Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte speaks during an event with members of the Filipino community in Hong Kong, China, 12 April 2018. (EPA photo)MANILA: The Philippines has barred entry to an EU party official critical of President Rodrigo Duterte's brutal drugs crackdown, in a move denounced by critics Monday as a gag on dissent. Filibeck, the deputy secretary general of the Party of European Socialists, flew to the Philippines at the invitation of opposition party Akbayan to attend a congress. Filibeck's party denounced his deportation, adding it had informed EU diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini of the incident. We will continue to express our solidarity with the democratic opposition to Mr Duterte's increasingly authoritarian rule in the Philippines."

Source: Bangkok Post April 16, 2018 03:11 UTC