BATAC, Philippines: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte Sunday hailed late dictator Ferdinand Marcos as a “hero” to many Filipinos, brushing aside a history of corruption and rights abuses under the former strongman.
Duterte is stepping up efforts to rehabilitate the image of Marcos, who was ousted in an army-back popular revolt in 1986 and died in exile, as the Marcos family and their allies prepare to hold celebrations Monday marking a hundred years since his birth.
The outspoken Duterte, who has previously hailed Marcos as the country’s best-ever president, has declared the anniversary a holiday in Marcos’ home province of Ilocos Norte where his family still wields political power.
“He was a president. To the Ilocanos, he was the greatest president. Why do we have to debate on that?” Duterte said late Saturday.
“As far as the Ilocanos (are) concerned, Marcos is a hero,” he added, calling criticisms of the former leader “hogwash” and “garbage.”
Duterte, who has himself faced accusations of major human rights abuses, is a friend of the Marcos family and has played a key role in bolstering their efforts to regain the top echelons of political power.
Marcos was accused of embezzling billions of dollars from state coffers, with anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International in 2004 naming him the second most corrupt leader of all time, behind Indonesian dictator Suharto.
The dictator also oversaw widespread human rights abuses to maintain his control of the country and enable his plundering, with thousands of people killed or tortured, previous Philippine governments said.
This culminated in a popular revolt that toppled Marcos, sending him and his family fleeing into exile in Hawaii in 1986. He died in 1989.
No member of the Marcos clan has ever gone to prison and the family has made a stunning political comeback in recent years.
They have hosted various events in Ilocos in recent days showcasing the rule of their patriarch, including a Catholic mass and an event to unveil a plaque on Sunday at the family’s ancestral home in the city of Batac.
Batac resident Lita Lampitoc, 72, summed up the adulation, saying: “We are Ilocanos so we are all for Marcos.”
Asked about the opposition to Marcos, she said: “They do not know Marcos, we know Marcos. We don’t know anything about those angry at Marcos.”
Duterte stunned the nation last November by allowing Marcos to be buried at the national “Heroes’ Cemetery” despite widespread outcry.
Philippines’ Duterte says dictator Marcos is a “hero”
Philippines’ Duterte says dictator Marcos is a “hero”
Pakistan reports fresh polio case from country’s northwest, taking 2024 tally to 56
- Male child contracts polio in northwestern Dera Ismail Khan district, confirm authorities
- Pakistan is one of only two countries worldwide where poliovirus still remains endemic
PESHAWAR: Pakistan reported another polio case from the country’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province on Wednesday, taking this year’s tally of the disease to 56 cases as Islamabad struggles in its efforts to contain the infection.
Pakistan, along with neighboring Afghanistan, remains the last polio-endemic country in the world. The nation’s polio eradication campaign has faced serious problems with a spike in reported cases this year that have prompted officials to review their approach to stopping the crippling disease.
The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health (NIH) confirmed the detection of the 56th wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) case of the year, saying that a male child in the northwestern district of Dera Ismail Khan had contracted the disease.
“This is the seventh polio case of the year from D.I. Khan, one of the seven polio-endemic districts of southern KP,” the polio program said.
Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province and KP have reported the highest number of polio cases this year, 26 and 15, respectively, while 13 have been reported from Sindh and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.
Poliovirus, which can cause crippling paralysis particularly in young children, is incurable and remains a threat to human health as long as it has not been eradicated. Immunization campaigns have succeeded in most countries and have come close in Pakistan, but persistent problems remain.
In the early 1990s, Pakistan reported around 20,000 cases annually but in 2018 the number dropped to eight cases. Six cases were reported in 2023 and only one in 2021.
Pakistan’s polio program began in 1994 but efforts to eradicate the virus have since been undermined by vaccine misinformation and opposition from some religious hard-liners, who say immunization is a foreign ploy to sterilize Muslim children or a cover for Western spies. Militant groups also frequently attack and kill members of polio vaccine teams.
Jeddah set for Fanatec GT World Challenge race
- Anticipated SAL Jeddah Race, which will be held for the first time in the Kingdom on Nov. 29-30, will feature two major motorsport races and cover 1,000 km
- Iconic manufacturers taking part include Porsche, Aston Martin, Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren, Mercedes AMG, BMW M Sport, Audi Sport and Ford
JEDDAH: Jeddah is all set for the final round of the 2024 Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe on Friday when a 49-car field tackles a six-hour Endurance Cup race at Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
The anticipated SAL Jeddah Race, which will be held for the first time in the Kingdom on Nov. 29-30, will feature two major motorsport races and cover 1,000 km, making it the longest circuit race in Saudi history.
Iconic manufacturers taking part include Porsche, Aston Martin, Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren, Mercedes AMG, BMW M Sport, Audi Sport and Ford.
The GT4 European Series, supported by RAFA Racing Club, will feature four competitive categories, promising an exciting spectacle for motorsport enthusiasts in Saudi Arabia:
Pro: A showcase for the world’s finest drivers and teams vying for top honors.
Gold: Designed to cultivate and elevate emerging driving talents.
Silver: A competitive platform featuring a mix of amateur and semi-professional drivers.
Bronze: A unique category combining experienced professionals with promising young drivers, offering a valuable learning experience.
Saudi Logistics Services, the official title sponsor for the Jeddah GT Race 2024, announced on Monday the arrival of more than 70 cars from the ports of Barcelona and Valencia in Spain to the port of Jeddah.
The SAL Jeddah GT Race is an endurance racing event that encourages drivers to push their maximum limits and test their stamina, strategy and reliability throughout the intense competition.
The event’s fan zone includes live entertainment and fun activities for families, as well as food festivals.
‘Not on our watch’: Pakistan PM says won’t let Imran Khan supporters ‘destroy’ economy
- Thousands of Khan supporters protested in Pakistan’s capital on Tuesday, clashing with law enforcers
- Pakistan’s finance ministry says recent protests by Khan’s party cost country a whopping $684 million per day
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday vowed not to let former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party “destroy” the country’s economic progress, lamenting that the recent protests in Islamabad had cost the national exchequer a whopping Rs190 billion ($684 million) per day.
Thousands of supporters of Khan’s PTI entered Pakistan’s capital on Tuesday morning, braving teargas and arrests and crossing security barriers across the country. Pakistan’s government said clashes between Khan supporters, who were demanding the jailed former premier’s release from prison, left three Rangers personnel and one cop dead. The PTI says eight of its supporters were killed and “hundreds” were feared dead, a claim the government challenges.
Khan supporters fled the capital after security forces launched a sweeping midnight raid on Tuesday. The party, however, has said its sit-in protest against the government will continue, without specifying where it will take place.
“My heart cries tears of blood that after working so hard, we should let Pakistan be destroyed at the hands of such anarchists and enemies of the state?
“It is not possible, it will not happen. Not in our time, not on our watch. It will not happen, god willing,” Sharif said. “Together we will take Pakistan out of this.”
Sharif cited the finance ministry’s statement which had earlier this week said Pakistan suffered losses of $684 million per day due to the protests.
The prime minister urged the government to think about the future course of action regarding these protests, saying that it cannot be “business as usual.”
“We cannot let Pakistan be sacrificed under any circumstances,” Sharif said. “We will break the hand that wants to sacrifice Pakistan.”
The PTI’s protest took place during a three-day visit by the president of Belarus, who arrived in Islamabad with a 68-member delegation from his country, to take part in talks related to trade and investment.
Khan, who was ousted from power in a parliamentary no-trust vote in 2022, has been in prison since last year. He faces a slew of charges from terrorism to corruption that he says are politically motivated to keep him in jail and away from politics.
The charges kept Khan away from Feb. 8 general elections that his party says were rigged, an accusation denied by the election commission.
Dozens of underage migrants rescued in Mediterranean
- The group packed into an overloaded small boat was made up of “90 percent unaccompanied minors,” Marseille-based SOS Mediterranee said in a statement
- Ocean Viking had intervened after receiving a notification about the boat from a NATO aircraft by VHF radio
MARSEILLE: Rescue ship Ocean Viking on Tuesday pulled 48 mostly underage migrants from the Mediterranean off the Libyan, the aid group that operates the vessel said on Wednesday.
The group packed into an overloaded small boat was made up of “90 percent unaccompanied minors,” Marseille-based SOS Mediterranee said in a statement.
Ocean Viking had intervened after receiving a notification about the boat from a NATO aircraft by VHF radio, it added.
“Most of the survivors are originally from The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau,” according to SOS Mediterranee, which added that they were “now safe and resting in the on-board shelters.”
Guinea-Bisseau on Africa’s western coast is one of the world’s poorest countries, seen also as one of the most plagued by corruption.
The aid group complained at Italian authorities’ issuance of an authorization for Ocean Viking to dock for the people to disembark at the distant port of Ravenna — almost 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) or a four days’ sail away.
“This practice... empties the Mediterranean of search and rescue resources and increases the suffering of rescued people,” SOS Mediterranee said.
Around 1,985 people attempting to reach Europe across the Mediterranean have gone missing or died this year, according to International Organization for Migration (IOM) figures.
