Spare the Rodrigo: Philippine elections
The Intelligence from The Economist
The Economist
4.5 • 3.7K Ratings
🗓️ 13 May 2019
⏱️ 22 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Personalities, not policies, will determine votes in today’s poll in the Philippines to fill some 18,000 government jobs. Loyalists of the firebrand president Rodrigo Duterte—including his daughter—will do well. Also, why is it that amid a growing need for new antibiotics, the incentives to produce them are fewer? And, a trip to the tiny Greek island of Delos, for an unusual meeting of modern art and protected antiquity.
Runtime: 21min
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to the Intelligence on Economist Radio. I'm your host, Jason Palmer. |
| 0:09.6 | Every weekday we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world. |
| 0:18.3 | Overuse of antibiotics has driven the evolution of microbes that are resistant to them, so |
| 0:23.3 | new drugs are constantly needed. But pharmaceutical companies lack the incentive to develop them. |
| 0:29.4 | The prices are dirt cheap and doctors are trying to prescribe them less. |
| 0:34.4 | And the treasures of antiquity that are dotted around Greece are gelously protected by the state. |
| 0:40.4 | That's why a new art exhibition on Delos, smack in the middle of the tiny island's ancient sites, |
| 0:46.4 | is both surprising and intriguing. |
| 0:55.4 | But first... |
| 1:00.4 | Today, Philippine voters will head to the polls for mid-term legislative elections. |
| 1:05.4 | More than 18,000 government positions are up for grabs, including around 300 seats in the House of Representatives |
| 1:12.4 | and 12 slots in the Senate. |
| 1:14.4 | In a political system where personality trumps party, some see the ballot as a popularity test |
| 1:19.4 | for the country's firebrand leader Rodrigo Duterte. |
| 1:22.4 | If his loyalists do well, the president will be able to consolidate his power. |
| 1:30.4 | Mr. Duterte was elected in 2016. |
| 1:41.4 | An anti-establishment populist, he promised hard-line policies. |
| 1:46.4 | Three years into his term, he's delivered. |
| 1:49.4 | He launched a bloody war on drug crime. |
| 1:51.4 | Almost every day dead bodies are being recovered from the streets in Manila. |
| 1:56.4 | And in one notorious speech, even likened himself to Hitler. |
| 2:00.4 | Hitler was about 3 million views. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Economist, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of The Economist and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.

