Category Archives: International

International, Law Enforcement, Media, Politics, Social Media

Vera Files’ Ellen Tordesillas Can’t Find The Facts, Tweets U.S. Senators

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MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – We’ve all been waiting for Vera Files to fact-check news reports that the 2020 Appropriations Acts recently signed by President Donald Trump included a provision that would ban the entry into the U.S. of Philippine officials and others responsible for the alleged wrongful detention of Senator Leila De Lima. We’re all still waiting.

Now we know why: the Facebook fact-checker cannot find the facts, as she admitted in a tweet sent to Senators Dick Durbin and Patrick Leahy, proponents of the supposed ban. Will Vera Files soon tag the news reports as fake?

We can’t really expect the other fact-checker, Rappler, to be checking these reports because of a conflict of interet.  The online news source earlier reported that the U.S. Senators had also urged the Philippine government to drop all criminal charges against its CEO, Maria Ressa.  We’ll let Vera Files fact-check that too.

 

Government, Immigration, International, Law Enforcement, Politics, Social Media

Donald Trump Apologizes To Rodrigo Duterte Over Signed 2020 Budget

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WASHINGTON, D.C. (The Adobo Chronicles) – Donald Trump has personally apologized to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte over the big controversy surrounding the U.S. President’s signing of the 2020  Appropriations  Acts.

Trump apparently signed the voluminous bill documents without realizing they included a provision  that would deny entry into the U.S. of Philippine officials and others responsible for the alleged wrongful detention of Opposition Senator Leila De Lima.

Amid the confusion in news media reports on whether or not such a provision existed in the signed bills, Trump said “I would never move to deny U.S. visas  to my good friend Rody and his henchmen.”

In reacting to the conflicting news reports, Duterte had ordered the banning of U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy and Dick Durbin from entering the Philippines.  The Democratic Senators authored a committee resolution demanding the immediate release of De Lima and — supposedly — the dropping of all criminal charges against Rappler CEO Maria Ressa.

The Philippine President has also threatened to require visas to all U.S. citizens visiting his country.

In his apology, Trump again reiterated his invitation for Duterte to visit the White House. “No visa needed,” he said.

Government, Immigration, International, Politics, Travel

U.S. Senators Leahy And Durbin Banned From Entering PH, Will Maria Ressa Be Next?

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MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau)  –  The Philippines on Friday barred from entry 2 United States Senators supportive of detained Philippine Senator Leila de Lima amid the possible US ban on Filipino officials behind her arrest.

President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the Bureau of Immigration to deny Philippine entry to Senators Patrick Leahy and Dick Durbin after they sought to ban Filipino officials involved in what they called the “wrongful imprisonment” of De Lima, a staunch administration critic.

”The U.S. can’t bully us.  We’ll bully them instead,” Duterte was overheard saying to confidants in Malacanang.

There are also rumors that Duterte will soon order the revocation of the dual citizenship of Rappler CEO Maria Ressa, deport her to the U.S, and  ban her from re-entering the Philippines.  The Duterte administration considers Ressa an “enemy of the state” for the false, exaggerated statements she and Rappler have been spreading about the Philippines’ war on drugs and the state of press freedom in the country.

(It will be recalled that an online petition asking for the revocation of Ressa’s dual citizenship has garnered more thant 54,000 signatures to date.)

As for de Lima, Duterte told The Adobo Chronicles, “Like Pontius Pilate, I wash my hands.  Her fate is now in the hands of the Philippine courts.”