John Nery

In Paris, the ceremony to mark the centenary of the end of World War I was stately and moving. It featured such grace notes as students reading from letters written a hundred years ago, when the news about the armistice broke through.

Against the illegal drugs trade in his country, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has let slip the dogs of war — and the havoc includes thousands of dead Filipinos, most of them poor.

Duterte's war on drugs is an American invention. It is an American travesty of justice, which Duterte seems intent on imposing on his own country. Not least, it is an American failure, with which Duterte is unaccountably fixated.

The Philippine Left has a gift for mischievous phrase making, and last week's coinage was both obvious and effective. #Chexit, with the now-obligatory hashtag, quickly made the rounds. Inspired by the tumultuous campaign to consider Britain's exit from the European Union, the new catch phrase was code for the legal campaign to force China to “exit” the South China Sea.