Q&A: TIME correspondent Charlie Campbell on Duterte, Pinoys, and PH politics

TIME magazine correspondent Charlie Campbell’s thinkpiece, “People Keep Calling Rodrigo Duterte the Philippine Donald Trump. They’re Wrong,” got a lot of buzz because it dared to contradict what many other media outfits were insisting — that incoming President Rodrigo Duterte is the so-called “Donald Trump of Asia.”

READ: TIME magazine thinkpiece: Duterte is NOT like Trump

Shortly after that piece, Campbell wrote “Why the Philippines Elected ‘The Punisher’ as President,”  the cover story of TIME‘s Philippine edition this week. (The story also appeared in the magazine’s international edition).

READ: Duterte on cover of TIME PH edition’s May 23 issue

We got in touch with Campbell himself and picked his brain about his Duterte encounters and challenges he has faced in covering the wonderful circus that is Philippines politics.  

How long have you been covering Philippine news and issues? Why the Philippines? Did you pick the assignment or were you just given the task?
I’ve been covering the Philippines for around five years, originally writing travel guides, but since coming to TIME also politics and current affairs. I originally pitched a profile on Senator Grace Poe, who was leading the presidential race at the time. That was before Duterte announced his candidacy. I interviewed Poe, but I thought the backstory and momentum behind Duterte’s campaign was compelling, and my editors agreed, so we based our country profile last month around him.

What was the first story on the Philippines that you ever filed?
The first story I remember writing for TIME on the Philippines was about the pork barrel scandal a few years ago. 

What’s your impression of Philippine politics and Filipinos in general?
Filipinos are sophisticated news consumers and need no encouragement to chat for hours about myriad subjects — politics especially. Every taxi driver has an opinion, and I even met laborers on Samal Island who had never traveled further than Davao City in their lives, but who had extremely nuanced opinions on the way their country is run. The Philippines has problems, though disengagement in the democratic process isn’t among them. We saw that in the election turnout. The only problem for me is Manila traffic! I became an expert at transcribing interview notes while sitting in taxis.

How long have you been covering Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte in particular?
I’ve heard about Duterte for many years, as his record in Davao is well-known, though my magazine dispatch on him last month was my first meeting and story on him specifically.

What’s the biggest challenge about covering Duterte?
He likes to talk, and it’s very difficult to tell when he’s joking, just trying to get attention or being serious. Like all interviewees, you have to look past their words at actions, but this is especially true with Duterte.  

Is there anything about Duterte that people don’t know yet? Any quirks or unexpected hobbies?
He told me that he used to fly fixed-wing planes, which I didn’t know myself, and that he used to play golf. He also has a decommissioned missile in his living room that was a gift from the armed forces. That alongside a whole load of other weapons.

If Duterte isn’t like Trump, is there any other foreign politician (American or not) whom you think is more like him?
Comparisons are always problematic. They may be a useful trope to make an unfamiliar figure more identifiable to readers, but there are always more differences than similarities and you can never defend a comparison 100%, so immediately people can (quite rightly) challenge the inconsistencies. I don’t like making them in general.

Aside from Duterte, which presidential contender did you find interesting or hard to figure out?
I sat down with Grace Poe for 20 minutes. She was clearly working very hard to read up on all the country’s problems in different regions and presented a very calm and thoughtful demeanor. Of course, I have no idea whether she had the political wherewithal put these ideas into practice. And, in the end, I think voters also preferred Duterte’s long history of hands-on policy implementation I also spoke with VP Binay. He spent a long time insisting that Grace Poe was not a natural-born citizen because she was a foundling.

What’s your tip for kids who want to become journalists?
Read as much as you can get your hands on, and work extra hard on your spelling, grammar, and accuracy. Journalists work as a team but must be completely trusted to work independently also. If your writing is clean and easy to edit you will quickly get more work and greater responsibility.

Charlie Campbell is TIME’s Beijing Correspondent. He was previously Associate Editor in TIME’s Hong Kong office, which he first joined a little over three years ago. After graduating from Glasgow University he cut his journalistic teeth as a cub reporter for the Argentina Independent in Buenos Aires and later at a local newspaper in East London. Following a move to Asia, he initially worked as a travel writer based in Thailand before joining exiled Burmese media organization The Irrawaddy. Since coming to TIME, he has helped helm Hong Kong’s overnight breaking news coverage on Time.com while still reporting on Southeast Asia, including turbulent elections in Cambodia, the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, and Thailand’s military coup. Most recently, Charlie reported on Taiwan’s presidential ballot, which saw oppositionist Tsai Ing-wen secure a landmark win to become the island’s first female leader.



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