The Philippine government yesterday warned the press against plotting to “destroy” Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s government, as his spokesman accused journalists of spreading fake news.
The warning followed recent news reports alleging the Duterte family’s involvement in illegal drugs and raising questions about a large increase in his wealth.
“They are all there doing their thing, trying to destroy this government by spreading false news and planting intrigues against the government,” Duterte spokesman Salvador Panelo told a news conference.
He released a graphic that he said showed how a video of a hooded man alleging the Duterte family’s role in the narcotics trade was shared by one journalist to colleagues employed by other Philippine news outfits.
The news organizations named have all reported extensively on Duterte’s crackdown against illegal drugs that has left more than 5,000 suspects dead at the hands of the police in what rights groups have said may be a crime against humanity.
Panelo said the ouster allegations were based on information shared by a foreign intelligence agency, which he would not name.
“In other words, what these people are doing is to give succor or assist the enemy, if they are not the enemy themselves,” Panelo said.
Duterte last week publicly lashed out at the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ), which published a report about the rise in the president’s net worth.
“In the coming weeks, I will return the favor. So Philippine Investigative, you better stop,” Duterte said.
Panelo said the Duterte government was putting these journalists and news outfits on notice, but would not pursue legal action against them “for now.”
“But if the plot thickens and they perform acts which are already violation[s] of the penal laws, that’s a different story,” he added.
He named Maria Ressa, chief executive of the online news site Rappler — who faces charges of tax evasion, securities fraud; Rappler itself, the PCIJ, and Vera Files, among others, in the list of organisations allegedly plotting against Duterte.
The PCIJ has said its reports were all based on documents issued by Duterte himself in his required annual filings on assets and liabilities.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of