Opinion: Duterte’s smoking ban is a Pandora’s Box of unintended consequences
Many smokers are (perhaps not very successfully) holding their breath to see exactly how the new smoking ban will pan out. Will it be like the ban on plastic bags …
Opinion
Deerhurst: War on three fronts that the president just can’t win
You’d need a heart of stone not to pity President Duterte right now — he’s fighting three wars, and he can’t possibly win any of them. First, there’s his war …
The long view: Asia’s dangerous new geopolitics
The first week of July is not normally one that brings great events in world politics. Around that time, the northern hemisphere normally shifts into summer holiday mode. Recently, this …
Duterte’s first year: “A human rights disaster the world prefers to ignore”
Tom Smith, a lecturer in International Relations at the UK’s University of Portsmouth, gives his assessment of President Duterte as he passes his first year in office. The views of …
A journalist’s view: Fighting back against the troll army
In the past decade, more than 800 journalists have been killed in the course of their work according to UNESCO, while hundreds more have been assaulted, imprisoned or harassed. The …
President Duterte risks losing support if he gets too close to Donald Trump
The president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, has become one of the world’s most notorious politicians. He revels in being referred to by nicknames such as “Duterte Harry”, “The Punisher”, …
Even if Raqqa and Mosul fall, Islamic State is far from finished
A long-awaited military campaign is underway to retake the key northern Syrian city of Raqqa from the so-called Islamic State (IS). With the group apparently losing territory and its de …
Warship dispute ‘return to business as usual’ in South China Sea
The South China Sea is a volatile place – or rather, its politics are. China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Taiwan have been fighting over this azure stretch of …
Is Saudi Arabia really trying to take the moral high ground on terror?
Allegations about Qatar funding terrorism are nothing new. However, the sudden severing of ties by other Gulf and Middle Eastern states is the most serious consequence of these allegations so …
Deerhurst: Lay off the insults Mr President, it’s not all about you
I think somebody needs to remind President Duterte that although he is head of state of the Philippines, it’s not ‘all about him’ and his fragile ego. Yesterday, for example, …
Jim Allen: Do we really need martial law? I doubt it…
President Duterte has announced that Mindanao needs this very strict control of the population — with corresponding reduced civil liberties — because of the violence in Marawi City. Hmmm… This …
After years of increasing freedom, is Southeast Asia now going backwards?
A lot of column inches have been written about the rise of populist politicians in the west, it seems a profound shift towards authoritarianism in Southeast Asia has been largely …
Boracay drink ban: Will it be mother nature or the cops who get to clean up?
Call me cynical, but aren’t Boracay’s new no-drinking zones (to combat litter, apparently… seriously?) just another ploy by the most overrated part of the Philippines to grab more money from dumb drunk …
Deerhurst: Police say cell hidden behind bookcase “wasn’t a secret”
In-house police investigators have concluded that the jail cell carefully hidden behind a hinged bookcase at a Manila police station was not “secret” — and has cleared officers involved of …
The long road to bring effective birth control to the Philippines
On January 9, 2017, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte signed an executive order calling for universal access to modern family planning methods. The document also called for accelerated implementation of the …
Is religion – the opium of the masses – the most dangerous drug in the Philippines?
“It’s more fun in the Philippines”, or at least that’s what the tourism slogan used to be, until a few months ago when the Ministry of Tourism decided to change …
Trump and Duterte: A not-so-surprising political friendship
US President Donald Trump’s recent friendly phone conversation with Rodrigo Duterte, during which he invited the Philippine president to the White House, raised questions about his penchant for closeness with …
Deerhurst: Who are you kidding Bato? Or are you really Superman?
Meet Ronald ‘Bato’ dela Rosa, chief of police and the world’s new hide and seek champion — but only for speed, not really results. Just 24 hours after vowing a thorough …
Prince Philip’s Asian “gaffes” (and the Philippines gets off lightly!)
Just weeks from his 96th birthday, Britain’s Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, announced his retirement from public duties. Now, having worked out his notice, he’s free to spend his …
Deerhurst: Is there a solid criminal case against Duterte? You decide…
As it stands, the complaint against President Duterte at the International Criminal Court (ICC) is just that — a complaint. To progress from this into being a case is a …
Have they no shame? The ‘begpackers’ infesting Southeast Asia
BEGPACKERS: Recently we reported on the despicable scam practised by German Benjamin Holst. He is a man who, by exploiting his disability and spinning out sob stories, funds a luxury …
Deerhurst: Is Duterte still marching in step with his military?
Increasingly, it looks like the Philippine military establishment and President Duterte are going through the sort of rocky patch that, in a marriage, would end in a messy divorce. For …
Got something to share? PLN is looking for new writers to join the team
PLN Media is on the search for new writers to help us continue raising our game. Broadly speaking, there are three main areas we’d like to expand. Broadly speaking, they …
In the Philippines, the premium placed on height is no tall tale
Two of the great obsessions of the Filipino people – basketball and beauty pageants – both, generally, favour taller people. However, even in comparison to their regional neighbours, most Filipinos are …
Deerhurst: Duterte urges Boy Scouts to kill drug addicts… or die themselves
Personally, I’ve never had the honour of being named ‘Chief Boy Scout’ of a nation, like President Duterte was yesterday. Nor have I ever been called upon to address an …
The 4,000-year-old dream: What will the new Chinese empire look like?
CHINESE EMPIRE: There was once a country at the very centre of the world, whose position was recognised as such by peoples both far and wide. Today, we call that …