media watchdogs and human rights organisations have warned of a crackdown on freedom of speech, while around 154 media outlets have stopped operating since the return of the taliban. kawoon khamoosh, bbc news. the president of the philippines is certainly a controversialfigure. adored by his supporters but accused by critics of encouraging thousands of extrajudicial killings in his w ar on drugs now on the day the election season begins, rodrigo duterte has said he s retiring from politics. the bbc s philippines correspondent howard johnson explained whether rodrigo duterte is really preparing to go. well, mr duterte today has said similar things in the past. so we have to take this statement today with a pinch of salt. but in the philippines, it s really about the drama, it s about the gossip. it s a bit like the telenovelas and soap operas that play out in the country this is the kind of stuff that people talk about, so today s statement really thrusts the duterte family name