RACHEL A.G. REYES

IN this time of Brexit and the ranting of right-wingers in both Europe and North America who clamor for a chance to take pot shots at the European Union, President Rodrigo Duterte’s own tirades against the EU may not sound too unusual. “Tell them the mayor says you are a f*****g s**t,” he said recently before a local audience, who laughed and clapped approvingly. But while it might seem Duterte is riding on a populist wave in deriding the EU, and standing up for Philippine sovereignty, he is actually doing the country a massive disservice.

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