Controversial Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte may contain his signature colorful language when he arrives in Singapore for a two-day state visit on Thursday.

Like the US, Pope Francis and countless others, the Southeast Asian nation has also been a victim of the President’s verbal tirades. Last year, the 71-year old recalled how he burned a Singapore flag in 1995 to protest against the execution of a Filipina maid.

“F*** you…You are a garrison pretending to be a country,” he said in a Nov. 2015 speech, referring to the city-state.

Singapore doesn’t take too kindly to insults. In the past, the country’s leaders have sued and won damages or out-of-court settlements from foreign publications, including the International Herald Tribune, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and The Economist, for defamatory allegations.

Duterte, who met with Cambodia’s government earlier this week, isn’t expected to apologise for his remarks, but he may be extra-cautious on this trip.

“I expect him to be on his best behaviour in Singapore,” said Murray Hiebert, Southeast Asia specialist at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.

Read also: 10 of Philippines’ President Duterte’s most undiplomatic remarks

333028

2016-10-19 21:54:22

Photo Gallery

Duterte in China to promote economic ties

Source:

Reuters

• 
  
  

  
  
  <!–

• 
  
  

  
  
  <!–

• 
  
  

  
  
  <!–

• 
  
  

  
  
  <!–

• 
  
  

  
  
  <!–

• 
  
  

  
  
  <!–

• 
  
  

  
  
  <!–

• 
  
  

  
  
  <!–

• 
  
  

  
  
  <!–

• 
  
  

  
  
  <!–

• 
  
  

  
  
  <!–

• 
  
  

  
  
  <!–

• 
  
  

  
  
  <!–

• 
  
  

  
  
  <!–

• 
  
  

  
  
  <!–

• 
  
  

  
  
  <!–

• 
  
  

  
  
  <!–

• 
  
  

  
  
  <!–

• 
  
  

  
  
  <!–

• 
  
  

  
  
  <!–

• 
  
  

  
  
  <!–

• 
  
  

  
  
  <!–

• 
  
  

  
  
  <!–

• 
  
  

  
  
  <!–

• 
  
  

  
  
  <!–

• 
  
  

  
  
  <!–

• 
  
  

  
  
  <!–

• 
  
  

  
  
  <!–

• 
  
  

  
  
  <!–

• 
  
  

  
  
  <!–

• 
  
  

  
  
  <!–

• 
  
  

  
  
  <!–

• 
  
  

  
  
  <!–

• 
  
  

  
  
  <!–

• 
  
  

  
  
  <!–

• 
  
  

  
  
  <!–

The bilateral visit is aimed at expanding business ties, deepening defence and security co-operation as well as discussing key issues facing the region, so “having fruitful discussions in these areas will require that he not set his interlocutor teeth on edge with abusive name calling,” Hiebert added.

Duterte will also be holding a session with Singapore’s Filipino residents on Friday, a common practice of his when travelling abroad. There were an estimated 140,000 Filipino workers in Singapore last year, according to Philippine statistics, many of whom are employed as domestic helpers.

Cases of maid abuse are all too frequent in the nation-in March, a Singaporean couple faced charges of failing to adequately feed their Filipina maid-and given Duterte’s remarks in the past, it’s a topic he may raise.

Though the President tends to be the most colorful on his overseas trips, especially when giving speeches to overseas Filipino workers, it’s unlikely he will mar his first visit to Singapore by controversial tirades against the island-nation, noted Malcolm Cook, senior fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, a think-tank specialising in Southeast Asia.

While the President has attracted criticism overseas-human rights activists have accused him of state abuse over the extrajudicial killings from his narcotics crackdown-he remains immensely popular among Filipinos, who praise him for tackling a key source of crime and violence. Nearly 6,000 have died since the war on drugs began in July, out of which 3,841 were vigilante-style killings, according to new Philippine police data on Monday.

With no concrete deals expected on this Singapore trip, foreign policy could feature prominently on the agenda.

“Singapore will likely be very interested in Duterte’s policy, particularly towards the US and China,” said Cook, referring to the Philippine leader’s efforts to distance himself from Washington and cosy up to Beijing.

The Philippines will also be chairing the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc next year, followed by Singapore in 2018, so discussions on regional diplomacy are also likely.

“Presumably, there are concerns in the region of a more inward-looking US foreign policy in the coming years under President-elect Trump, so leaders may prioritize strengthening defence ties,” explained Kevin McGahan, political science lecturer at National University of Singapore.

319552

2016-06-30 13:32:25

Photo Gallery

Duterte sworn in as Philippines’ 16th president

Source: AFP, Reuters

• 
  
  

  
  
  <!–

• 
  
  

  
  
  <!–

• 
  
  

  
  
  <!–

• 
  
  

  
  
  <!–

• 
  
  

  
  
  <!–

• 
  
  

  
  
  <!–

• 
  
  

  
  
  <!–

• 
  
  

  
  
  <!–

• 
  
  

  
  
  <!–

• 
  
  

  
  
  <!–

Mr Terrence Tang, 26, was in a van and waiting for a traffic light to turn green when he heard branches falling and a police officer yelling: “Get out.”

He stepped on his accelerator and his van lurched forward.

A moment later, a giant tree came crashing down on his van, crushing the rear of the vehicle.

“If I did not move my van in time or if I were just a little bit slower or did not react quickly enough, I would have been dead,” Mr Tang told The New Paper.

“The tree was around 20m-tall and fell over eight lanes.”

His close shave happened at 8pm on Tuesday along Aljunied Road.

The director of Yellow Inch, a T-shirt printing company, said he was driving towards his office in Woodlands at the time and had about $5,000 worth of goods in his van.

He said: “I was so shocked and wanted to get away. I could not see the tree because it was on the back of my vehicle.

“The door was stuck and I was trapped.”

PULLED OUT

A group of foreign workers helped pull him out through the van’s window.

“They also asked if I was okay after I got out,” he said.

Mr Tang said he had no injuries from the freak accident, but was taken to the hospital later that evening after he vomited several times.

He was told he had a concussion and was given painkillers before he was discharged.

His wife Jowell Chua, 26, who runs a bridal shop, said: “I was worried and concerned when I first got a call from my husband, telling me about the accident without explaining the details.

“He was shivering and looked very traumatised when I first saw him.

“I was worried when I noticed that he was speaking very slowly, which is very unlike him.”

Now, Mr Tang is worried the delivery costs of sending the T-shirts to his clients will go up.

“We are mainly providing uniforms and gifts to corporate clients, hence the quantity is usually larger. For example, we have an order for a few thousand pieces that needs to be delivered next week.

“It usually fills the whole van, and sometimes we even have to make two trips using the van,” he said, adding he would need to use his own car or rent a van to deliver orders for now.

“We might have to make a few trips just to deliver one order, and we usually send around 10 orders a day.

“So the fuel and time spent is going to add on to the losses.”

myklim@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Dec 15, 2016.
Get The New Paper for more stories.

PRISCILLA GOY, THE STRAITS TIMES

Road safety features for the elderly will be installed at 10 more locations by 2019, under the award-winning Silver Zone road safety scheme.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said yesterday it has identified these new sites, which include places like Chai Chee Road and Whampoa Drive. It added that the sites for another 25 zones, to be ready by 2023, will be identified later.

There are now nine such zones. Six more will be completed by next year.

In general, areas chosen for the scheme are those with a high population of senior residents, relatively higher accident rates involving seniors, and amenities which they frequent, such as wet markets.

Earlier this week, this scheme won an international award – the Prince Michael International Road Safety Award.

In Silver Zones, speed limits are reduced to 40kmh and motorists are informed through road markings, signs and “rumble” strips, which alert drivers when their wheels go over them.

Two-stage crossings are also built, so pedestrians need to check the traffic from only one direction, and have a safety refuge in the middle of the road.

There are “pinch points” at these crossings, with narrower roads to get cars to slow down.

UPCOMING

Elder-friendly road zones to be ready in 2018 or 2019:

Jurong West Avenue 1

Whampoa Drive

Upper Boon Keng Road

Tampines Street 32 and 33

Lorong 5 Toa Payoh

Woodlands Ring Road, Woodlands Drive 63 and 71

Bukit Panjang Ring Road

Teck Whye Lane

Chai Chee Road

Hougang Street 21

goyshiyi@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Dec 15, 2016.
Get The New Paper for more stories.

Minister: 17,000 flats to be launched next year

Young couples will get to move earlier into their build-to-order (BTO) flats launched from 2018.

In a blog post yesterday, Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong said that he has asked the Housing Board (HDB) to plan and prepare the land for several new sites, which can subsequently be put out as BTO units with shorter waiting time.

He also gave several updates about the public housing situation – 17,000 new flats will be launched next year, a slight dip from the 18,000 flats offered this year.

Mr Wong wrote: “We are gradually tapering supply but still ensuring a healthy pipeline to meet demand. Once again, we will offer a good spread across mature and non-mature estates.

“This will give buyers a range of choices, including young couples who wish to live near their parents, or the elderly who want to right-size and age in place.”

He urged young families to apply for BTO flats in non-mature estates to increase their chances.

This year, an average of two first-timer applicants vied for each three-room or bigger flat in non-mature estates.

At the latest launch in November of more than 5,100 BTO flats in Bedok, Kallang, Bidadari and Punggol, the first-timer application rate was 1.5 times for Punggol, a non-mature estate.

In comparison, almost 11 applicants vied for each of the 158 four-room units in the Kallang Residences project, reported The Straits Times last month.

Experts think BTO flats with shorter waiting times will likely be launched in non-mature estates and appeal to young couples with smaller budgets.

ERA key executive officer Eugene Lim told The New Paper: “For young couples, the shorter waiting time and lower price, instead of location, would be the main draw.”

He suggested Punggol and the newly launched Tengah HDB town as possible sites.

“There might be minor hiccups for the first takers, but eventually each HDB town is meant to be self-contained. Punggol is a good example of an estate that has transformed into an attractive location,” he said.

To reduce the wait time for BTO flats, HDB could begin construction before launching them for sale, said Mr Lim.

“This is judging from the responses at recent BTO sales launches, especially for those in mature estates.”

R’ST Research director Ong Kah Seng thinks that HDB could consider adding a few more blocks to BTO projects currently under construction.

He said: “It could work if there is a small, excess plot of land at the site (because) there is already demand for the project. Alternatively, HDB can start preparing reserve land sites way in advance, in terms of assessment and getting interest from contractors.”

linheng@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Dec 15, 2016.
Get The New Paper for more stories.