The Philippines entered the Spanish colonial empire in 1565. The United States encouraged the independence movement of the 1890s and participated militarily. In 1898, a treaty put an end to the Hispano-American conflict. Spain sells to Americans without giving independence.
A new master is here!!! In response, a new wind of independence is blowing. The fight resumed in February 1899. In 1935, the US granted semi-autonomy and a first president was elected.
Finally, on July 4, 1946, the Philippines finally obtained their independence. July 4, a date that reminds me of something...
The US does not want to let go of this piece of land and the American presence remains omnipresent because the Philippines is close to China.
The Americans too feel at home there, as evidenced by this anecdote: an American, after an altercation declared during his arrest: "You cannot touch me, I am AMERICAN"

Is he this bloodthirsty dictator described by the Western media?

I learned a little about President Duterte, I discussed on different platforms. He's a Sanguine, a visaya. He insults Obama, the Pope, ... But what stands out above all is the love of his country. He wants his country to become a sovereign state and no longer a vassal state of the Western world. We must not forget that the Philippines was one of the richest countries in Asia!!!
Mayor of Davao for 20 years, his work seems exemplary even if these results are decried by the Western media.< BR/>When he ran for president, he said "Forget about human rights, if I become president, it will bleed". Why ? He wants to eradicate crime, corruption, poverty and especially drugs from his country. He was elected president in 2016 with 40% of votes (23% for the 2nd then 21%, 12% and 3%). The Filipinos wanted it.
For bribery, he introduced a toll-free number if you are a victim of bribery. It guarantees a response within 48 hours. Regarding drugs, the police have carte blanche. 5,000 dead (arrests and settling of scores), more than 2,000 drug addicts who turned themselves in for fear of dying in the streets.
Shortly after his election, he demanded the departure of the American soldiers. President Duterte is getting closer to China, Russia to obtain economic and technical aid but while keeping Philippine sovereignty and not an occupation!!!
If you really want to know more about him, forget what Western newspapers tell you.

A great debate or a great denial. Every program dealing with the Philippines talks about President Duterte and his fight against drugs. The message they want to convey: "Duterte is responsible for thousands of deaths". No program escapes this rule. My western FB friends living in the Philippines or those I meet via expat groups are still disgusted by this presentation. of war in Mindanao, little information. Why?
Anecdote: In May 2017, "Le Monde" headlined "Several deaths in fighting on a tourist island in Bohol, in the south of the Philippines. This would be the first operation by the Abu Sayyaf organization in this area".
After discussing Bohol with friends living there, they were drug traffickers who got lost and arrived in Bohol without knowing where they were. They went inland, killed two old people. Shortly after, children discovered the bodies and went to get the police who called the army. The military pursued the men and killed all but one, who offered a ransom of several million pesos for his release. He has been killed. Good or not, this remains an answer given to drug traffickers!!! Who to believe in the end, I let you be the judge"
Why this denial by President Duterte?
Because he wants to limit the power of the United States over his country and not be a vassal country.

I deplore all these deaths but there are several visions to be had. Friends from work, Asians and Europeans saw the last broadcast.
Europeans found the carte blanche given to the police to deal with the drug problem barbaric. The Asians found this completely normal.
A carte blanche in the Philippines, and in France? The police who are spat on, receive throwing stones. They get shot. Jail sentences for offenders are so low!!!
Think about...

Above all, I saw a lot of smiles, a lot of sunshine in those faces.
I met great people. The family who welcomed me, the people in the street, in the jeepneys, the UV services (minibuses), buses, trains... You can chat with everyone. People respond to you. I walked around the neighborhood, played basketball with the kids, drank beers and glasses of rum with the adults.
And I felt good there. Of course, I was with a neighborhood family, that helps. But deep down, I hope I have been appreciated by who I am and not by my foreign side. I never felt in danger and I felt much safer there than in the Paris region. Afterwards, you have to avoid walking around at night in certain neighborhoods.
When I came home late one evening, Peter, the big boy in the family, asked me to put away my phone and camera, and to put my bag back in front of me. Security Question. He must have noticed some things because it was not the first time that we passed in this sector at night.
Which surprised me. No lights on the street at night. The neighborhood is closed from midnight to 2am like many neighborhoods. There is no trash can in the streets, so a lot of waste on the ground (cups, plastic bottles, etc.). I wouldn't talk about France, with all the garbage cans...
What also surprised me was this desire to always do more. Peter, from the top of these 15 years goes to school. His desire: to become a policeman to help others. He is already helping his mother by buying her own clothes or just asking for a supplement. From the height of these 15 years, he earns money with tricycles, jeepneys too, I believe. Odd jobs that earn him a few pesos. And many Filipinos do so, grab the smallest possible peso.
A people who raise their heads and want to live!!!