Duterte rages on
In that, they are hardly alone.
Today, for example, he abruptly fired the head of the Philippines Food and Drug Administration, via a letter that was released to the media. The dismissal notice didn't go into specifics, but it effectively tarred Nela Charade Puno, a pharmacist who became the youngest person to hold the role when she was appointed in 2016, as a crook, saying the move was part of Duterte's campaign to "eradicate graft and corruption."
Earlier in the week, the President defended the public release of a list of his "enemies," in the form of a complex diagram that showed supposed links between opposition politicians, journalists and communist guerrillas, all of whom he accuses of collusion with the drug trade and of plotting against him.
"The matrix is true," Duterte told reporters.
The president hasn't provided any evidence to back up his conspiracy allegations, but he has suggested that there is plenty of it in the form of "communications that were recorded."
Several of the accused, including journalist Maria Ressa, a Duterte critic who has been arrested twice this year, say that it is yet another attempt to intimidate them.
And one, Olympic weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, who became a national hero for winning the country's first medal in 20 years at the Rio 2016 Summer Games, says she now fears for her safety.
"I am concerned for my security as well as that of my parents," the 28-year-old Air Force sergeant said in a tearful television appearance. "I am merely doing my best to represent the Philippines."
Duterte, who has three years left to go in his term, is only becoming more powerful.
His slate of hand-picked candidates triumphed in nationwide elections this week, with his former special assistant Bong Go, Imee Marcos, the daughter of the former dictator Ferdinand, and Ronald dela Rosa, the architect of his bloody drug war, all winning seats in the Senate.
(The opposition failed to elect even a single member of its list for the country's upper chamber.)
Three of Duterte's kids now hold office, serving as mayor, vice-mayor, and member of the House of Representatives for Duterte's hometown of Davao.
And by the end of this year, he will have appointed 12 of the Philippines' 15 Supreme Court justices.
All of this despite a rather indifferent campaign, during which the 74-year-old president disappeared from public view for days, and then shared a photo of himself stretched out in his messy bedroom watching Django Unchained on TV.
What Duterte intends to do with all that political control and capital isn't yet clear.
He has mused about rewriting the country's constitution to devolve more power to the regions, and has promised to bring back the death penalty — "that is the only way to get even," he said in 2017.
He has also pledged to lower the age of criminal responsibility from 15 to 12, and to cut corporate taxes to attract more foreign investment.
The only sure bet is that he will continue to lash out at his critics, both at home and abroad.
This week, he has been locked in a war of words with American comedian Hasan Minhaj over a recent segment on his Netflix show Patriot Act.
The president's spokesman says Minhaj distorted Duterte's record by quoting claims from human rights organizations that there have been as many as 27,000 extrajudicial killings during his anti-drug campaign.
"He cited an exaggerated figure," Martin Andanar told the media yesterday, suggesting that the true death toll is only 5,050.
"We express outrage that such erroneous narratives, obviously peddled by anti-Duterte haters and trolls, would find their way to the gullible TV host and his comedy show."
In that, they are hardly alone.
Today, for example, he abruptly fired the head of the Philippines Food and Drug Administration, via a letter that was released to the media. The dismissal notice didn't go into specifics, but it effectively tarred Nela Charade Puno, a pharmacist who became the youngest person to hold the role when she was appointed in 2016, as a crook, saying the move was part of Duterte's campaign to "eradicate graft and corruption."
Earlier in the week, the President defended the public release of a list of his "enemies," in the form of a complex diagram that showed supposed links between opposition politicians, journalists and communist guerrillas, all of whom he accuses of collusion with the drug trade and of plotting against him.
"The matrix is true," Duterte told reporters.
The president hasn't provided any evidence to back up his conspiracy allegations, but he has suggested that there is plenty of it in the form of "communications that were recorded."
Several of the accused, including journalist Maria Ressa, a Duterte critic who has been arrested twice this year, say that it is yet another attempt to intimidate them.
And one, Olympic weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, who became a national hero for winning the country's first medal in 20 years at the Rio 2016 Summer Games, says she now fears for her safety.
"I am concerned for my security as well as that of my parents," the 28-year-old Air Force sergeant said in a tearful television appearance. "I am merely doing my best to represent the Philippines."
Duterte, who has three years left to go in his term, is only becoming more powerful.
His slate of hand-picked candidates triumphed in nationwide elections this week, with his former special assistant Bong Go, Imee Marcos, the daughter of the former dictator Ferdinand, and Ronald dela Rosa, the architect of his bloody drug war, all winning seats in the Senate.
(The opposition failed to elect even a single member of its list for the country's upper chamber.)
Three of Duterte's kids now hold office, serving as mayor, vice-mayor, and member of the House of Representatives for Duterte's hometown of Davao.
And by the end of this year, he will have appointed 12 of the Philippines' 15 Supreme Court justices.
All of this despite a rather indifferent campaign, during which the 74-year-old president disappeared from public view for days, and then shared a photo of himself stretched out in his messy bedroom watching Django Unchained on TV.
What Duterte intends to do with all that political control and capital isn't yet clear.
He has mused about rewriting the country's constitution to devolve more power to the regions, and has promised to bring back the death penalty — "that is the only way to get even," he said in 2017.
He has also pledged to lower the age of criminal responsibility from 15 to 12, and to cut corporate taxes to attract more foreign investment.
The only sure bet is that he will continue to lash out at his critics, both at home and abroad.
This week, he has been locked in a war of words with American comedian Hasan Minhaj over a recent segment on his Netflix show Patriot Act.
The president's spokesman says Minhaj distorted Duterte's record by quoting claims from human rights organizations that there have been as many as 27,000 extrajudicial killings during his anti-drug campaign.
"He cited an exaggerated figure," Martin Andanar told the media yesterday, suggesting that the true death toll is only 5,050.
"We express outrage that such erroneous narratives, obviously peddled by anti-Duterte haters and trolls, would find their way to the gullible TV host and his comedy show."
