On Donald Trump’s comments regarding General Pershing

With US President Donald Trump still reeling from the effects of his comments on the events in Charlottesville, Virginia and amid the most recent terror incident, this time in Barcelona, he once again entered himself to controversy when he tweeted on a long-debunked urban legend that dates back to the early years of American rule

US drone strikes in the Philippines? How about no?

Source of this entry: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/u-s-may-begin-airstrikes-against-isis-philippines-n790271 The Marawi crisis is far from over, with our soldiers engaging in fierce room-to-room combat aided by airstrikes using the new FA-50s bought from South Korea, with occasional assistance by foreign countries. Our traditional allies (United States, Australia, Japan) as well as non-traditional allies (China and Russia) are providing us

Playing Democracy 3 helps me in further developing my political views

(Interface of the game’s homepage. Screengrabbed from my iPad Mini 2. No coyright infringement intended.) I’ve been playing this game for 2 years since I asked my mom to buy me this (expensive considering the Philippines’ status as a developing country, costing around $4.99 I think, costing around 249 in Philippine pesos), nonetheless the game

My Take: NYT’s piece on Du30

With the New York Times’ article on Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte dominating the political discussion, general sentiment is, as always, negative, with spokesperson Ernesto Abella stating this is part of a larger plot to unseat the president. To start, what did the NYT do? They published an article detailing his rise to power, first as

War on drugs: Learning from experience

In an editorial piece published in the New York Times, former Colombian president Cesar Gaviria had some words for Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, that is avoiding the mistakes he committed in leading his country’s war on illegal drugs which the Philippines has done since Duterte took office in June last year. It is noted that

Trump’s foreign policy, its consistencies, and how it might affect the world

Have you noticed how inconsistent the Trump administration is when it comes to foreign policy? In much of his speeches and policy, Donald Trump has been promoting cooperation with Russia in issues like terrorism (and the war in Syria) and how “he would like to get along with President Vladimir Putin” but at the same

The Filipino left desparately needs a new voice

In a disturbing turn of events, the Communist Party of the Philippines’ armed wing New Peoples’ Army announced a termination of their unilateral ceasefire starting Feb.10. The stated reasons were the government’s refusal to comply with their demands of the release of more than 400 political prisoners and the military’s withdrawal from their “territories”.  As

New friends, new partners

(The Russian Navy anti-submarine ship Admiral Tributz, as photographed, docked in Manila for a four-day goodwill visit. Photo courtesy of CNN Philippines.) One of the first major stories of the year is the  four-day goodwill visit of the Russian Navy in Manila in an effort to expand contact and relations. This has culminated a long-standing

Banat Top 5 for 2016

With this blog barely a year old and due my relatively busy schedule (coupled with a penchant for procrastination), we have not been able to post that much content, but we would like to end the year with the top 5 issues that we feel  made a lot of impact. 5. Geopolitical earthquakes one after

Why not a new trade bloc with Latin America?

(Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte shaking hands with Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kucyznski during the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Lima, Peru last November 18-20, 2016. Photo credits: Philstar) As part of the Philippines’ ongoing push to pursue a foreign policy independent from the West, we would like to suggest why don’t we consider establishing stronger