OpenTalk by Carlos Conde

In this episode of #OpenTalk, Caloy Conde speaks with psychiatrist Dr. Nuelle Duterte, niece of former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, about the controversial claim that Duterte is suffering from “cognitive impairment” or early dementia.

Dr. Nuelle strongly doubts the claim, pointing out that:

-- Duterte's camp has not presented any independent professional evaluation of his mental health

-- Duterte appeared healthy just months ago.

-- His children, who often visit him in The Hague, have not confirmed any illness.

-- His daughter Kitty Duterte even posted that she saw her father recently and he was fine.

Instead, Dr. Nuelle suggests the “dementia” narrative is a legal defense strategy in Duterte’s ongoing trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity linked to the Philippine drug war and extrajudicial killings (EJKs).

The discussion also highlights:

-- The potential stigma this kind of claim creates around mental health.

-- The urgent need to focus on the victims and families of the drug war, rather than the former president’s alleged condition.

👉 Watch the full conversation for a different perspective on Duterte, mental health stigma, and accountability at the ICC.

#Philippines #Duterte #ICC #DrugWar #MentalHealth #EJKs #HumanRights

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit carlosconde.substack.com

In this episode of #OpenTalk, journalist Carlos Conde interviews Ken Roth, former executive director of Human Rights Watch and author of the new book "Righting Wrongs." They dive into the urgent state of human rights advocacy, the challenges facing the International Criminal Court (ICC), and the global fight for accountability.

Ken Roth stresses the importance of the Assembly of States Parties in resolving the leadership crisis surrounding ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan, who is currently on leave after facing allegations. Roth explains why the ICC cannot afford to be “headless” at a time when it must tackle pressing cases around the world.

The discussion also examines the case of Rodrigo Duterte, the former Philippine president now detained in The Hague on charges of crimes against humanity. Roth argues that Duterte’s arrest and potential trial should serve as a stark warning to autocrats everywhere who believe they can escape justice.

If you’re interested in international justice, human rights, accountability for authoritarian leaders, and the role of the ICC, this conversation is essential viewing.

👉 Don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe for more conversations on global human rights, justice, and democracy.

SECTIONS

00:00 Why Ken Roth wrote "Righting Wrongs"

– Ken’s book is part memoir but it really is a strategy lesson for how information can be deployed to force government to respect human rights

– Human rights work doesn’t always work but it works a lot

– Does naming and shaming still work?

– Human rights as an imposition by the west– it’s a convenient argument for an autocrat

– Sacrifice civil liberties for better governance is part of the Lee Kuan Yew myth

– 9 out of 10, autocrats serve themselves; Lee was the exception that proves the rule

12:04 The ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan controversy and why it needs to be resolved FAST

– The ICC’s Office of the Prosecutor is essentially headless at a time when important decisions have to be made

– Assembly of States Parties has the power to remove Khan if they want but there needs to be a fair process

– The next prosecutor should be genuinely independent

– Befuddled why Putin has not been charged for any of bombing

20:19 Duterte’s arrest and trial at The Hague

-- Duterte is a lesson to the world's autocrats

– The argument that ICC only focuses on cases in sub-Saharan Africa is old

– One fair criticism against the ICC is that it has only convicted warlords so far, not leaders or government officials

– Duterte arrest shows the naïveté of leaders that they can get away with mass atrocities as long as they are in office

– Duterte is an important lesson for the Putins and Netanyahus of the world

– Duterte case is not only a positive for the ICC but also a positive for justice

– The Philippines should rejoin the ICC

Learn more about Ken Roth and his book here: https://www.kenroth.org/

#HumanRights #ICC #RodrigoDuterte #KenRoth #OpenTalk

#philippines #philippinepolitics #HRW #humanrightswatch #rightingwrongs #memoir #vladimirputin #benjaminnetanyahu #israel #russia #karimkhan #gaza #genocide #accountability #justice

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit carlosconde.substack.com

Vince thinks it is, by definition, weak and will end up practically useless. It is also a replication of the Ombudsman. What Marcos should do is appoint an Ombudsman who is incorruptible and strong. He also should make sure that the Office of the Ombudsman is adequately funded. Vince also underlined the need for better selection of judges of the Sandiganbayan as well as members of the Judicial and Bar Council.

Watch the episode here:

HIGHLIGHTS

– Problem with commission’s composition, duties, and mandate

– Main concern: It duplicates the mandate and functions of the Ombudsman – and in a poor fashion at that

– Marcos’ EO that created the commission uses words like “recommend,” “request” -- very weak words. Compare that to Ombudsman which has the power to compel witnesses

– So anybody can refuse to cooperate with the commission, which has no power of contempt

– Commission is for public relations; Marcos wants to be seen as being pro-active

– But creation of commission is a misstep

– Litmus test for Marcos is who's he going to appoint as ombudsman

– If Marcos really wants to address corruption government-wide, he has the opportunity here to appoint a good Ombudsman and make sure his office is adequately funded

– What the commission should be doing is do a study on the anatomy of corruption at the DPWH and then make recommendations to the president on how DPWH should be structured

– Just the same, Marcos should avoid appointing ex-DPWH officials to the commission.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit carlosconde.substack.com

Watch the my interview here with Duterte supporter and spokesman (and former human rights lawyer) Harry Roque: A CONFRONTATION WITH HARRY ROQUE, THE UNREPENTANT, FIERCELY LOYAL DUTERTE PROPAGANDIST - YouTube

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit carlosconde.substack.com

In this episode, Caloy Conde and Walden Bello, a leading activist and public intellectual in the Philippines, dissect the many factors why corruption in the Philippines persists – the kind of corruptuon that Filipinos saw in recent weeks when billions of public works funds were discovered to have been stolen by contractors and politicians. The bottomline: The brazen thievery by contractors, public works officials, and legislators is just a symptom of a larger problem.

HIGHLIGHTS

– Structural roots of corruption in the Philippines driven by neoliberal policies imposed by multilateral agencies like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund

– Capitalism and globalization have made the Philippines a plaything in the world

– If Filipinos are going to fight corruption, they should put themselves on the line, go out in the streets

– Conditionalities by multilateral agencies prevented the economic development of the Philippines

– With this underdevelopment, industry and agricultural are smashed, when these should be sources of national wealth should be redistributed to the people

– The government becomes an engine of capital accumulation, not public service. This is why the corrupt gravitate to government – because government is the only game in town.

– The result: Severe inequality

– Beyond corruption, Filipinos have to confront the structural forces that create so much poverty and inequality. They cannot divorse social reform from the fight against corruption

– This generation should push things like land reform, not just corruption. And policies to tax the rich, create possibilities for equal income redistribution

– These structural problems allow traditional politicians and corrupt political dynasties to run roughshod over the welfare and rights of ordinary Filipinos. These make it easy for them to steal the public’s money.

(Thumbnail photo: Bagong Alyansang Makabayan)

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit carlosconde.substack.com

Walden Bello, the esteemed Filipino progressive and public intellectual, has written a memoir about the political battles he has waged over the years and how love fits in all of those struggles. In this OpenTalk episode, Walden talks about the demons that he tried to vanquish – from inequality in the Philippines (as a communist cadre) to US interventionism and imperialism – and the loves he pursued along the way.

This is the first part of Walden’s interview with Caloy Conde; the second part, which will be uploaded later this week, will be about what Walden thinks of the corruption scandal that’s roiling the Philippines and how all that is linked to the country’s lingering structural problems. Walden will be at the Manila International Book Fair at MOA SMX today, at 11am, to sign copies of your book.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit carlosconde.substack.com

In this OpenTalk episode, Carlos Conde and journalist Regine Cabato delve deep into the world of what Regine calls the Duterte “disinformation cyborgs,” who runs them, why they keep churning disinformation, and who benefits from all that. A former Washington Post reporter who is now on a Chevening scholarship in the UK where she studies politics and the disinformation ecosystem, Regine provides valuable insights and startling revelations about how the “disinformation industry” in the Philippines works.

Watch the full episode here:

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

* The disinformation machine never stops churning

* Who are doing this? Nobody has a normal life and fulltime job can do this

* A lot of what you see online is manufactured, paid for

* The Duterte disinformation machine is a cyborg – half human half machine

* The disinformation industry is not even just a cottage industry. Billions are spent.

* Public relations political strategists at the top

* Organic influencers are targeted; they are the target market; they preach to the choir

* They exaggerate real pro-Duterte sentiments

* They pit Cebuanos against Tagalogs to create the anti-Bisaya Duterte construct

* The goal is to keep the people divided; to keep Filipinos polarized

* Regional language barrier is real; this fills an information gap

* There needs to be content creators on the democraty side, on the journalism side

* Important to train regional journalists vs information manipulation

* People want not just facts but framing; they want to be told what's important

* Journalists have to compete in the chaos

* We have to explain to people that journalists are the go-to source for credible information

* People have lost their capacity for longform comprehension

* We have not fully recovered from the Duterte years of undermining the media

* We have to explain to people how platforms work, the dynamics of how media works

* Influence the influencers

* Journalists should do PR for their own stories and investigations, to measure impact

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit carlosconde.substack.com

In this quick OpenTalk episode, activist @teddycasino of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan discusses with Caloy Conde the fallout of yesterday's upheaval in the Philippine Senate, when the Duterte senators were ousted from the majority. The Senate is now dominated by Marcos-friendly senators, spelling doom politically for the Dutertes. The Dutertes' only fallback, Casiño says, is their enduring popularity and the power of their massive and well-funded disinformation network. Watch the full episode here:

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit carlosconde.substack.com

Watch the full episode here:

GAZA, THE FILIPINO JOURNALIST, AND THE ATTEMPT TO WHITEWASH THE GENOCIDE - YouTube

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit carlosconde.substack.com

What is the mystery behind the continuing support of many Filipinos, particularly overseas, for former President Rodrigo Duterte, despite overwhelming evidence that his regime killed thousands of Filipinos, that he plunged the Philippines into its worst huiman rights catastrophe ever?

Carlos Conde dissects the steadfast devotion to Duterte in this #OpenTalk episode with Father Albert Alejo, a Jesuit priest based in Italy where he has been advocating among Filipinos in Europe for accountability for Duterte’s crimes, especially now that the tyrant’s trial in the ICC in the Hague is scheduled to start on Sept. 23.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit carlosconde.substack.com