Duterte is a mess and the Philippines are a mess. I had high hopes for him, but he is exactly what you say: a mad king under the thumb of China.

My in-laws are still locked in their house, essentially. My father in law got his clotshot just so he could go to the grocery store, and now for the first time in his life has some (mild thus far) heart issues.

My MIL just recently caved and got it as well, because she hadn't left her house in over a year due to restrictions.

Wife is not happy-- but all we can do is pray.

I suspect that China has been on top of this for a while now. Duterte speaks one way about China but acts another. Moon Jae-In of SK has been much more favorable to China than the US of late (at least that was my sense when I lived over there prior to 2020) - I suspect China played into his ambitions of being the great Korean unifier -- and I wonder if Trump's dalliances with NK were in part to foil Chinese/SK cooperation on the issue.

China has fortified their position in the SEA sphere - they know where their enemies are and they have plans to neutralize them or make their lives difficult.

Meanwhile the US Government has basically been bought and paid for by the CCP -- and the populace goes on with nary a care, as long as they get their cheap Chinese goods, they don't care.