It seems that President Rodrigo Duterte is enjoying the company of Thailand Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha after they on the sidelines of the 34th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit at The Athenee Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand on June 23, 2019.

Duterte who’s known for being strict and serious in many photos has been spotted being joyful while having a photo session with the Thai PM.

Duterte and Chan-o-cha during the bilateral meeting talked on how the Philippines and Thailand could improve their ties.

The President also received a gift from his new friend and it was presented to the Filipino leader after the successful talks between them.

The stamps included in the frame are national stamps commemorating the 70th anniversary of PH-Thai relations which started on June 14, 1949.

Meanwhile, the supporters of the President on social media are glad to see that the chief executive is enjoying the meeting with the Thai PM.

 “Happy to see you HAVING BIG LAUGH, MR. PRESIDENT!!!” Ma. Priscilla Aguilar said.

“Nakakaiyak na nakakatuwa, nakakaiyak kasi sa likof ng mga ngiti ni PRRD ay buhat buhat nya ang libo libong problema ng ating bansa kasama ang mga bumabatikos sa kanya at mga di makuntento sa mga nagawa nya. Masaya kasi di nya tayo iniwan. Sana ikaw na lang presidente ng pinas habang buhay Tay!” A-Van Closa remarked

Aside from Chan-o-cha, Duterte also met the leaders of Thai companies and urged them to invest in the Philippines.

He ensured the Thai businessmen that there would be no corruption happening in the Philippines under his term.

An alumnus of the Philippine Military Academy made a Facebook post to explain who’s more Chinese than President Rodrigo Duterte.

According to Dan Jimenez, former Presidents Cory and Benigno Aquino are more “Chinese” than the current chief executive.

He pointed out that the ancestors of Cory came from mainland China.

“Cory Aquino traced her roots in mainland China and even went to the village where her Chinese side of the family came from. She adopted the “yellow” color as her banner and rallying trademark!” Jimenez said.

Jimenez also mentioned Noynoy, saying that the former President let the Chinese mine lands in Zambales to gather materials for their artificial islands in the West Philippine Sea.

He also said that Noynoy failed to be transparent in resolving the WPS issue during his time.

“Noynoy Aquino let the Chinese flattened two mountains in Zambales to be used to build up the disputed islands. Then, instead of transparent diplomatic negotiations, he used Trillanes to do a backdoor negotiation, the terms of which remain unknown to this day. It was after that the Chinese imposed their control.” Jimenez said.

“And how much money did Noynoy’s administration borrow from the Chinese? At least with Duterte’s loans, the results are very visible. Where did Noynoy’s loans go?” he added.

In his term as President, Duterte was accused of being Pro-China because of choosing to negotiate with the Chinese to resolve the West Philippine Sea issue than invoking the victory of the country over an arbitration case.

Until today, the opposition also criticized the President for being friendly to China.

President Rodrigo Duterte got fed up with the incompetence of the two airline company based in the Philippines and made a warning to them.

During his speech at the 121st Philippine Navy Anniversary celebration, Duterte warned Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific to give a better service to the Filipinos or else their business may disappear in the future.

According to him, PAL and CebuPac should fulfill their obligations of providing comfortable travel to their customers, especially to the Filipino air travelers.

“Kawawa talaga ang riding public,” Duterte said.

“Merong isang eroplanong nag-landing and they stayed for five hours inside the plane — incoming. So merong tumawag late ng two hours, mag-book sila ng hotel,” he added.

He also lectured PAL and CebuPac, saying that they should give their passengers convenience because that is the reason why their businesses exist.

“I told PAL and the rest of the carriers — the very essence of a common carrier, whether it is a jeep, a bus, an airplane, a ship — ang common ano diyan is for public interest and public governance, and convenience,” he said.

“If you cannot provide convenience and comfort, you ought not to be there at all,” he added.

President Duterte also believed that the congestion at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) is the reason why passengers are experiencing inconvenience and delays.

To solve the issue, he suggested making Sangley point to become an alternative airport for passengers.

“I used to fly when I was young. So kilala ko ‘yang mga piloto sa Civil Aviation, almost all of them. Noong una pa tinitingnan ko talaga ‘yung clogging. I mentioned it in passing itong Sangley. But it was lost in the maze of governmental…Sabi ko, ‘Why don’t you look at the direction of Sangley? Maski na lang sa mga cargo, to ease up a bit ‘yung (congestion),” he said.

After the President suggested to make Sangley point as an alternative landing, Department of Transportation (DOTr) ordered a 24/7 construction of the airport in Cavite.

Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III questioned former Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario for using a diplomatic passport during his recent trip to Hong Kong.

In an interview at the Senate, Sotto questioned how a retired government official could still use a diplomatic passport, especially if he’s traveling for private purposes.

“Kapag retired official ka ba pwedeng naka-diplomatic passport ka pa rin? Kapag ako ‘di na ako senador pwede ko pa ba gamitin ‘yung diplomatic passport ko?” Sotto said.

“Kaya ko ito nasasabi… I am not saying it is wrong; I am asking why because in my case, I am a senator [and] I have never used my diplomatic passport going abroad unless it is with the President or on official business by the inter-parliamentary union,” 

Under the law, diplomatic passports may only be used for “official missions” related to government work.

However, Del Rosario used his diplomatic passport during his travel to Hong Kong to attend the First Pacific’s board and shareholders meetings.

Meanwhile, the former DFA secretary is planning to file a complaint about what happened to him in Hong Kong which he called a “detention”.

On May 21, Former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales was also barred from entering Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China.

Del Rosario and Carpio-Morales are both critics of China.

“If you follow the trend, the honorable Ombudsman was here, she went through the same experience, And the link to that experience which turned out to be consequential to us was the communique that we sent to ICC (International Criminal Court),” Del Rosario told reporters.

Vice President Leni Robredo visited the captain of the fishing boat that rammed by a Chinese Vessel last week.

Robredo went personally to Brgy. San Roque, San Jose, Occidental Mindoro on Friday to talk to Captain Junel Insigne and his wife, Lani about the recent incident that put them on the headlines.

According to the reports, aside from visiting the F/B GEM-VER, Robredo also talked to the other fishermen and gave them P50,000 under Angat Buhay Program of the Office of the Vice President (OVP).

The complete information between the discussion of Robredo and Isigne is not yet disclosed.

Robredo is one of the first government officials who criticized the crew of the Chinese Vessel which sank the boat of the fishermen.

She even wanted the Chinese fishermen to stand trial in the Philippines.

“Justice for the 22 Filipino fishermen requires that our courts assume jurisdiction,” Robredo said.

On Monday, several representatives from the OVP visited Insigne, the same day when Insigne claimed that he rejected the invitation from Malacanang.

On Wednesday, the Department of Agriculture (DA) led by Secretary Manny Pinol sent their help to Insigne and other fishermen.

Some supporters and members of the KAPA Community Ministry International are pushing Pastor Joel Apolinario, the founder of the said religious group to run for Presidency in 2022.

After President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the closure of KAPA, thousands of Apolinario supporters said that they’re going to remain loyal to the self-proclaimed pastor and even ready to support him if he wanted to lead the country.

KAPA members rallies in different parts of the country to show their force and to ask the President to let their religious group operate.

Some supporters of KAPA even claimed that their rallies could be compared to the political rallies of President Duterte during the 2016 presidential elections.

They believe that it’s possible for Apolinario to solve poverty in the Philippines because he already helped many poor people via KAPA.

Here are some of the comments of KAPA members who wanted Apolinario to enter politics:

 “DR. PASTOR JOEL APOLINARIO FOR PRESIDENT 2022 KASI SYA LANG ANG NAKA SOLVE SA PROBLEMA NG POVERTY WHICH IS THE FIRST AND BIGGEST PROBLEM OF THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES!!!!” Nelg Zepol Cas said.

“Politika ang dahilan ng lahat ng pangyayario dito. Ayaw nilang dadami ang member ng KAPA dahil pag dating ng 2022 pag tumakbo si Pastor Joel Apolinario sa pagka pangulo tiyak mananalo sya.” One KAPA supporter commented.

“Pangalawa ayaw niyong umasenso ang mahihirap dahil pag maraming ng pera ang mahihirap hindi na nila kayang bayaran para sila ay mananalo pag dating sa eleksyon kaya ang gawin nila poor the people and buy the people upang mananatiling sila ang humahawak sa kapangyarihan sa gobyerno kaya ngayon palang gawin nila lahat para mahinto ang pag dami ng member ng KAPA.” he added.

As of writing, Apolinario is not yet giving any clues if he’s going to enter politics if ever he survived the estafa charges against him.

According to reports, KAPA already made P50-B by luring people to invest in their religious group in exchange of 30% monthly interest.

Davao City Mayor Inday Sara Duterte denied the claims of KAPA Community Ministry International founder Pastor Apolinario that she approved the said religious group to continue their operations.

In a speech, Inday Sara discussed KAPA in Visayan language, saying that the members might have a hard time to get their money because its members are using the term “donate” while in reality, they’re investing money to the said religious group.

“Ang sabi ni Pastor Apolinario, Hindi niya na maibabalik ang pera dahil pumirma raw ang mga miyembro nito bilang isang donasyon  o love gift.” Inday Sara told the audience.

She also told her audience to research about Ponzi Scheme.

The said scam promising high rates of return with little risk to investors. The Ponzi scheme generates returns for early investors by acquiring new investors.

According to Inday Sara, Apolinario is having an advantage in the issue because he believes that no members of KAPA would file charges against him.

However, she said that they might be a chance for some members to get their money if they’re going to act early.

“Kung interesado kayong mag file ng complaint, punta kayo ng NBI, i-file mo na gusto mo ng maibalik ang pera mo,” she said.

Several weeks ago, the government ordered to close down KAPA after they found that many people were lured by Apolinario’s promise that his religious group would return 30% monthly in their every investment.

Meanwhile, several KAPA members said that they’re going to avoid supporting the Duterte family in the next election and would prefer to push for Apolinario to run for the presidency.