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Dear Rappler reader,
It was debate night between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, and the stakes are high: The first woman to win a major White House nomination against a tycoon turned reality star who turned the political establishment upside down. There’s also President Rodrigo Duterte’s avowed shift in foreign policy, from a close partnership with the United States to more cooperation with China and Russia. And let’s not forget the peso that fell to its lowest in 7 years.
Below are the big stories we think you shouldn’t miss.
Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump bicker and trade insults in a fiery US presidential debate. The two faced off Monday (Tuesday Manila time), at the 2016 election season’s first presidential debate. The Democratic Party standard bearer and the Republican Party nominee shared the same stage for the first time. A new poll shows the two are tied at 41% among registered voters. The debate focused on the topics 1. Achieving Prosperity 2. America’s Direction 3. Securing America.
“Stop attacking me! Do you like me?” The woman with a stern look and all too-familiar face said on video. “For me, he is the lowest and the vilest man in the country,” she added with a pained expression, the same one she’s had for weeks. Senator Leila de Lima’s march to Calvary goes on, as President Rodrigo Duterte shot back to say he loses his appetite everytime he watches her sex video. The sex video is among a host of charges let loose by the President against the former justice secretary. Meantime, Senator Antonio Trillanes called Duterte a “mass murderer” and called for an investigation of the President, something that is not going down well with the president’s allies.
Philippine National Police Chief Ronald dela Rosa said the Duterte administration is winning the war on drugs. He added next phase of the police’s anti-drug campaign – Project Double Barrel 2 – will put ‘more emphasis’ on high-value targets. Dela Rosa visited Colombia last week to study its version of war on drugs and came home telling drug lords he will form a tougher version of Colombia’s Search Bloc. The Search Bloc is a special Colombian police force that went after the Medellin drug cartel and its leader Pablo Escobar at the height of Colombia’s war on drugs in the 90s. He also shot back at his critics: suggest, don’t criticize. His men arrested a former sexy star who is allegedly now a drug trafficker over the weekend.
As Chinese planes flew over a strait near Japan, President Rodrigo Duterte said he is about to steer relations between the Philippines and the United States towards a “point of no return” along with more “alliances” with China and Russia. In a speech Monday night he said, “I think I’m about to cross the Rubicon between me and the United States.” Duterte will visit China, Japan and Russia before the end of 2016. Foreign affairs officials also said he will discuss the West Philippine Sea in his upcoming official visit to Vietnam. Meantime, Senator Bam Aquino asks the Senate to probe Duterte’s foreign policy because of conflicting statements.
The Philippine peso fell to its lowest level against the dollar in 7 years as it breached the P48 to $1 dollar mark on Monday, September 26, now at P0.26 centavos to close at P48.25 to $1, amid political and security concerns on the local front, and the looming US Federal Reserve rate hike.
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