Duterte Hands Broadcast Foe's Licenses to an Ally

As he gets ready to depart, the Philippine president rewards his friends

As President Duterte’s presidency draws towards its close, he has given another reminder of the combination of insider sleaze, dynasticism, religiosity, and authoritarianism which has characterized his rule but also runs deep in the nation’s institutions.

In 2020, it will be recalled, the broadcast licenses of the nation’s most widely watched news channe…