhile, service wake of a series of public of general circulation last foster family arrangements, order also took effect last January providers, family drivers, hearings and deliberations by December 17, 2019. and others who perform work 1, 2020. children under foster family the NCR wage board following She said that Wage Order occasionally and not on an RD Centi said that the increase arrangements and those who a review of the socio-economic No. RBIII-DW-02 provides occupational arrangement. was a result of the public hearing perform work on an occasional conditions in the region such as household service workers The last wage hike for the wage board conducted last arrangement are not covered the needs of domestic workers working in the region’s kasambahays in Central Luzon November 25, 2019. The decision by the wage order, he said. and their families, prevailing chartered cities and first class was issued in 2017. –A. Cunanan also included socio-economic – Norma Rae S. Costimiano wage rates, capacity of the municipalities who previously inputs such as the needs of the dole.gov.ph PHILIPPINE LABOR October-December 2017 January 2020 3 DOLE to stage ME evacuation THE Department of Labor and Lebanon to map out the possible Employment has set aside an repatriation of OFWs there.
Recommended publications
  • Consolidated Report]
    2017 FELLOWSHIP FOR ORGANIZING ENDEAVORS INC. [CONSOLIDATED REPORT] 0 | P a g e Fellowship for Organizing Endeavors (FORGE), Inc. FORGE’s vision1 is essentially empowerment of the marginalized sector towards just and resilient communities. Crucial, therefore, to FORGE’s work is its contribution to the achievement of social justice and community resilience. SOCIAL JUSTICE2 Filipinos hold deep understanding of justice. Such appreciation and understanding can be derived from traditional Filipino words katarungan and karapatan. Katarungan, with a root word tarong, is a Visayan term which means straight, upright, appropriate or correct. For Filipinos, therefore, justice is rectitude, doing the morally right act, being upright, or doing what is appropriate. Given this understanding, the concept of equity is thus, encompassed. Karapatan, on the other hand, comes from the root word dapat, which means fitting, correct, appropriate. For Filipinos, therefore, the concepts of justice and right are intimately related. Differentiated, however, with the word “law,” the Filipino language uses batas, a command word. The distinction presents that the Filipino language “makes a clear distinction between justice and law; and recognizes that what is legal may not always be just.”3 These concepts are aptly captured in Sec. 1, Article XIII of the 1987 Constitution.4 Essentially, the Constitution commands Congress to give highest priority to the enactment of measures that: ● protect and enhance the right of all the people to human dignity, ● reduce social, economic, and political inequalities, and ● remove cultural inequities by equitably diffusing wealth and political power for the common good. Article XIII goes on to specify certain sectors to which Congress must give priority namely, labor, agrarian reform, urban land reform and housing, health system, protection of women, people’s organizations, and protection of human rights.
    [Show full text]
  • 3 — February 7, 2019
    Pahayagan ng Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas ANG Pinapatnubayan ng Marxismo-Leninismo-Maoismo Vol. L No. 3 February 7, 2019 www.philippinerevolution.info EDITORIAL NPA-NEMR mounts Justice for all victims 6 counter-attacks of the US-Duterte fascist THE NEW PEOPLE'S Army (NPA) in Northeast Mindanao frustrated the fascist troops of the Armed regime Forces of the Philippines (AFP) which have been on a 25-day rampage in Agusan del Sur and he revolutionary forces hold the US-Duterte fascist regime Surigao del Sur. The said operati- fully responsible for the brazen murder of NDFP peace on was the AFP's reaction to two consultant Randy Felix Malayao last January 30. Malayao's successful tactical offensives of Tmurder follows public pronouncements by Duterte himself just a the NPA in the last quarter of month ago endorsing mass killings and ordering his death squads to 2018. The relentless military carry out the liquidation of revolutionary forces and supporters of operations were accompanied by the Party and revolutionary movement. aerial bombing and strafing by the Malayao's murder signals the activists as well as all other oppo- Philippine Air Force. escalation of state terrorism and sition forces. According to Ka Maria Mala- armed suppression against activis- Frustrated over its continuing ya, spokesperson of the National ts who are at the forefront of the failure to defeat the revolutionary Democratic Front of the Philippi- broad united opposition against armed movement, the Duterte re- nes (NDFP)-Northeast Mindanao Duterte's tyranny. Malayao is the gime has vented its fascist ire Region, the NPA mounted six co- first high-profile national perso- against the legal democratic for- unter attacks against 4th ID tro- nality killed by state security for- ces employing assassination squ- ops operating in the communities ces after many years.
    [Show full text]
  • Exploring Networks and Communities: a Case Study of the Supporters and Critics Facebook Pages of the Philippine President
    PEOPLE: International Journal of Social Sciences ISSN 2454-5899 Tamanal & Lim, 2019 Volume 4 Issue 3, pp.1485-1502 Date of Publication: 4th February, 2019 DOI-https://dx.doi.org/10.20319/pijss.2019.43.14851502 This paper can be cited as: Tamanal, J. L., & Lim, J. (2019). Exploring Networks and Communities: A Case Study of the Supporters and Critics Facebook Pages of the Philippine President. PEOPLE: International Journal of Social Sciences, 4(3), 1485-1502. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, PO Box 1866, Mountain View, CA 94042, USA. EXPLORING NETWORKS AND COMMUNITIES: A CASE STUDY OF THE SUPPORTERS AND CRITICS FACEBOOK PAGES OF THE PHILIPPINE PRESIDENT Juvy Lou Tamanal Department of Media and Communication, Sejong University, Seoul, South Korea [email protected] Jongsoo Lim Department of Media and Communication, Sejong University, Seoul, South Korea [email protected] Abstract This paper provides the current Philippine president’s supporters and critics Facebook pages on social media networks’ description and analyses of their SNSs dataset using NodeXL program. There are three main focuses of the study: (1) implications of the demographic differences of both page networks in terms of age, location and political affiliation, (2) comparative data analyses of the difference in the connected vertices/nodes (e.g., density, diameter, and connected components) of the two opposing networks, and finally, (3) identifying the network actors, the “who” play the roles of the main speakers, mediators and influencers in a social network structure.
    [Show full text]
  • Underneath the Autocrats South East Asia Media Freedom Report 2018
    UNDERNEATH THE AUTOCRATS SOUTH EAST ASIA MEDIA FREEDOM REPORT 2018 A REPORT INTO IMPUNITY, JOURNALIST SAFETY AND WORKING CONDITIONS 2 3 IFJ SOUTH EAST ASIA MEDIA FREEDOM REPORT IFJ SOUTH EAST ASIA MEDIA FREEDOM REPORT IFJ-SEAJU SOUTH EAST ASIA MEDIA SPECIAL THANKS TO: EDITOR: Paul Ruffini FREEDOM REPORT Ratna Ariyanti Ye Min Oo December 2018 Jose Belo Chiranuch Premchaiporn DESIGNED BY: LX9 Design Oki Raimundos Mark Davis This document has been produced by the International Jason Sanjeev Inday Espina-Varona Federation of Journalists (IFJ) on behalf of the South East Asia Um Sarin IMAGES: With special thanks Nonoy Espina Journalist Unions (SEAJU) Latt Latt Soe to Agence France-Presse for the Alexandra Hearne Aliansi Jurnalis Independen (AJI) Sumeth Somankae use of images throughout the Cambodia Association for Protection of Journalists (CAPJ) Luke Hunt Eih Eih Tin report. Additional photographs are Myanmar Journalists Association (MJA) Chorrng Longheng Jane Worthington contributed by IFJ affiliates and also National Union of Journalist of the Philippines (NUJP) Farah Marshita Thanida Tansubhapoi accessed under a Creative Commons National Union of Journalists, Peninsular Malaysia (NUJM) Alycia McCarthy Phil Thornton Attribution Non-Commercial Licence National Union of Journalists, Thailand (NUJT) U Kyaw Swar Min Steve Tickner and are acknowledged as such Timor Leste Press Union (TLPU) Myo Myo through this report. 2 3 CONTENTS IFJ SOUTH EAST ASIA MEDIA FREEDOM REPORT 2018 IMPUNITY, JOURNALIST SAFETY AND WORKING CONDITIONS IN SOUTH EAST ASIA
    [Show full text]
  • SUMA 2020): Duterte’S Garbage-Like Treatment of Filipino Migrants and Families
    State of Migrants Prepared by Migrante International 26 July 2020 FROM THE DUMPSTER TO THE GRAVE (SUMA 2020): Duterte’s garbage-like treatment of Filipino migrants and families Not so long ago, many Filipinos were already surviving on a hand-to-mouth existence. In the last four months however, even the most industrious of our kababayans have been reduced into hapless beggars in the streets as the most corrupt of Duterte’s cronies are living their grandest lives in paradise. The Duterte regime’s over reliance on its Labour Export Program is finally taking a toll as more than 551,0001 overseas Filipino workers get displaced by the worst global recession ever to hit the world economy since the Great Depression in the 1930s. Battered by the world’s longest and harshest lockdown2, the Philippines’ gross domestic product (GDP) likely contracted to a whopping 14.3% in the second quarter according to UK-based Oxford economics. Exacerbating roots of forced migration and brewing unrest Presiding over the death of Philippine agriculture through the Rice Liberalization Law and the absence of a national industry that would withstand external economic turmoils, the Duterte regime is finding itself overwhelmingly polarized further from the masses with 14 Million Filipinos unemployed and 6.4 to 7 Million underemployed as of April3. These numbers add up to 20 Million overall. The country’s 22% unemployment rate is the highest in many decades. Even before the COVID-19 global crisis, the Philippines has been consistent as having the highest unemployment rate in the entire Southeast Asian region.
    [Show full text]
  • 2 NEWS [email protected] Burden of Proof on Garin — JV Koko to Pursue Sen
    Friday, June 8, 2018 2 NEWS [email protected] Burden of proof on Garin — JV Koko to pursue Sen. JV Ejercito said the burden of proof president Alexander Padilla, should be “In the first place, the President did not 2019 re-election is on former Health Secretary Janette Garin charged for mismanaging the agency’s appoint Dr. Dela Serna and her assumption to disprove his allegations of mismanagement funds resulting in its current financial of the presidency of PhilHealth was illegal,” From page 1 meantime and submit this for and diversion of Philippine Health Insurance state. she said. comments of the President this Corp. (PhilHealth) funds. “Senator JV Ejercito is very much mis- Garin averred Ejercito was fed with wrong Zubiri and Pimentel, as colleagues month or next month,” Pimentel Garin lashed at the Senator yesterday for informed. I’m surprised he is not aware of information about her role in PhilHealth. in the present Senate, seemed to said. accusing her of mismanagement and diver- what’s happening at PhilHealth,” she said. “With all due respect to Senator JV have already buried the animosity Pimentel said PDP-Laban has sion of funds . Garin claimed that during her term as Ejercito, look at who is around you and generated by their clash before the more than 12 names as possible “The burden of proof is now with her. head of the Department of Heath (DOH), she your office because you are being fed Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) senatorial candidates, all of whom The issues came from PhilHealth and DOH introduced reforms in PhilHealth which she with information that are misleading,” from 2007 to 2011.
    [Show full text]
  • “Fake News” from the South: Tracking Disinformation Innovations And
    Submission to Harvard University Disinformation in Comparative Perspective Workshop by Jose Mari Lanuza, Jonathan Corpus Ong, Ross Tapsell TITLE: Evolutions of "Fake News" from the South: Tracking Disinformation Innovations and Interventions between the 2016 and 2019 Philippines Elections ABSTRACT: A Facebook executive famously called the Philippines as “patient zero” in the so-called "global misinformation epidemic", referring to how techniques of media manipulation were observed first in the 2016 Philippine election months before the Brexit vote in the UK and Trump’s election in the US. Indeed, some political pundits and journalists have expressed moral panics that Rodrigo Duterte's 2016 victory and continued popularity are outcomes of dark technological alchemy–from paid trolls to state-sponsored propaganda to even shadowy foreign influence, if we are to believe that data analytics firm Cambridge Analytica had a hand in Duterte’s 2016 campaign. In the recent May 2019 Philippine midterm election where Duterte's allies shut out opposition figures from the senate races, world governments, big tech, and foreign journalists kept high alert for the export potential of emerging disinformation innovations and the threat these represent for elections in global context. With its reputation as the "social media capital of the world" and having a large precariat digital workforce seeking entrepreneurial opportunities in the digital underground, the Philippines is fertile ground for disinformation experimentation with potentially global ramifications. This paper is based on a research intervention and public engagement effort to monitor disinformation innovations and interventions in the 2019 midterm elections. With partner researchers in the Philippines and overseas, we tracked disinformation as both emerging technological innovations and systematically constructed narratives that attempted to manipulate political discussion and deliberation.
    [Show full text]
  • Factsheet: Medienfreiheit in Den Philippinen
    Factsheet Philippinen Nach der Marcos-Diktatur er- langten die philippinischen Medien den Ruf, eine der freiesten Südostasiens zu sein. Gleichzeitig gelten sie seit Jahren als eines der gefähr- lichsten Länder für Medienschaffende. Unter Duterte gewinnen die Sozialen Medien zunehmend als (Des-) Informationsquelle an Bedeutung. Insbesondere kritische Journalist*innen und Medienunternehmen werden massiv attackiert und sehen sich zunehmenden Gefahren aus- gesetzt. Medienfreiheit in den Philippinen Kampfansage gegen die Pressefreiheit persönlicher Privatsphäre, drohen den Erfolg jedoch "Nur weil ihr Journalist*innen seid, seid ihr nicht von zur Farce verkommen zu lassen. Tötungen ausgenommen […]," so Präsident Rodrigo Ein zunächst positives Signal sendete Duterte auch Duterte noch im Mai 2016. Als gerade gewählter mit der Unterzeichnung der Administrative Order No. Präsident weckte Duterte mit dieser Botschaft Be- 1 am 11. Oktober 2016. Die besagte AO schaffte ei- fürchtungen, dass die Presse- und Medienfreiheit nen präsidialen Arbeitsausschuss, der sich mit unter seiner Regierung massiven Bedrohungen aus- Rechtsverletzungen gegenüber Leben, Freiheit und gesetzt sein würde. Sicherheit von Medienschaffenden befassen und Nach den ersten zwei Jahren seiner Amtszeit sind vergangene sowie gegenwärtige Angriffe auf Journa- die Bedrohungen real und zu konkreten sowie viel- list*innen untersuchen sollte. Der Ausschuss hat seitigen Attacken gegen einzelne Journalist*innen seine Arbeit aufgenommen. Nichtsdestotrotz bekla- und kritische Medien im Allgemeinen geworden. gen Kritiker*innen mangelnde Ressourcen, Personal Die Presse wurde zum Feind erklärt, Reporter*innen und eine geringe Effektivität. Viel wirksamer und in Pressekonferenzen durch den Präsidenten sexis- folgenschwerer scheinen hingegen Dutertes direkte tisch angegriffen und Journalist*innen generell als und öffentliche Angriffe gegen Medienschaffende. korrupt gebrandmarkt. Die Duterte-Regierung machte deutlich, dass für Kri- Die Bedeutung sozialer Medien tik kein Raum vorgesehen ist.
    [Show full text]
  • The Philippines in 2017 Popularity Breeds Contempt
    JORGE V. TIGNO The Philippines in 2017 Popularity Breeds Contempt ABSTRACT Amid the bluster of Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte over the past year, a clearer picture emerged in 2017 of the leader and the direction he wants the country to take. Duterte may be a popular shaker and change-maker, but for the most part, he has also proven to be a divisive president. KEYWORDS: drug war, armed militants, populist leader, Duterte, Philippines, federal system, martial law INTRODUCTION ThePhilippinesisatthatjunctureonceagainwhenitseestheendofone political administration and the beginning of a new one.1 Although Rodrigo Duterte’s term as president began in June 2016, 2017 had been about asserting his administration over the last. How much has changed since Duterte took office? How much has the country and the office changed Duterte? He was a mayor throughout his previous political career; what can be gleaned so far in his approaches to foreign policy and economic management? This essay argues that Duterte may still need to prove himself more as a statesman and institution-builder and less a popular iconoclast. JORGE V. TIGNO, DPA, is a Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of the Philippines–Diliman in Quezon City. His most recent publication is a chapter on the Phil- ippines in the Routledge Handbook of Civil Society in Asia (2017), edited by Akihiro Ogawa. Email: [email protected] 1. The term of Benigno ‘‘Noynoy’’ Aquino III as president officially ended on June 30, 2016. Rodrigo ‘‘Digong’’ Duterte’s term began at noon on the same day. Asian Survey,Vol.58, Number 1,pp.142–148.ISSN0004-4687, electronic ISSN 1533-838X.
    [Show full text]
  • Facebook, Fickleness, and the New Populism in the Philippines Assessing Facebook’S Role in Rodrigo Duterte’S 2016 Presidential Campaign and Rise to Power
    Facebook, fickleness, and the new populism in the Philippines Assessing Facebook’s role in Rodrigo Duterte’s 2016 presidential campaign and rise to power By Steve Ellmers A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of International Communication Unitec Institute of Technology, 2018 Abstract Although the Philippines’ populist strongman Rodrigo Duterte is often called the Trump of the East his unexpected victory in the 2016 Philippine presidential election has created such a bloody legacy that Duterte’s impact may even outlast his namesake’s. Duterte’s rise to power occurred in the country with the world’s heaviest Facebook users and relied on this social media platform to a far greater extent than any candidate had during the 2010 Philippine presidential contest. This development determined that Facebook would be the main subject of this analysis. This research analyses what happened during the 2016 Philippine presidential election campaign by examining the role Facebook played in Duterte’s success from when his candidacy was formally approved on December 17, 2015, through to the presidential election on May 9, 2016. It subjects two key Facebook accounts, Duterte’s official page and a representative example of one of the hundreds created to support him, to content and discursive analysis. It places Team Duterte’s use of Facebook within the overall context of the campaign and shows how Duterte’s complex and contradictory identity as a candidate was constructed for two very different Facebook audiences. This research also considers how Duterte’s rise was linked to the assistance he received – either intentionally or otherwise – from other members of the Philippine political and media elite.
    [Show full text]
  • Dangerous Speech and Social Media Uncharted Strategies for Mitigating Harm Online
    Dangerous Speech and Social Media Uncharted Strategies for Mitigating Harm Online Client Organization Center for Strategic & International Studies Advisor Sohini Chatterjee Contributors James Courtright Hanna Homestead Isabelle Lee Daniyar Yerseitovich Nuraldinov Dan Poniachik Jasmine Ramsey Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs, Spring 2020 Capstone: Online Hate Speech & Communal Conflict: Identifying New Conflict Prevention Tools Contents I. Introduction II. Brazil III. Philippines IV. Nigeria V. Policy Recommendations 2 INTRODUCTION 3 Over the last decade, social media has fundamentally changed the way people communicate and access information around the world. While social media platforms provide new forums for constructive dialogue and personal expression, they are also used to proliferate dangerous online speech. Dangerous speech is defined as “any form of expression (e.g. speech, text, or images) that can increase the risk that its audience will condone or commit violence against members of another group.” The characteristics of dangerous speech are that it promotes fear, and is commonly false, causes indirect harm, and is aimed at groups based on a shared identity.1 Overall, the response of governments and social media companies to the problem of online dangerous speech has been inconsistent and stymied by concerns over infringement of free speech rights, lack of will or capacity, and obfuscation over who is accountable for monitoring online content. Social media companies such as WhatsApp, Facebook, and Twitter, in particular, have been criticized for failing to address their role in exacerbating identity-based conflict by providing an online platform for dangerous speech. This report investigates how dangerous speech shared on social media has intensified identity-based violence in Brazil, the Philippines, and Nigeria.
    [Show full text]
  • The Sovereign Trickster
    The Journal of Asian Studies Vol. 78, No. 1 (February) 2019: 141–166. © The Association for Asian Studies, Inc., 2019 doi:10.1017/S0021911818002656 The Sovereign Trickster VICENTE L. RAFAEL In our current moment, authoritarian figures loom large. One of them is Philippine Presi- dent Rodrigo Duterte. He seems to embody two notions of sovereignty. One is related to law, the other to norms: on the one hand, the power of taking exception to the former, decid- ing who will live and who will die; on the other hand, the freedom from the limits of the latter by way of dissipation, irresponsibility, and excess. This article explores the double sources of his power with reference to the works of Michel Foucault and Achille Mbembe. While most of Foucault’s work has focused on Europe, Mbembe has written about postcolonial conditions in ways that make critical use of Foucault. Drawing from their writings, this article situates Duterte as a “sovereign trickster” who seeks to dominate death while monopolizing laughter. Finally, this article speculates on the comparative usefulness of this figure of the sovereign trickster with regard to President Donald Trump, whose form of tricksterism derives, the author argues, from the tradition of blackface minstrelsy. Keywords: death, drug war, Duterte, Foucault, Mbembe, Philippines, sovereignty, trickster, Trump Justice pursues the body beyond all possible pain. — Michel Foucault, Discipline and Punish Duterte: May Utak sa Bayag, May Bayag sa Utak [Duterte: Brains in the balls and balls in the brains]. — Duterte campaign bumper sticker, 2016 PROVINCIALIZING FOUCAULT OR THE LAST FEW years, I have been teaching a course on Filipino histories during Fthe same term that I have been leading a reading seminar on Michel Foucault at my university.
    [Show full text]