As Sara Duterte backs Imee Marcos, will it sway Philippine Senate elections?
Ferdinand Marcos Jnr , in a striking political ad released ahead of next month's Senate election. The move, analysts say, is aimed at reviving her flagging re-election campaign by tapping the enduring popularity of former president
Rodrigo Duterte and his family.
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The 31-second ad, aired on Monday, features Vice-President
Sara Duterte-Carpio – daughter of the former president and one of the president's chief political rivals – endorsing Imee's re-election bid for the first time.
In the ad titled ITIM – the Filipino word for black and an acronym for 'Inday Trusts Imee Marcos' – both women are dressed in black, which Duterte-Carpio says is now 'the colour of the nation while mourning over hunger and criminality'.
Duterte-Carpio is popularly known as 'Inday', a Visayan term of endearment often used in central and southern
Philippines , where her family has deep roots.
'Starving for food and for justice. Oppressing non-allies,' Imee adds, in a clear rebuke of her brother's administration – particularly its treatment of Duterte, who was extradited to The Hague last month to face charges of crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court.
Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte arrives to address the people gathering outside the International Criminal Court in The Hague on March 14. Photo: AFP
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South China Morning Post
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- South China Morning Post
Paraguay eyes Chinese parts assembly plan amid US tariff war with China, Brazil
Paraguayan lawmakers on Tuesday heard government ministers outline a proposed assembly law that would allow companies to manufacture electronic and digital goods locally using imported parts, many from China, as political debate grows over whether the country should end diplomatic ties with Taiwan in favour of Beijing. Economy Minister Carlos Fernandez Valdovinos and Industry and Commerce Minister Javier Gimenez told a Senate hearing the measure would let businesses that currently import fully assembled products shift to bringing in components and putting them together in Paraguay, branding them 'Made in Paraguay'. Officials said the initiative could cut costs, create jobs and diversify the country's production base without curbing existing imports. The plan would cover goods ranging from televisions and refrigerators to microwave ovens and air conditioners, and would borrow from Paraguay's automotive policy, which has already led to 90 per cent of motorcycles on the road being assembled locally. Gimenez said current global trade tensions present a rare opportunity for Paraguay, saying that recent US tariffs on Chinese goods, initially set at 145 per cent before being reduced to 30 per cent, and a 50 per cent levy on Brazilian exports, could make the country 'an attractive hub for assembly services'. 'If we grant this advantage, importers and entrepreneurs can open industries, import the parts and assemble them here,' he told senators.
AllAfrica
2 days ago
- AllAfrica
China's clumsy sea aggression marks escalation with Philippines
Skip to content Photos show the damage sustained by China Coast Guard vessel 3104 after it was rammed by a Chinese PLA Navy warship during an incident Monday morning, August 11, 2025, near Scarborough Shoal. The collision occurred while the two Chinese ships were harassing the BRP Suluan of the Philippine Coast Guard. Image: YouTube Screengrabs MANILA – China's pincer strategy in the South China Sea appears to have shifted toward more aggressive naval enforcement of its claim to Philippine territory, Philippine armed forces chief General Romeo Brawner said Tuesday (August 12). That move backfired on August 11 after a China People's Liberation Army Navy ship accidentally rammed into a China Coast Guard (CCG) vessel while harassing a Filipino coast guard boat near the contested Scarborough Shoal, which is situated within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone. While China has been harassing Philippine vessels in the sea for years – even in waters that are clearly within Manila's territorial EEZ – it has never directly involved the PLA Navy in the conflict. This week's harassment indicates that Beijing has raised the level of its aggression, short of signaling an open conflict with the Philippines, the United States' long-time strategic ally in the region. 'We can see here a change in China's tactic,' Brawner told reporters in Manila. 'They are now deploying their PLA Navy. This symbolizes China's aggressiveness.' 'They claim that we are causing trouble in the West Philippine Sea, but we clearly saw yesterday the opposite, because they continue to claim Bajo de Masinloc or Scarborough Shoal as their own territory.' Lying just 125 nautical miles (232 kilometers) from the Philippines' main island of Luzon, the shoal has long been a traditional fishing ground for generations of local fishermen. Beijing, however, claims historical rights to the shoal because it is inside its so-called nine-dash line map, which experts argue is illegal under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The shoal has been under de facto Chinese control since 2012. Manila took Beijing to an international court of arbitration in 2013, and three years later, it ruled in favor of the Philippines, a victory that was cheered by the international community led by the United States and other Western powers. China ignored the ruling, which lacked an enforcement mechanism, and accused Washington of seeking to cause discord in the region. The Philippines is a strategic military ally of Washington, with a mutual defense agreement dating back to 1951 that binds both nations to come to each other's aid in times of foreign aggression. Recently, both countries refined the coverage of the treaty to cover acts of war to include hostilities in the South China Sea, even as Filipino officials have stressed that the time has not yet come for Manila to invoke the treaty. On Tuesday, Brawner was emphatic. The country, he said, cannot agree to China's position because the Philippines 'is backed up by law.' 'The 2016 arbitral ruling states that China's nine-dash line is baseless,' Brawner said. 'So they cannot claim Bajo de Masinloc.' He said it was clear on Monday that the PLA Navy had intended to ram the tiny Philippine Coast Guard boat. 'That is the assessment of our Philippine Coast Guard. It was a good thing that our coast guard was fast and the two Chinese vessels hit each other.' Brawner said China would now be hard-pressed to offer any counter narrative on this week's incident. 'What happed there was their fault, because it was caused by their aggressive maneuvers,' he said. 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This lead to the collision between the two Chinese vessels,' said has used its Coast Guard and maritime militia to harass PCG and even Filipino-flagged vessels in the West Philippine Sea in recent said the military was meeting soon with the leadership of the PCG to discuss future actions in dealing with situations similar to Monday's incident.'Of course, we're also going to seek guidance from our President because of what has happened,' said Brawner without saying when the meeting will take place.'We're going to discuss future actions, future tactics to counter what China is doing to prevent us from getting close to Bajo de Masinloc,' said Brawner, referring to the Scarborough Shoal. One of the options, Brawner said, is to send Philippine Navy ships nearer to the shoal to ensure the safety of the PCG when doing humanitarian missions in the area, noting that the Navy has been staying at a far distance from the shoal. Navy spokesman for the West Philippine Sea Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, meanwhile, said similar mishaps may occur in the future if China does not cease such illegal actions in the contested area.'So long as they will maintain their ICAD (illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive) activities and presence, incidents like this may happen again in the future,' said if they expected China to be more aggressive in preventing a Philippine presence in the vicinity of the shoal following the incident Monday, Trinidad said: 'We do not speculate. We do not anticipate but so long as they have their illegal presence, their coercive and aggressive actions will continue.'Trinidad implied that the harassment against the PCG vessel was not enough for the Navy to step in. 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AllAfrica
3 days ago
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Gaza grab will deepen Israel's global credibility crisis
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