Representative and former Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo bangs the gavel after taking the oath as the new house speaker, at the House of Representatives in Quezon city, metropolitan Manila, Philippines Monday July 23, 2018. A leadership row erupted in the Philippine House of Representative, delaying President Rodrigo Duterte's delivery of his annual state of the nation address and passage of a crucial Muslim rebel autonomy deal. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A leadership row in the Philippine House of Representatives delayed President Rodrigo Duterte's delivery of his annual state of the nation address and passage of crucial Muslim autonomy legislation aimed at ending one of Asia's longest Islamic rebellions.

As Duterte arrived Monday afternoon on a helicopter in the heavily secured congressional complex, Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, backed by dozens of allied legislators, took the main seat in the center stage of the House's plenary hall in a sign that she was taking over the post of House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez.

Arroyo, a former president, tried to speak from the stage during the dramatic standoff that played out live on television, but her microphone was turned off. She tried to yell, apparently to explain what was happening, but later stepped down from the stage, waving at the crowd.

Alvarez, along with Senate President Vicente Sotto III, fetched Duterte and led the visibly confused leader to a holding room as the dispute over House leadership unfolded in the chamber, which was packed with foreign diplomats, legislators and other dignitaries. Alvarez and Arroyo are close Duterte supporters in the 292-member House, which is largely dominated by the president's allies.

"They chose to disrespect their own president and attend to their own ambitions in full view of the nation. For almost an hour, it seemed that nobody was in control," opposition Sen. Risa Hontiveros said.

"This is the true state of the nation. It is petty infighting, backstabbing, and brinkmanship, all done at the people's expense," Hontiveros said.

Others called the squabble a "circus" that bared a deep crack in Duterte's ruling coalition. An arrangement was later reached allowing Alvarez to lead the joint session with Sotto to break the impasse, which delayed the president's speech for more than an hour.

Backed by nearly 200 legislators, Arroyo was sworn in late Monday as the new House speaker in an impressive political comeback. The 71-year-old ex-economics professor and classmate of former U.S. President Bill Clinton at Georgetown University was detained in a hospital in 2012 for nearly four years for alleged large-scale corruption but the Supreme Court dismissed the case and ordered her freed.

The leadership row earlier prevented the House from ratifying a Muslim autonomy bill that was part of a peace deal with the 11,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

Earlier Monday, the Senate unanimously ratified the bill, which would establish a new Bangsamoro autonomous region in the country's south, but House members adjourned early due to the infighting. The government had negotiated the pact for more than two decades with the largest Muslim insurgent group in the south.

Duterte had been expected to sign the autonomy bill into law and highlight it in his state of the nation speech. The peace deal, which he promised to sign within 48 hours, is a bright spot in his two-year presidency, which has come under heavy criticism over his human rights record, deadly anti-drug crackdown and vulgar language.

"I make the solemn commitment that this administration will never deny our Muslim brothers and sisters the basic legal tools to charter their own destiny within the constitutional framework of our country," Duterte said.

Thousands of flag-waving protesters rallied outside the House and burned his effigy. They condemned him for the drug killings and for failing to ease poverty and inflation.

There was no immediate reaction from the Muslim rebels over the latest delay in achieving the Malaysian-brokered peace deal, which seeks to replace an earlier poverty- and conflict-wracked autonomous region with a potentially larger, better-funded and more powerful region for minority Muslims in the south of the largely Roman Catholic nation.

The proposed deal is the latest significant attempt by the government to negotiate an end to nearly half a century of on-and-off Muslim fighting that has left more than 120,000 people dead and hampered development in the country's poorest regions.

The two largest Muslim rebel groups in the south have dropped their demands for a separate Muslim state in exchange for autonomy and have renounced terrorism. Western governments, however, have worried about the presence of small numbers of Islamic State group-linked militants from the Middle East and Southeast Asia seeking combat training and collaboration with Filipino insurgents.

Last year, heavily armed Filipino insurgents who have sworn allegiance to the Islamic State group, along with dozens of foreign fighters, laid siege to the southern Islamic city of Marawi. Troops backed by U.S. and Australian surveillance aircraft routed the militants after five months of airstrikes and ground assaults that left more than 1,200 people, mostly Islamic fighters, dead and the mosque-studded city in ruins. Aside from the Muslim autonomy pact, Duterte reaffirmed his resolve to fight illegal drugs and introduced a draft constitution that would shift the country to a federal system of governance. The moves, including opening the country's 1987 constitution to amendment, have been opposed by several groups and opposition politicians, who fear they are designed to prolong Duterte's rule and give him dictatorial powers. Duterte, who took office in 2016, has played down such fears, saying he was ready to step down as early as next year and cut short his six-year term if a new federal government is set in place. "I have no illusions of occupying this office one day longer than what the constitution under which I was elected permits or under whatever constitution there might be," Duterte said.</s>Two years after the dismissal of corruption charges against her, former Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is back in a new role—speaker of the House of Representatives—where she can boost the political agenda of current President Rodrigo Duterte.

Ms. Arroyo, 71 years old, won election as speaker Monday, unseating her predecessor and creating chaos with a surprise last-minute bid. On Tuesday she issued a statement of support for Mr. Duterte as he doubles down on his bloody war on drugs, seeks to increase infrastructure...</s>Two years after the dismissal of corruption charges against her, former Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is back in a new role—speaker of the House of Representatives—where she can boost the political agenda of current President Rodrigo Duterte.

Ms. Arroyo, 71 years old, won election as speaker Monday, unseating her predecessor and creating chaos with a surprise last-minute bid. On Tuesday she issued a statement of support for Mr. Duterte as he doubles down on his bloody war on drugs, seeks to increase infrastructure...</s>As Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte prepared for his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, his third since assuming power in 2016, protesters took to the streets in and around Manila. Police expected around 40,000 protesters against his administration and 40,000 in favor of the controversial leader.

Among those anti-government protesters are women’s rights activists, who have increasingly been speaking out against the Duterte administration. Since taking office in June 2016, the 73-year-old leader has ordered soldiers to shoot female rebels “in the vagina,” made inappropriate comments about his female Vice President’s legs, joked about raping Miss Universe, and equated having a second wife to keeping a “spare tire” in the trunk of a car.

“When he says these things, he’s sending out a message to all men out there that ‘I get away with it, so you can,'” says Inday Espina-Varona, a 54-year-old journalist and one of several co-founders of the #BabaeAko movement. Translated as ‘I Am Woman,’ the social media campaign began in May after Duterte declared that the next Chief Justice of the Philippines could not be a woman.

For some, the Philippines’ position in World Economic Forum’s top ten countries in the world for gender equality merely masks deeper cracks in society. The country of 103 million may have had two female presidents, but Duterte has nevertheless managed to capitalize on a deeply-entrenched strain of misogyny. Just as women across the U.S. have come together to protest President Donald Trump’s comments, including his boast about grabbing women by the pussy, women in the Philippines have now mobilized to call out sexism in the Duterte administration.

Both veterans and newcomers to the Philippine women’s rights movement took part in Monday’s march in Manila, along with several other rights groups in their own version of a SONA. “We knew we had to get together to answer him,” says 55-year-old actress Mae Paner, another co-founder of #BabaeAko. Under the hashtag, women across the Philippines uploaded videos of themselves to social media platforms calling out Duterte’s sexist rhetoric. Among them were high-profile female leaders, including Congress representatives, former Solicitor General Florin Hilbay, and a former cabinet member of the Duterte administration, Judy Taguiwalo.

That did nothing to stop Duterte, who kissed a married woman in front of an audience of overseas Filipino workers on June 4 in Seoul, South Korea. (Although the woman later said that there was “no malice” in the kiss, the stunt was condemned by politicians and women’s rights groups as an abuse of power.) The kiss prompted the women’s movement to take to the streets eight days later, with some calling for his resignation.

“That kiss has been framed as a playful gesture of a father to one of his children, which resonates with many women who feel they have to tolerate this behavior as it is more costly to point out,” says Sharmila Parmanand, PhD candidate in Gender Studies at the University of Cambridge. “There is still this very overt sexualization of women, and the infrastructure to combat sexism is struggling against a political culture that is still very patriarchal.”

Although a recent McKinsey report also showed that the Philippines leads the Asia-Pacific Region on gender equality in the workplace, many women still say there’s a long way to go more generally. “We have to look at what type of gender equality are we talking about when there are all these festering pushbacks against the status of women in Philippine society,” Maria Tanyag, research fellow at Monash University’s Gender, Peace and Security Department in Melbourne, tells TIME. The Catholic Church wields a strong influence in the country, where abortion and divorce are still illegal. Activists are pushing to raise the country’s age of consent up from 12 years old, which is the lowest in Asia, and despite the passing of a landmark reproductive health bill under the previous administration, observers say the country’s sexual education framework still falls short. And a series of blunders in the past year illustrate broader underlying sexist attitudes, including a marketing campaign run by San Miguel beer that was criticized for promoting rape culture, a callout for game show contestants with “sexy legs,” and a police-issued rape prevention poster that advised women not to “dress provocatively.”

To his critics, Duterte’s sexism has emboldened others. The president has not shied away from using gendered insults and threats, particularly against female critics both in the Philippines and abroad. Vice President Leni Robredo, a political opponent of Duterte, has slammed his “tasteless” remarks about her legs and “short skirt.” Senator Leila de Lima, a strong critic of the drugs war, filed a lawsuit against Duterte in 2016, alleging sexual harassment and slut shaming after he alluded to owning a sex tape of her and her driver. The President has even made lewd comments about foreign representatives, such as a United Nations representative whom he derided as a “daughter of a whore” after she investigated extrajudicial killings as part of the country’s war on drugs.

“It was really that impact of Duterte coming into power and making terrible statements about women that fueled my fire. I saw that there was something that needed to be done,” says Mich Dulce, a co-founder of Grrrl Gang Manila, a feminist collective created in March 2017. It holds regular safe space meet-ups for women and girls in the Philippine capital on themes such as ‘Feminism 101’ and ‘Toxic Masculinity,’ tied together with music performances, demonstrations and talks in local schools and workplaces about the barriers women face. “It’s just like Trump, where people who didn’t care before are looking for ways to make a change,” says 37-year-old Dulce, who also fronts an all-women feminist punk band called The Male Gaze. “We are not the only group or collective that came out of that time—it’s part of a whole conscious collective, where we are all reacting to the same things,” agrees fellow co-founder Marla Darwin.

Official from the administration have dismissed criticisms of sexism and misogyny as “over-acting” and taking Duterte too seriously. Presidential spokesman Harry Roque has used this defense of Duterte’s behavior multiple times, imploring critics to “not take the words of the President literally, but of course, we should take the President’s word seriously.” Another top aide has condemned the #BabaeAko movement as “clearly political,” and Duterte himself has batted away backlash against the incident in Seoul by saying critics were “just jealous.”

Duterte is not the first strongman leader in Philippine politics, but his comments reflect something deeper about his style of government and the kind of leader he wants to be. For many Filipinos, President Ferdinand Marcos’ dictatorship and brutal rule through martial law in the 1970s remains a fresh memory. And today, Duterte has Southeast Asian ‘strongman‘ compatriots in the form of Cambodia’s Hun Sen and Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, as well as Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump further afield. “We are seeing the exaggeration of masculinity to serve a purpose to legitimize certain foreign and domestic policies,” Tanyag tells TIME, speaking of this broader trend.

Indeed, Duterte’s macho leadership may have a more pragmatic basis, particularly regarding the war on drugs—arguably the centerpiece of his domestic policies. Philippine authorities say 4,500 drug suspects have been killed since July 2016, although human rights observers estimate that the number is closer to 12,000. “There is this macho mindset of the war on drugs being justified because it protects women and children,” Parmanand says, calling this rhetoric “benevolent paternalism.” In fact, the drug war has had a major impact on women and children, whether because of losing family members or facing financial difficulty due to lower family incomes as a result of extrajudicial killings.

Beyond the drug war, Dutete’s leadership has displayed hallmarks of “hypermasculinity” elsewhere, Tanyag says. In May 2017, the southern island of Mindanao was placed under martial law after ISIS-backed militants seized the city of Marawi. Despite the government declaring victory over the extremists in October, Duterte was granted the power to extend martial law in the region for a further year the following month, with critics arguing against increased powers for the military. According to Tanyag, this kind of reaction from the president shows that he “prioritizes violence, domination and aggression” in his leadership.

As Duterte’s leadership becomes a major cause for concern, women of all ages have come together to protest. “His actions are reversing so many of the gains we had worked so hard for,” says Teresita Quintos Deles, one of the country’s most prominent civil society advocates and chair-convener of EveryWoman, a coalition of women’s rights organizations from across the Philippines.

Speaking ahead of Monday’s march, Deles sounded energized, looking forward to marching with women from all sections of Philippine society. “I thought I had fought the fight of my lifetime already,” Deles says, referring to her activism for women’s rights and peacemaking after the ouster of President Marcos and under the leadership of President Aquino. “I didn’t think I would have to do this again at the age of 69, but we are back marching in the streets again, and the happy thing is that is it intergenerational.”

Members of Grrrl Gang Manila, as well as the #BabaeAko founders are also marching, with supporters wearing purple and fuchsia to mark the traditional colors of the Philippine women’s movement. “Young Filipinas are taking up action and recognizing that yes, there is a thread that criss crosses the generations, and that sisterhood is real,” says Deles. “More and more people are saying that this can’t be the end of our story.”

Write to Suyin Haynes at suyin.haynes@time.com.</s>(UPDATED) President Rodrigo Duterte visits the Cardinal Santos Medical Center on Sunday afternoon, July 22, say sources

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – President Rodrigo Duterte made a visit to the hospital a day before his 3rd State of the Nation Address (SONA).

Rappler confirmed this with two sources privy to the hospital visit.

Duterte dropped by Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan City on Sunday afternoon, July 22, where he had an x-ray and visited the cardiology department, said one source.

The President even had time to have a meal inside the hospital, added the source.

Another source told Rappler that the visit was for an "annual checkup."

As of 9 pm, Duterte was back in Malacañang rehearsing his SONA, said Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque.

The next day, Duterte will deliver his 3rd SONA at the Batasang Pambansa.

The 73-year-old Chief Executive has admitted to a slew of medical conditions, including Buerger's disease and Barrett's esophagus.

Buerger's disease is a rare condition involving the constriction of blood vessels in the arms and legs, blocking blood flow. This leads to damaged or destroyed skin tissue in the arms and legs, particularly in the hands and feet.

Barrett's esophagus is a complication of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Smoking is a risk factor. In people with GERD, stomach contents flow backward into the esophagus which is not protected from the acid the stomach produces. (READ: Duterte says he vomited on plane from Seoul to Manila)

Duterte has had to skip certain events, supposedly due to health reasons. For instance, he skipped the Independence Day rites at Luneta last year.

The President has also often complained of "daily migraines" and spinal problems.

He has been to Cardinal Santos Medical Center at least twice before for his health concerns. During the 2016 campaign season, he even stayed overnight after experiencing a severe migraine, a condition that forced him to skip an event where he was to give a speech. – Rappler.com</s>Ahead of President Rodrigo Duterte's third State of the Nation Address, Rappler asks its readers to grade his performance on 11 subjects culled from his campaign promises

MANILA, Philippines – If netizens were asked to rate President Rodrigo Duterte's performance at the end of his second year in office, would he get in the honor roll or end up retaking some subjects?

Ahead of the President’s 3rd State of the Nation Address (SONA), Rappler asked its readers to grade his performance over the last two years on 11 "subjects" culled from his campaign promises.

Of the 11 subjects listed in the Year 2 Report Card, Duterte got the highest mark in improving the education system in the country.

Eimerie May and Caryl Joshua S. Roasa cited the passage of the free tuition law – the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act – which provides free tuition for students of 112 state universities and colleges (SUCs).

Netizens also praised the administration's crackdown on corruption. Jerade Rey Jary Avila Mondejar said this allowed the speedy completion of government projects in Mindanao.

For Jim Reyes, the government's anti-corruption program was enough to earn Duterte a B.



Netizens were unanimous in flunking Duterte in terms of solving traffic and public transportation problems in the Philippine capital.

Duterte also got a failing mark in protecting Philippine sovereignty. (READ: To prove fruits of PH-China friendship, Roque brings fishermen to Malacañang)

Eros Jesus Achas said the President has yielded to China's pressure in terms of the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) dispute.

Weeks into Duterte's third year in office, some netizens gave Duterte some pointers for improvement.

Francis Ocampo, who gave the President a barely passing mark of 75, said Duterte should have sustained the good economic performance of the previous administration. "Magsumikap na siya ngayon (He has to work double time now)," he said.

Sanchez Verallo Nikka said Duterte, as the top Philippine leader, should set an example by reducing his attacks on the media and foreign officials. Duterte had repeatedly attacked several media groups he thinks are critical of him, such as the Philippine Daily Inquirer, ABS-CBN, and Rappler.

The President has a growing list of fellow Filipinos, foreigners, institutions at home and abroad that he had insulted in public speeches. God is also part of that list.

Jay-Ar Cueto, who gave the President Ds and Fs, advised him to just focus on his work and to veer away from "nonsense jokes" and "kissing" antics.

What are the things do you want to hear from Duterte's 3rd SONA? Share them with us in the comments section below! – Rappler.com

In the days leading to SONA 2018, bring your story to center stage. Share your #StoryoftheNation photos by following these simple steps.</s>Hundreds of Filipinos of varying political stripes took to the streets of Manila on Monday as the country's president prepared to give his State of the Nation Address.

Around 250 protesters opposing the policies of President Rodrigo Duterte marched in Quezon City, with some burning a toothy effigy of the head of state, an epa-efe journalist reports.</s>President Rodrigo Duterte says the Philippines will not 'waver in our commitment to defend our interests in the West Philippine Sea'

MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte vowed to defend the West Philippine Sea as he delivered his 3rd State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, July 23.

In his SONA 2018, Duterte said the Philippines' "reenergized relations with China" have led to "an unprecedented level of cooperation" in fighting illegal drugs.

"Our shared intelligence led to the discovery and dismantling of the clandestine shabu laboratories and the arrest of Chinese chemists with the Dragon organization called Wu Syndicate," Duterte said.

"Our improved relationship with China, however, does not mean that we will waver in our commitment to defend our interests in the West Philippine Sea," the President added.

Duterte also stressed that the Philippines will continue pursuing an "independent foreign policy" – which critics said is independent only from the US but subservient to China.

Duterte delivered this speech before an audience that included Philippine Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano and Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Zhao Jianhua.

Nearly two weeks before Duterte's SONA, the Philippines marked the second anniversary of its legal victory against China over the South China Sea, parts of which the Philippines claims as the West Philippine Sea.

Duterte downplays this ruling, however, as Manila seeks economic gains from Beijing.

A recent Social Weather Stations survey said 4 out of 5 Filipinos said it was wrong for the Duterte administration to do nothing about China's militarization of the West Philippine Sea. – Rappler.com</s>MANILA: Each night, police in teams of about a dozen fan out across the most rundown areas of the Philippine capital, rounding up slum-dwellers who linger in the streets, or teenagers who play in makeshift computer gaming shops.

Children scavenging on mountains of trash are ordered home, their parents warned of jail if minors are seen out late again. Men found shirtless, and those smoking or drinking alcohol outdoors are taken to district offices, cautioned, and their names and addresses recorded.

This is a war on loitering - instigated by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, famous for his bloody war on drugs and his obsession with social order.

Duterte launched it out of the blue on June 13 during one of his trademark rambling speeches, when he said people hanging out in the streets should be ordered home, and if they refused, he would personally tie their hands and drop them into a river.

Manila police took that as a directive, implementing it with gusto and some 59,000 people have since been apprehended.

The crackdown has been condemned by activists, legal groups and opposition lawmakers, who say it has no legal basis as vagrancy was decriminalised in 2012 and that Duterte is again harassing Manila's poor, already traumatised by the war on drugs.

"This is all about imposing control on the poor, by using force or the threat of force to intimidate them. What for? The intention is to keep them from resisting, from fighting back," said Antonio Tinio, an opposition Congressman.

But Duterte, who says the anti-loitering crackdown is a "crime prevention campaign", has not suffered any backlash.

His public support ratings, built on the back of his reputation as disciplinarian who gets things done, remain high. A Pulse Asia poll conducted last month showed 88 percent of Filipinos approved of Duterte's performance as president.

Formerly a mayor for two decades, Duterte built his career on his 'tough-on-crime' image. When he ran for president, he promised to kill thousands of narcotics dealers.

In his two years in office, police have done just that, killing at least 4,500 people they say were drug suspects who resisted arrest. In his annual State of the Nation Address on Monday, Duterte vowed the war on drugs would continue to be "relentless and chilling".

In its first week, the anti-loitering drive also resulted in death. Genesis Argoncillo, a 25-year old arrested for not wearing a shirt, died after being beaten by his cellmates.

Since then, fewer people are being held overnight or longer in Manila's notoriously overcrowded police station cells. Most are booked and freed, about a third are fined and some are charged with offences.

Two resolutions by a congressman and by a senator calling for a legislative probe into the crackdown were filed on June 26, although it is unclear whether one will be launched. Duterte commands a big majority in both the Congress and the Senate.

Vice President Leni Robredo, elected separately to Duterte, says police now have a licence to abuse and lawyers should help poor communities to know their rights. The National Union of Public Lawyers has likened the campaign to martial law under Ferdinand Marcos from 1972 to 1981.

"Such police state tactics were historically experimented or resorted to by fascist dictators to ultimately silence critics and resistance," it said.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque did not respond to a request for comment on the comparison with martial law. But he has denied the campaign is anti-poor and argues police are just targeting violations of city ordinances and laws.

Duterte has also denied ordering arrests of loiterers, saying he told police only to frisk people.

He argues the measures are legal as he can invoke the principle of "parens patriae" (parent of the nation), and recently told police to follow orders and ignore "deranged constitutionalists" questioning the legality of the drive.

Mark Lopez, a pro-Duterte blogger, said crime was a big problem and the public welcomed Duterte's approach, regardless of what his opponents say.

"They really want to create this fear among the people that the president is anti-poor," Lopez said. "The president is just reminding the police to enforce existing laws."

While two inmates have been charged over Argoncillo's death and five police removed, outrage over the crackdown has been limited.

One exception was the arrest of several call centre workers chatting on the street having just finished their night shift. The news went viral and two officers in Manila's main business district were fired.

"They (the police) made us watch the declaration of President Rodrigo Duterte about the anti-loitering law ... They told us, 'because the president said it, it is immediately a law'," one of the workers wrote on her Facebook page.

John Ribo, who works at a law firm, said the problem was that police did not know how to implement the campaign.

"It's too much," he said. "I'm more concerned I'll get arrested by police who want to earn more money."</s>Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte vowed to continue his campaign against illegal drugs in his annual state of the nation address on Monday.

Duterte, 73, told a joint session of Congress that protests from activists and other critics will not dissuade him from his fight against illegal drugs, which has killed thousands and drawn international condemnation.

"Let me begin by putting it bluntly: The war against illegal drugs is far from over," said Duterte, who is entering the third year of his six-year term. "The illegal drugs war will not be sidelined. Instead, it will be as relentless and chilling, if you will, as the day it began."

Duterte said that billions of Philippine pesos worth of narcotics were still being seized by law enforcement. Since his war began, police have killed more than 4,500 people they say were suspected drug pushers who resisted arrest, although human rights groups have said the real number could be three to five times greater.

The crackdown is now the subject of a preliminary examination by prosecutors of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Tens of thousands of flag-waving demonstrators, representing the church, women's groups and labor unions, rallied near Congress in the Philippine capital of Manila to protest Duterte's autocratic rule and the violence under his administration. The Philippine leader said such protests were "misdirected."

"Your concern is human rights, mine is human lives," he said. "The lives of our youth are being wasted and families are destroyed, and all because of the chemicals called shabu (a slang term for methamphetamine in the region), cocaine, cannabis and heroin."

Duterte read his prepared 50-minute speech in full, unlike his previous two addresses, during which he went off script on to blast critics in tangential rambles.

His speech was delayed by more than an hour after a leadership row erupted in the Philippine House of Representatives, live on television, while trying to elect a new House speaker, Former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

Arroyo, 71, backed by an entourage of allied legislators, took the main seat in the center of the House's plenary hall — a sign that she was replacing House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez. Arroyo tried to speak through the ensuing chaos but her microphone turned off. She attempted to yell to explain what was happening, but she was resigned to leaving the stage.

Alvarez and Senate President Vicente Sotto, both close allies of Duterte, led a visibly confused Philippine president, who had arrived at the heavily secured congressional complex via helicopter, to a holding room as the dispute over House leadership unfolded in the chamber.

"They chose to disrespect their own president and attend to their own ambitions in full view of the nation. For almost an hour, it seemed that nobody was in control," opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros said. "This is the true state of the nation. It is petty infighting, backstabbing, and brinkmanship, all done at the people's expense."

Arroyo was eventually sworn in late Monday by the 292-member house, which is largely dominated by the president's allies, before Duterte's speech.

Each evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here.
Protesters take to the streets around Manila as Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte prepares for his State of the Nation Address (SONA).