For the progressive groups, the trilateral summit is among the series of efforts to leverage the Philippines’ strategic geo-political location for economic and military benefit as tensions rise between the U.S. and China, “at the expense of the sovereignty of the Philippines, the economic conditions of Filipino workers, and the health of the environment.”
“Duterte downplays the issue of our fishermen, because he thinks little of his fellow Filipinos. He treats even the constitution as just toilet paper.”
At first glance, the latest Supreme Court (SC) decision on the petitions of Suzette Nicolas, Bayan et al and Salonga et al appears to be a welcome, if unexpected assertion of Philippine sovereignty. The SC ruled that the transfer of convicted rapist Cpl. Daniel Smith to the US embassy from a Philippine jail, violated the…