Rodrigo Duterte

Thirty years ago most of Southeast Asia was run by thuggish dictatorships. Then the Philippines showed the rest of the world how to get rid of dictators without violence, and its non-violent example was watched and copied around the world. But now the thugs are coming back to where it all started.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has described European lawmakers as "crazies" in a salty-tongued rebuttal to criticism of his deadly drug war, while vowing again that all traffickers will be killed.

Philippine troops have resumed assaults against communist rebels, killing at least one guerrilla, after President Rodrigo Duterte scrapped peace talks with the insurgents, military officials said on Feb. 6.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte announced Feb. 2 the military would take a leading role in his deadly drug war, while vowing to kill more traffickers and addicts.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said he has ordered his troops to bomb extremists who flee with their captives in a bid to stop a wave of kidnappings at sea, calling the loss of civilian lives in such an attack "collateral damage."

Russia wants to hold maritime drills with the Philippines to help combat terrorism and piracy, sending two warships to Manila for the first official navy-to-navy contact, as President Rodrigo Duterte pivots to United States' traditional rival. 

A Philippine provincial newspaper publisher has been shot dead after writing a column alleging official negligence over a recently discovered methamphetamine laboratory, in the first killing of a journalist during the country's war on drugs. 

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's admission that he used a powerful painkiller has prompted concern about his health, with lawmakers urging him on Dec. 18 to undergo a medical examination and disclose the results.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has said he personally killed suspected criminals when he was mayor of a southern city to set an example for police.  

We learn to swear before we learn to talk properly - a habit that goes on for life. If you are a politician in the modern age, you have even more chance to perfect the skill thanks to your inner instincts of competitiveness and the not-so-silent majority ready to applaud or retweet your nastiness.