Politics of the Philippines

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte drew outrage Sunday after saying he "touched" his maid when he was a teenager, with women's rights groups accusing him of attempted rape and encouraging sexual abuse.

A Philippine mayor accused of involvement in narcotics trafficking survived an ambush on May 13, police said, four months after President Rodrigo Duterte publicly threatened to kill him.

The Philippines has barred entry to an EU party official critical of President Rodrigo Duterte's brutal drugs crackdown, in a move denounced by critics yesterday as a gag on dissent.

President Rodrigo Duterte has launched a foul-mouthed attack on the U.N. human rights chief, calling him "empty-headed" in a row over international criticism of the Philippine leader's deadly drug war.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has asked other countries to abandon the International Criminal Court because it is “rude.” Duterte is
facing a possible complaint before the world tribunal for the thousands of killings of drug suspects during his time in office.

Philippine senators began a public inquiry on Feb. 19 into the $300 million purchase of two navy frigates, to determine whether President Rodrigo Duterte’s closest aide had interfered in the procurement process.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte hit back on July 21 at U.S. lawmakers opposed to the prospect of his visiting the White House, saying he would never go to the United States, which he called a "lousy" country.

President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte wants the extension of martial law in Mindanao until the end of the year, his spokesman said Tuesday.
Duterte, in a letter to Congress, said the “existing rebellion” in Mindanao would not end on July 22, the 60th day in the limit prescribed by the Constitution.

About 300 pro-ISIS militants on Wednesday stormed a school in the southern Philippines and are holding students hostage, Reuters reported.
Philippine officials say Muslim rebels are engaging troops in a gunbattle in Pigcawayan town in North Cotabato in an attack that may be an attempt to divert the military’s focus away from the militants who have laid siege on southern Marawi city.

President Donald Trump has invited Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte to the White House “to discuss the importance of the United States-Philippines alliance,” according to a White House readout of the leaders’ phone call on Saturday.