MANILA, Philippines – Former president Benigno Aquino III questioned the “confused decision” of Makati City Regional Trial Court Branch 150 Judge Elmo Alameda on the arrest of opposition Senator Antonio Trillanes IV.

“Instead of settling the issue, this confused decision will just exacerbate the problem caused by the faulty proclamation,” Aquino told Rappler in an interview, referring to President Rodrigo Duterte’s Proclamation 572 ordering the revocation of the senator’s amnesty.

Aquino, who granted the amnesty to Trillanes in 2011, said the decision violates the rule against double jeopardy.

The former president said Alameda himself dismissed rebellion charges against Trillanes following the amnesty grant in 2011. No one appealed the decision.

But now, Aquino said Alameda is contradicting his own ruling. The judge, he added, should have considered the issue’s serious and wide repercussions. (EXPLAINER: Why Judge Alameda disregarded affidavits in Trillanes case)

“Mag-ingat naman nang kaunti sa desisyon... Ang gusto ko lang sabihin: Ah judge gusto ko lang po maintindihan. Nag-desisyon po ba kayo dati o hindi? Kung nag-desisyon kayo dati, wala namang nag-appeal, hindi naman kayo inoverturn ng kung anumang higher court, so it stands. If it stands at natapos na kayo dun, ano itong ginagawa niyo ngayon?” Aquino said.

(Please be careful with decisions you make... All I want to say: Judge I just want to understand. Didn’t you already decide on the case? If you already made the decision, no one appealed it and no high court overturned it, so it stands. If it stands and you’re already done with it, what is this thing you’re doing now?)

“Hindi puwedeng ipagpatuloy dahil tapos na. Kung bago naman, anong base nito? (This should not be reopened because it’s done. If this is new, then what is the basis?) There were acts then that led to rebellion charges, which you decided on and dismissed. How do you reopen it now without violating the double jeopardy rule? This seems like a classic example of double jeopardy,” he said.

Disregard for proof, documents

On Tuesday, Alameda ordered the arrest of Trillanes citing his failure to submit hus application form. The warrant came after Trillanes submitted on Monday sworn affidavits of thr chairman and the secretariat of the former panel that processed and backed the amnesty.

The former president criticized this and said there was clear disregard of official documents, which were the further confirmed by the affidavits.

“May pruweba before, after [the amnesty] at lahat yan official documents. Ni-reiterate pa ng mga affidavits ng mga concerned people. Biglang binalewala yung ganun,” he said.

(There are proof before and after the amnesty and all those evidence were official documents. They were even reiterated in the affidavits of the concerned people. But now, these are being disregarded.)

Trillanes immediately posted bail after police served the warrant. He, however, faces a tougher time at the Makati RTC Branch 148, where he is facing the non-bailable charge of coup d’etat. – Rappler.com

TEHRAN, Iran – US President Donald Trump is the "main culprit" to blame for a recent surge in oil prices, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said on Wednesday, September 26

"The main culprit of the price hikes... and the destabilisation of the market is Mr Trump and his disruptive and illegal policies," Zanganeh said on state television, after the US president hit out at OPEC accusing it of "ripping off the rest of the world".

"Mr Trump both tries to decrease Iran's oil exports significantly and also wants prices not to go up. These two can't happen together," Zanganeh said, alluding to US sanctions on Iran's oil sales set to take effect in November.

Trump withdrew the United States from the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers in May, and his administration imposed a round of sanctions on the Islamic republic in August.

Zanganeh said if Trump wants prices to ease then he has to "stop his unwarranted interference... in the Middle East and not prevent Iran's production and exports".

"It's interesting that Mr Macron also explicitly pointed to this," Zanganeh said, referring to comments by French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters after addressing the UN General Assembly, Macron said Iran should be allowed to keep selling oil and called for dialogue as he rejected a US push to isolate the clerical regime.

"It would be good for the price of oil for Iran to be able to sell it," the French leader said. "It's good for peace and it's good for the shape of the international price of oil." – Rappler.com

BAGUIO, Philippines – After 12 days, the search for bodies in Itogon is coming to its end, police said.

The Police Regional Office – Cordillera (PRO-Cordillera) said that as of Wednesday, September 26, they only have 22 bodies left to retrieve in Benguet, as well as two in Guisad Surong in Baguio.

PRO-Cordillera Director Police Chief Superintendent Rolando Z. Nana said they have already found 58 bodies in Ucab, the most devastated area in the region.

Nana added that from September 15, right after Typhoon Ompong exited the region, they have been using steel bars and shovels. Since September 21, however, they began using backhoes and search dogs.

In the whole of Cordillera, 111 bodies were recovered including 91 in Benguet, 13 in Baguio, 6 in Mt. Province and one in Kalinga. The police also said there were 43 Cordillerans injured, including 24 in Benguet.

Based on PRO-Cordillera monitoring records, 1,273 evacuation centers were established in which a total of 85 families and 384 individuals are still in the area. – Rappler.com

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – The luxury-loving wife of Malaysia's former prime minister was questioned for almost 13 hours on Wednesday, September 26, by investigators probing the multi-billion-dollar scandal that helped topple her husband's government.

Rosmah Mansor, widely reviled in Malaysia due to her profligate spending on luxury goods and imperious manner, arrived at the anti-corruption agency before 10:00 am (0200 GMT).

Wearing a bright green dress and headscarf, the 66-year-old emerged close to 11:00 pm and was whisked away in a car. Officials are said to be in the final stages of investigating her over the alleged looting of state fund 1MDB and she could reportedly be charged soon.

It was the second time she had been questioned by the graft-fighting body since her husband Najib Razak's coalition was unexpectedly ousted from office at elections in May after six decades in power.

A major factor in the loss were allegations that Najib, his family and his cronies looted billions of dollars from 1MDB in an audacious fraud that stretched from Singapore to Switzerland.

Najib was last week hit with a barrage of money-laundering and abuse of power charges over the scandal. It is alleged that hundreds of millions of dollars ended up in his personal bank accounts. He denies any wrongdoing.

Rosmah's love of costly overseas shopping trips, designer handbags and jewellery made her a lightning rod for public anger, and fuelled suspicions that she benefited from the plundering of 1MDB.

After the election loss, a stash of cash, jewellery and hundreds of designer handbags worth as much as $273 million was seized from properties linked to Najib in raids around Kuala Lumpur.

Rosmah is often compared to Imelda Marcos, who left behind more than a thousand pairs of shoes after her husband, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, was ousted in 1986.

Najib's fall from grace has been swift since he lost power to a reformist alliance led by Mahathir Mohamad, 93, who is in his second stint as premier. – Rappler.com

NEW YORK, USA – US President Donald Trump confirmed Wednesday, September 26, that he had refused to meet Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, accusing Canada of treating the United States "very badly."

"Yeah, I did," he told a news conference in New York when asked by a reporter whether he had rejected a one-on-one meeting with Trudeau. "Canada has treated us very badly."

That came after the incident on Tuesday, September 25, in which Trump appeared to rebuff Trudeau when he approached to shake hands, even though the Canadian leader downplayed the incident.

The two nations have been locked in negotiations for a year on a rewrite of the 25-year-old continental trade deal that Trump blames for losses of US jobs and industry.

But the US leader criticized Canada's trade negotiators and cast doubt on the chances of reaching agreement on a rewrite of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), again threatening to impose tariffs on all auto imports.

"I must be honest with you, we're not getting along with their negotiators we think their negotiators have taken advantage of our country for a long time," Trump said.

Canada's Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland has spent much of the last month in Washington for talks with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and repeatedly commented on the progress being made and the goodwill in the negotiations.

Trump once again complained about Canada's controlled dairy market, although his comments referred to tariffs that do not apply to US products.

Tax on cars

"They have treated our farmers in Wisconsin and New York state and a lot of other states very badly," he said. "How do you sell a dairy product at 300% (tariff)?"

US producers actually sell more dairy product to Canada than they import, and the 300% tariff only applies to goods above the quota, which the US does not meet, according to trade experts.

The two sides also are at odds over the dispute resolution provisions in NAFTA.

The White House reached a deal last month with Mexico  and informed Congress of the intention to sign a new agreement by the end of November, before the new president takes office in Mexico.

But Lighthizer on Tuesday said time was running out for Canada to be included, and Mexico's trade negotiator Kenneth Smith Ramos said the two countries are ready to proceed.

"Now, if Canada doesn't make a deal with us, we're going to make a much better deal. We're going to tax the cars that come in," he said. "We will put billions and billions of dollars into our Treasury. And frankly, we'll be very happy."

"I don't like NAFTA. I never liked it. It's been very bad for the United States. It's been great for Canada. It's been great for Mexico. Very bad for us," Trump said. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Just a day after the Senate blue ribbon committee finished a session in its probe into the missing P6.8-billion shabu (methamphetamine) allegedly stuffed inside 4 magnetic lifters found in Cavite, the House committee on dangerous drugs resumes its own investigation.

Chaired by Surigao 2nd District Representative Robert Ace Barbers, the House panel on Thursday, September 27, is expected to continue with where the Senate panel – led by Senator Richard Gordon – had ended.

The Senate blue ribbon committee on Wednesday, September 26, found more questions than answers while digging for clarity in the shabu mess.

Rappler breaks down what has been established so far, and what still needs to be answered.

Billion-peso question: Was there shabu? 

During the first part of Wednesday's Senate probe, Gordon quizzed the personnel of the warehouse where the magnetic lifters were found.

The magnetic lifters were delivered to the warehouse on July 14. On July 15, 6 Chinese-looking personalities came to the warehouse and were helped out by the maintenance personnel in loading the hardware into the storage facilities. (TIMELINE: The search for P6.8-B shabu 'smuggled' into PH)

During Gordon's interpellation, Eric Rodelas, the maintenance man of the warehouse, disclosed that he saw a grinder being brought out by one of the Chinese-looking men before he was dismissed from helping and prevented from coming back by two others.

With this, Gordon said he is convinced that the magnetic lifters were actually packed with drugs, given the circumstantial evidence and despite the negative swab test pointing to the absence of the drugs.

Barbers, at least in the past hearings, has not yet made a conclusion on whether there were illegal drugs in the containers.

Connivance of BOC? 

The Senate, so far through the recommendation of Gordon, detained Customs Intelligence Officer Jimmy Guban inside the Senate premises in Pasay City.

Guban was allegedly behind the consignee-for-hire scheme in the shipment of the magnetic lifters, wherein consignee SMYD Trading owner Marina Signapan claimed she was paid to allow her company to be used to receive the shipping.

Signapan earlier claimed that the shipment she received may have contained contraband, and it was a certain Joel Maritana who paid her to receive them.

Guban allegedly set up Maritana, a welder and scavenger from Bacoor, to be the "fall guy" of Signapan so that she comes clean.

With this, Gordon noted similarities with the shabu found in 2017 which amounted to P6.4 billion. In that controversy, the trading company EMT allowed itself to be the consignee for a questionable shipment in exchange for a fee. (READ: Patterns emerge in 2017, 2018 shabu probes)

Mystery man: Eduardo Acierto

During the previous Senate hearing, Guban named his "handler": dismissed Senior Superintendent Eduardo Acierto, who was present in Wednesday's Senate probe.

It remains unclear what Acierto's involvement in the case is, but Gordon is not immediately nailing him as a suspect.

Acierto is a veteran police anti-drug operative, being the deputy director of the controversial and now-defunct police Anti-Illegal Drugs Group which was dissolved after a pack of its men were linked to the killing of South Korean Jee Ick Joo in national police headquarters Camp Crame.

Prior to that, Acierto was part of the police firearms licensing office, where he was found to have allegedly held involvement in the anomalous issuance of AK-47 rifles firearms licenses from August 2011 to April 2013. 

Before Acierto could dive into detail on what he knew of the missing shabu and his role in its tracking, the probe hearing was suspended to give Gordon time to catch up to the Senate's regular session.

Barbers told Rappler in a text message that Acierto has been invited to attend Thursday's House probe. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Court Administrator Midas Marquez, a career Supreme Court official, finds himself in hot water after Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte Carpio accused him of influence-peddling.

In a sworn report sent to the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC), President Rodrigo Duterte's daughter said Marquez used “his influence and authority to meddle with my disbarment case, asking complainants to withdraw their complaints.”

The disbarment complaint against the mayor was filed in 2011 after she punched a sheriff who insisted on implementing a demolition order.

The JBC is currently screening 13 applicants, including Marquez, for a vacancy at the Supreme Court.

Carpio sent her formal opposition to the JBC on September 21. Anybody can send a complaint or opposition against any judiciary applicant, provided it is submitted to the JBC within 10 days of announcement of nominees.

Affidavit

In Carpio’s 3-page affidavit, a copy of which was obtained by Rappler, she detailed how a woman tried to intercede for Marquez. We asked her if indeed the affidavit is hers, and the Davao mayor replied on Thursday, September 27: "Yes, that is my JBC document."

The story begins with a certain Gemma Sotto, who hails from Davao. In his JBC interview on Wednesday, September 26, Marquez said he came to know Sotto at an event abroad where he also got to know Sotto’s son, identified as Bench Sotto in Sara Duterte’s affidavit.

Marquez told the JBC he eventually hired Bench Sotto as his contractual legal clerk at the Office of the Court Administrator (OCA).

Marquez said Sotto offered her help, but that he had no other recourse but to say thank you to any “well-meaning friends or acquaintances.”  

“I would just say thank you without me knowing what they are going to do and without knowing the extent that they will be doing whatever,” said Marquez.

Gemma Sotto is part of Duterte supporter groups DDS Global and Tapang at Malasakit Global. This detail was revealed by lawyer and Duterte supporter Bruce Rivera in his text messages to Carpio, screenshots of which were attached as annexes to the opposition.

Moves on Sara

“In the first week of September this year, a certain person in the name of Ms Gemma Sotto sent me a text message requesting for a meeting. Not having received any response from me, it appeared she sent messages to Atty Bruce Rivera informing him that she is requesting for the meeting because she will hand carry a Supreme Court document and personally deliver it to me,” Carpio wrote.

Sotto’s agenda turned out to be the withdrawal of the disbarment complaint filed by Davao sheriffs against the mayor in 2011. This was after Carpio punched a sheriff who was implementing a demolition order.

That sherriff was Abe Andres, although it was not he, but fellow sheriffs who filed the disbarment complaint against Sara.

Carpio claimed Andres also now works for Marquez at the OCA.

“I have consistently refused to meet with Gemma Sotto. However, she was able to contact and meet with my chief of staff, Atty Raul Nadela Jr on September 13, 2018,” Carpio wrote.

Nadela executed his own affidavit saying he knew Sotto from way back.

“During the said meeting, Ms Sotto informed Atty Nadela that she and Atty Marquez worked together to push Sheriff Abe Andres to execute an affidavit about my case and require the complainants to file a motion to withdraw their complaint based on the said affidavit," Carpio  wrote.

In his version of events narrated to the JBC, Marquez admitted to meeting members of the Sheriffs Confederation of the Philippines (SCOPHIL) earlier in September but that the sheriffs merely asked him for legal advice on whether they were allowed to withdraw their complaint.

Without expounding why and how the meeting took place, Marquez said he just told the sheriffs, “It’s up to you.”

Sotto supposedly gave Nadela the relevant documents pertaining to the dropping of the complaint, including Andres’ affidavit and the complainants’ motion to withdraw. This had been stamped as received by the Supreme Court.

“I was shocked by the audacity of Ms Sotto and Atty Marquez to interfere in an ongoing disbarment case. I felt humiliated by their actions,” said Carpio.

Marquez said that he was informed the SCOPHIL had, as early as 6 months ago, decided by a majority of one vote to drop the complaint against Duterte in order to have closure.

"The allegation that I talked to complainants, the witnesses, that I maneuvered or manipulated, with all due respect, is not accurate," Marquez said.

But Carpio said Sotto could not have obtained affidavits and motions related to the disbarment case “without the help from Atty Marquez, who is her friend, and the boss of her son and has access to my case as the Court Administrator of the Supreme Court.”

Connection to Duterte supporters

The Davao mayor said that while Sotto’s words are her only concrete basis for implicating Marquez, she said she has “no reason to doubt their connection to each other.”

Carpio said Sotto first approached her in August 2018 asking about her thoughts on Marquez. “Thereafter, I learned that Ms. Sotto has been going around lobbying with friends of President Duterte for the appointment of Atty Marquez as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court,” said the mayor.

Carpio also said Rivera told her that Marquez was asking for her help to get an appointment.

“Please tell Mans (Carpio, Sara’s husband) that I wasn’t trying to associate myself with Midas Marquez. He approached me. I couldn’t do anything because he’s close to Gemma Sotto,” was Rivera’s text message as shown in screenshots.

“It is common knowledge that Atty Marquez, Atty Rivera, Ms Sotto and a certain Bench Sotto are very close friends,” Sara Duterte said.

In Rivera’s other text messages, Marquez had supposedly attended several thanksgiving parties “for the police and judiciary” organized by Duterte supporters.

Carpio attached Facebook photos of Marquez in pro-Duterte events. 

Rappler asked Marquez on Thursday about the claim that he’s close to Rivera and Sotto. “I think those are irrelevant now. As Court administrator, I'm the official liaison of the Court. And I have regular dealings with the PNP, AFP, DILG, DOH, Congress, etc,” Marquez said. “It’s part of my work.”

The Constitution requires that a member of the judiciary “must be a person of independence.” 

Sought by reporters for further questions on Wednesday after his JBC interview, Marquez said his answers to the JBC members are enough.

“I am so rest assured with my qualifications, my credentials, my track record, that for me, these qualifications will stand on their own merit,” said Marquez, who is now on his 4th application since 2017 for a justice spot at the High Court. – Rappler.com

UNITED NATIONS, USA – US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday, September 26, agreed to return to North Korea next month to push forward denuclearization talks as President Donald Trump predicted breakthroughs soon.

Pompeo met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly with his North Korean counterpart, Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho, to discuss plans for his fourth trip to the longtime US arch-enemy.

Pompeo accepted an invitation from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to return to Pyongyang in October to move ahead on efforts for "the final, fully verified denuclearization of the DPRK," the State Department said, referring to the North by its official name of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Pompeo will also try to arrange a second summit between Trump and Kim, whose meeting in June in Singapore was the first ever between sitting leaders of the two states.

Trump has hailed his initiative with North Korea as a signature foreign policy success and heaped praise on Kim.

His praise comes just one year after he mocked Kim as a "rocket man" at the United Nations and threatened a forceful military response.

Critics question how much North Korea has actually changed.

The regime, considered by human rights groups to be among the world's most repressive, has carried out 6 nuclear tests and says it has missiles that can hit the United States, although many analysts doubt its boasts.

Making a deal

Trump announced Wednesday that Kim sent him a new, "extraordinary" letter and said he expected the second summit to take place "fairly quickly."

"We have a very good relationship. He likes me, I like him," he later told a press conference in New York.

"I really believe he wants to get it done. He wants to make a deal, I want to make a deal."

Trump said that the United States would have been drawn into a war with North Korea if he had not been elected.

"If I wasn't elected, you would have had a war," Trump said before adding that "nobody is talking about that" anymore.

Speaking earlier as he chaired a special session of the UN Security Council on non-proliferation, Trump said: "Kim Jong-un, a man I have gotten to know and like, wants peace and prosperity for North Korea."

But Trump also called for the enforcement of sanctions, which the United States has spent years building through the Security Council in response to North Korea's nuclear and missile tests.

He said the United States accused "some nations" of violating sanctions, including through illegal ship-to-ship transfer of oil to North Korean tankers at sea.

South Korea urges movement

Pushing hard for reconciliation is South Korean President Moon Jae-in, a dove who traveled this month to Pyongyang for the second inter-Korean summit this year.

Addressing the UN General Assembly, Moon said that North Korea "moved out of longstanding isolation on its own initiative and stands before the international community once again."

"Now it is the international community's turn to respond positively to North Korea's new choices and efforts," he said.

In contrast with Trump's call for sustained sanctions, Moon has called for a step-by-step approach to nudge Pyongyang to scrap its nuclear and ballistic missile programs in exchange for sanctions relief.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who rose to political prominence as a hardliner on North Korea, has also rejected a quick easing of sanctions, but at the United Nations on Tuesday, September 25, said that he too was willing to meet Kim.

Nevertheless Abe said the focus of any summit would be to resolve the fate of Japanese civilians kidnapped by Pyongyang's spies in the 1970s and 1980s.

Pompeo, in an interview broadcast Wednesday with CBS News, said he believed that North Korea would allow international inspectors to verify any commitments.

"We're not going to buy a pig in a poke," he said.

"We're going to get this right, we're going to deliver on this commitment that Chairman Kim has made to the world, and then there's going to be a brighter future for the North Korean people, and there'll be a more peaceful world." – Rappler.com

NEW YORK, USA – World leaders gathered in New York on Wednesday, September 26, to try to breathe new life into the Paris global climate accord, amid backsliding from several nations over commitments made in the historic deal.

The "One Planet Summit," launched last year by French President Emmanuel Macron, aims to accelerate the implementation of the 2015 pact.

"We are not here just to speak, but to be accountable," Macron told delegates at the Plaza luxury hotel in New York.

Having last year warned that "we are losing the battle" against climate change, Macron called on countries to massively increase funding for climate action.

Despite a stream of announcements and summits – including in Bonn in May, and Bangkok and San Francisco this month – the front line in the climate war has hardly moved, and much of the hope and goodwill brought by the Paris deal has been replaced with passivity.

President Donald Trump in June 2017 announced the US would pull out, effective November 2020, and momentum from several other countries has stalled.

Trump has abandoned targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, set by his predecessor Barack Obama, by slashing dozens of environmental regulations.

Australia, one of the world's worst per capita greenhouse gas polluters, has scrapped plans to enshrine targets for reducing carbon emissions into law.

And in Brazil, right-wing presidential front-runner Jair Bolsonaro has said he would pull the country from the deal if he is elected.

The Paris agreement also stipulated that rich countries establish an annual $100-billion fund to help developing nations react to our heating planet.

But only $10 billion has been collected so far. The United States had promised $3 billion and only gave $1 billion – under Obama.

'Very challenging'

The next UN negotiating summit, COP24, will take place in December in Poland. Preparatory meetings ended in deadlock.

"It looks very challenging," Patricia Espinosa, the executive secretary of UN Climate Change, told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

"We do not yet have certainty that we will be able to make it a success, but it's not impossible either."

Fewer leaders participated in this year's One Planet Summit, organized with the World Bank and the UN.

About 30 presidents, prime ministers and ministers are due to attend, including from Spain, Denmark, Norway, China, as well as from small Pacific island nations whose coastlines are getting eaten by a rising ocean.

"Time is not our friend," said New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

We should not "have the ability to opt out of action either."

Over the course of the day, participants were to announce billions of dollars of new actions to "decarbonize" the world economy, help vulnerable countries and finance the ecological transition of developing countries, particularly in Asia and in Africa.

But these commitments only represent a small portion of what is needed to limit global warming to less than 2º Celsius above pre-industrial levels, as enshrined in the 2015 Paris accord.

Experts warn the global temperature is on track to surpass 3º by 2100.

A study in the journal Nature this month found that even global temperature rises of 2ºC could still be enough to melt parts of the largest ice sheet on Earth, in the Antarctic, and raise sea levels by several meters (yards).

Greenpeace questioned Macron's climate credentials, given that greenhouse gas emissions have recently crept up in France, mainly from the transport sector.

Former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is using his vast fortune to spur action to address climate change told AFP that nations are making progress but ultimately, it is not governments that drive behavior.

"It's capitalism, it's the economic interest of companies who want to be environmentally friendly because their employees want it, because their investors want it, because their customers want it," he said. – Rappler.com

GENEVA, Switzerland – Wetlands, among the world's most valuable and biodiverse ecosystems, are disappearing at alarming speed amid urbanisation and agriculture shifts, conservationists said Thursday, calling for urgent action to halt the erosion.

"We are in a crisis," Martha Rojas Urrego, head of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, told reporters in Geneva, warning of the potential devastating impact of wetland loss, including on climate change.

The convention, adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar nearly a half-century ago, on Thursday issued its first-ever global report on the state of the world's wetlands.

The 88-page report found that around 35% of wetlands – which include lakes, rivers, marshes and peatlands, as well as coastal and marine areas like lagoons, mangroves and coral reefs – were lost between 1970 and 2015.

Today, wetlands cover more than 12 million square kilometers (4.6 million square miles), the report said, warning that the annual rates of loss had accelerated since 2000.

"We are losing wetlands three times faster than forests," Rojas Urrego said, describing the Global Wetland Outlook report as a "red flag".

While the world has been increasingly focused on global warming and its impact on oceans and forests, the Ramsar Convention said wetlands remain "dangerously undervalued".

Thursday's report, released in advance of a meeting of the parties to the convention in Dubai next month, stressed the importance of wetlands to all life on Earth.

Don't drain the swamp

Directly or indirectly, they provide almost all of the world's consumption of freshwater and more than 40% of all species live and breed in wetlands.

Animals and plants who call wetlands home are particularly vulnerable, with a quarter at risk of extinction, the report said.

Wetlands also provide a livelihood for more than one billion people, while mitigating floods and protecting coastlines. They are also a vital source of food, raw materials and genetic resources for medicines.

The Ramsar Convention stressed that wetlands are essential to reining in climate change, pointing out that peatlands store twice as much carbon as the world's forests, even though they cover just three percent of all land surface.

Salt marshes, seagrass beds and mangroves also store large quantities of carbon.

So when wetlands disappear, carbon that has been safely locked in the soil is released into the atmosphere.

Climate scientists have long warned of the threat of so-called positive feedbacks -- a vicious circle of global warming -- but their fears have focused primarily on the potent greenhouse gas methane seeping from thawing Arctic permafrost.

The dark swampy peatlands of the tropics are also a major concern, according to Thursday's report, warning that draining soil for farming and development poses a climate threat.

Considering wetlands as wastelands is therefore problematic, Rojas Urrego said, lamenting "the perception of swamps as something we need to drain".

The Ramsar Convention has been ratified by most of the world's nations, including major polluters the United States, China and India, and since coming into force in 1975 has designated more than 2,300 sites of international importance.

But the report stressed the need to do more to develop effective wetland management, including as part of overall national sustainable development plans.

Rojas Urrego pointed out for instance that restoring peatlands should be seen as an effective measure to cut greenhouse gas emissions and to live up to commitments made under the Paris Climate Accords. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte found a way to make light of the rice crisis during his speech on Thursday, September 27.

In front of new Career Executive Service Officers, Duterte floated an alternative reason for the shortage of affordable rice.

"Ngayon na marami nang na-rehab, kaya tayo nagkaroon ng rice crisis. Kumakain na ang mga ulol (Now that many drug addicts have undergone rehabilitation, we have a rice crisis. Because the fools are eating again)," he said.

Before this, Duterte described drug addicts who surrendered to police as thin and malnourished since they did nothing but take drugs.

He said at the Palace event that the government must learn how to better manage rice supplies to ensure they meet the needs of Filipinos "especially the innocent and the good ones."

The President made the remarks as Filipino households, particularly poor families, bear the brunt of soaring prices of basic goods, like rice, vegetables, and fuel.

His administration's bloody campaign against illegal drugs has also hit the poorest Filipinos the hardest, as Duterte himself admitted, calling shabu the "poor man's drug."

That day, Pulse Asia Research, Incorporated released its latest survey showing that a majority of Filipinos disapprove of how the Duterte government has handled inflation, which hit a 9-year high in August. Duterte got his lowest approval and trust ratings in September, based on another Pulse Asia survey released last week.

Duterte made his joke about rice woes around the same time his economic managers were in the United Kingdom to promote the Philippines to British investors. 

Earlier on Thursday, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque defended the trip from criticism that it was ill-timed because of soaring inflation.

To address inflation, Duterte approved recommendations of his Cabinet's economic cluster and signed an administrative order cutting red tape in the importation of agricultural products.

He had also green-lighted the importation of rice to restore the nearly depleted National Food Authority stocks. However, rice prices remain high, supposedly due to distribution issues.– Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Opposition Senator Antonio Trillanes IV's legal team said they are considering asking the Supreme Court (SC) to urgently resolve their pending petition on his amnesty revocation.

In a press briefing on Thursday, September 27, lawyer Rey Robles said that they have yet to discuss their next steps.

"May option naman na mag-file ng pleadings, asking the Supreme Court to act or to consider [to resolve the petition]. But 'yun nga ang dedesisyunan ng legal team ni senator," Robles said.

(There is an option to file pleadings, asking the Supreme Court to act or to consider to resolve the petition. But the legal team has yet to decide on that.)

In his 36-page petition filed before the SC, Trillanes argued that President Rodrigo Duterte has no legal basis to void the amnesty granted to him in 2011 via Proclamation No. 572.

Trillanes also requested for a temporary restraining order to block his arrest, but this was denied by the High Court. The SC, however, asked both parties to submit their comment.

Solicitor General Jose Calida submitted the government's comment on Monday, September 24, arguing that the amnesty be voided because it was not the President who signed it. Robles said they have yet to officially receive the comment.

Legal options

Robles said filing a motion for reconsideration regarding the denied TRO "is not urgent," as both the High Court and their camp are holding on to the words of Duterte that "there will be no warrantless arrest."

Meanwhile, Robles also said that there was no "extreme urgency" to seek relief from the SC in the case of the rebellion charges he faced at the Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 150, because he was able to post bail.

The tough challenge is at the 2nd Makati court where Trillanes faces another plea by the justice department to issue an arrest warrant and a hold departure order for coup d'etat, which is non-bailable as of the moment.

"They (Branch 148) can deny or grant the motion [of the DOJ]. If they grant it, we will base it on the ground of the court. If we feel that there is grave abuse of discretion, we might consider elevating the case," Robles told reporters in a mix of English and Filipino.

Should Judge Andres Soriano grant the DOJ's plea, Robles said that Trillanes will really have to spend days in jail before they execute their next legal move.

Robles also explained that "it's the discretion" of the court to decide if there will be bail proceedings for the coup charges. 

"It's the discretion of the court, but normally may bail hearings 'yan (there are bail hearings)," Robles said.

Branch 148 closed at 4:30 in the afternoon on Thursday, with no decisions issued by Soriano.

Regardless, Trillanes said on Thursday he was prepared for the worst, "We're living in an era where the worst happens, so you should expect [that]." – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte claimed Jordan's King Abdullah II himself had made unflattering remarks about his own cousin, former United Nations (UN) human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, who had previously been the subject of Duterte's rants.

The Philippine leader made this claim on Thursday, September 27, during a speech in front of new Career Executive Service Officers in Malacañang.

He bared what appeared to be a private conversation between himself and King Abdullah II during his visit to Jordan in early September.

Duterte quoted Abdullah as saying, "Do not mind that brother (sic) he is...I don't even like him. He's a fake."

Zeid is the King's cousin, not his brother.

Duterte joked that he replied to the King this way: "Putang ina, bakit hindi mo sinabi, King? Sinampal ko sana (Son of a bitch, why didn't you say so, King? I would've slapped him)."

Duterte and Zeid, a Jordanian prince, had engaged in a word war since the President threatened to slap UN rapporteurs critical of his administration's crackdown on illegal drugs, which has led to the deaths of thousands, mostly from the poor sector of Philippine society.

Zeid had shot back by saying Duterte needed a "psychiatric evaluation," a remark which caused the Philippine President to hit the roof.

Duterte, in a series of rants, called the UN rights official "empty-headed." 

But before the President could let loose another volley of verbal attacks, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr told him to tone down in order not to endanger an impending Jordan donation of two secondhand attack helicopters.

Duterte warned that if the helicopters are not delivered as promised, he would resume his tirades against Zeid.

During his Jordan trip in early September, the Jordanian government promised to deliver the choppers by July 2019.

At the end of the trip, Duterte heaped praises on King Abdullah II, calling him a "very good guy."– Rappler.com

NEW DELHI, India – Adultery is no longer a crime, India's top court ruled Thursday, September 27, declaring a colonial-era law that punished the offence with jail time unconstitutional and discriminatory against women.

The more than century-old law prescribed that any man who slept with a married woman without her husband's permission had committed adultery, a crime carrying a five-year prison term in the conservative country.

A petitioner had challenged the court to strike down the law, describing it as arbitrary and discriminatory against women.

"Thinking of adultery from a point of view of criminality is a retrograde step," unanimously declared the five-judge bench of the Supreme Court.

Women could not file a complaint under the archaic law nor be held liable for adultery themselves, making it solely the realm of men.

The court said it deprived women of dignity and individual choice and "gives license to the husband to use women as a chattel".

"It disregards the sexual autonomy which every woman possesses and denies agency to a woman in a matrimonial tie," said Supreme Court Justice D. Y. Chandrachud.

"She is subjugated to the will of her spouse."

It was the second time this month the court overturned Victorian-era laws governing the sexual choices of India's 1.25 billion citizens.

Earlier this month, the court struck a ban on gay sex introduced by British rulers in 1861.

The bench argued that Section 377 had become "a weapon for harassment" of homosexuals and "history owes an apology to the members of this community and their families".

On adultery, government lawyers argued it should remain a crime as it threatens the institution of marriage, and caused harm to children and families.

But in its ruling, the court said extramarital affairs – while still a valid ground for divorce – were a private matter between adults.

Prashant Bhushan, a lawyer in the Supreme Court, said watershed decisions on gay sex and adultery had shown the judges' "adherence to liberal values and the constitution".

"Another fine judgement by the SC," he tweeted after Thursday's ruling.

In 1954, the court upheld adultery as a crime arguing "it is commonly accepted that it is the man who is the seducer, and not the woman".

But in their ruling on Thursday, the judges said this narrative no longer applied, noting also that Britain did away with its own laws penalising adultery long ago.

"Man being the seducer and women being the victim no longer exits. Equality is the governing principle of a system. Husband is not the master of the wife," the verdict added. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu announced that the quarrying ban has been lifted in most areas that were being investigated for geohazard risks.

MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte appeared to admit to extrajudicial killings during a speech on Thursday, September 27, saying this is the only "sin" that he is guilty of.

"Ano kasalanan ko? Nagnakaw ba ako diyan ni piso? Did I prosecute somebody na pinakulong ko? Ang kasalan ko lang 'yung extrajudicial killings," he said during the oath taking of new Career Executive Service Officers in Malacañang.

(What is my sin? Did I steal even one peso? Did I prosecute somebody who I ordered jailed? My sin is extrajudicial killings.)

He then railed against International Criminal Court (ICC) officials who are now examining if the tribunal has jurisdiction to investigate his administration's bloody campaign against illegal drugs.

"Eh 'yang extrajudicial killing naman, itong mga ulol, lalo na 'yung, itim na sino 'yun, sabi ko, 'wag ka, ihampas ko sa ulo mo 'yung prosecutor na 'yan," said Duterte, apparently referring to ICC Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda.

(That extrajudicial killing, these fools, especially the black person, whoever, I'll hit the head of that prosecutor.)

Duterte has a track record of making conflicting statements about his involvement in death squads and summary killings, both in Davao City where he was mayor for two decades and in nationwide crackdowns on drug suspects.

The President has boasted about killing thousands only to issue another statement later on that he would never order cold-blooded murder.

Duterte has also promised to promote cops who murder criminals, and then says abusive cops would be punished.

'Pontifical Pangilinan'

The Philippine leader then revived his rants against Senator Francis Pangilinan, president of the opposition Liberal Party.

"Ito naman si pontifical Pangilinan, akala mo walang kasalanan kung magsalita, siya pa 'yung presidente ng Liberal [Party]. Tingnan mo pati siya hindi manalo 'yan," said Duterte.

(This pontifical Pangilinan, you, you think he has no sins from the way he speaks, and he's the president of the Liberal Party. You'll see, he won't win.)

Pangilinan, however, is not running in the 2019 elections as his term as senator is until 2022.

Duterte thinks the Pangilinan law, so called because the senator authored it, is the "root" of criminal behavior because it raised the age of criminal responsibility to 15, thus supposedly taking away the "sense of accountability" from juvenile delinquents.

Duterte has been advocating for the age of criminal responsibility to be lowered to 9 years old.– Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – To aid relief and rehabilitation efforts in areas struck by Typhoon Ompong (Mangkhut), President Rodrigo Duterte declared a state of calamity in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, and Central Luzon.

He signed Proclamation No. 593 on Tuesday, September 25, but the document was made publicly available on Thursday, September 27.

The proclamation is based on the recommendation of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, which assessed the impact of Ompong on the regions – including widespread damage to agriculture and utilities, loss of livelihood, and percentage of population affected.

A state of calamity is meant to hasten relief and rehabilitation efforts by local governments in the regions covered by the proclamation.

The following will now take effect given Duterte's proclamation:

• Imposition of price ceiling on basic necessities and prime commodities
• Monitoring, prevention, and control of overpricing/profiteering and hoarding of prime commodities, medicines, and petroleum products
• Programming or reprogramming of funds for the repair and safety upgrading of public infrastructure and facilities
• Granting of no-interest loans by government financing or lending institutions to the most affected section of the population
• Access to international assistance as deemed necessary
• Allowing negotiated procurement under Republic Act No. 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act

{source}<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PresidentDuterte?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PresidentDuterte</a> declares state of calamity in Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, and Cordillera Administrative Region to aid relief, rehab efforts post-Ompong. <a href="https://twitter.com/rapplerdotcom?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@rapplerdotcom</a> <a href="https://t.co/GmukJAXg52">pic.twitter.com/GmukJAXg52</a></p>&mdash; Pia Ranada (@piaranada) <a href="https://twitter.com/piaranada/status/1045261043755143168?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 27, 2018</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>{/source}

– Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Blogger Drew Olivar is now facing a criminal complaint for spreading a fake bomb threat during the September 21 rallies that remembered victims of torture and summary executions during Martial Law.

The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) filed on Thursday, September 27, a complaint against Olivar for violating Presidential Decree 1727 which prohibits the malicious dissemination of false information or the willful creation of any threat pertaining to bombs and explosives.

The complaint, which was filed before the Department of Justice (DOJ), also specified that the charges relate to the Cybercrime law.

On the eve of the rallies on September 20, Olivar posted on Facebook: “Ay, nakakatakot naman mag-rally sa EDSA kasi may kumakalat na baka maulit daw 'yung pagbomba kagaya ng Plaza Miranda! Kung ako sa inyo, hindi na ako pupunta.”

(Oh, it's scary to join a rally on EDSA because word is spreading that there might be another bombing like what happened in Plaza Miranda! If I were you, I won't go anymore.)

The police had to go back to the DOJ after the prosecutor advised them to complete their evidence, which should have included more digital footprints besides just screenshots of the post. One example is the IP address that Olivar used for his post.

The NCRPO’s complaint on Thursday attached certifications from the police’s anti-cybercrime group.

Olivar, whose vlogging tandem with Communications Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson has caught the ire of people more than once, was recently the subject of a separate criminal complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman for violation of the law that prohibits mocking the differently-abled.

Olivar made fun of the sign language.

Olivar has since apologized for the sign language fiasco, but for the bomb threat, he explained in a press conference held side by side with the NCRPO chief Guillermo Eleazar that he was just concerned for Filipinos.

His critics have pointed out the special treatment, comparing it to past instances of bomb jokes where violators are apprehended on the spot, including a priest who was detained for two hours inside the airport.

Previously, Olivar and Uson were criticized for a federalism video where they created a wordplay that in English means breasts and vagina. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – The Supreme Court (SC) en banc unanimously upheld government orders for bus operators to provide fixed salaries to drivers and conducters, and to give them additional pay for good performance. 

In a 52-page decision penned by Associate Justice Marvic Leonen and made public on Thursday, September 27, the SC dismissed a petition by bus operator groups that questioned an order by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and a memorandum circular of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB). 

The two agencies had directed bus operators to set up a compensation system for public utility bus drivers and conductors that would give incentives for safer behavior on the road.

The compensation system changes

DOLE's Department Order 118-12, series of January 2012, is also known as the "Rules and Regulations Governing the Employment and Working Conditions of Drivers and Conductors in the PUB Transport Industry." It mandates a fixed salary for public utility bus drivers and conductors not lower than the applicable minimum wage in a region.

Meanwhile, the performance-based aspect of the compensation will be based on the net income of the operator or bus company, alongside employee safety records covering road accidents, commission on traffic violations, and the observance of road courtesies.

LTFRB Memorandum Circular 2012-001, meanwhile, requires bus operators to have a Labor Standards Compliance Certificate. This certificate, which links labor standards compliance with franchise regulation, prevents the revocation of an existing certificate of public convenience or the denial of such a certificate application.

The LTFRB justified the requirement of this certificate by saying the drivers' risky behavior on the road was attributable to the "lack of income security under a purely commission-based compensation scheme."

READ:
Corruption at LTO, LTFRB: Unfit drivers, vehicles on the road
Corruption at the LTO, LTFRB: Fixers and bribes 

The petition

The following bus operators petitioned the SC in this case:

• Bus Operators Association of the Philippines (PBOAP)
• the Southern Luzon Bus Operators Association, Inc. (SO-LUBOA)
• the Inter City Bus Operators Association (Interboa)
• the City of San Jose del Monte Bus Operators Association (CSJDMBOA) 

The petitioners argued the DOLE order and LTFRB memorandum circular violated their constitutional rights as public utility bus operators to due process, equal protection, and non-impairment of obligation of contracts.

Specifically, they said, the DOLE order went against existing obligations to use a commission or boundary-based payment system as outlined in their collective bargaining agreement.

They also argued the LTFRB circular deprived them of capital they could invest into their business, which they say violated due process of law.

The petitioners also said the DOLE order, as it was initially put in place within Metro Manila, created an arbitrary distinction between bus operators in the capital, compared to provincial operations – an act that, they said, violated their right to equal protection.

DOLE and LTFRB cited the exercise of having quasi-legislative powers as validating the issuance of the DOLE order and the LTFRB memorandum circular, and added they did not violate the petitioners's rights.

The decision

The SC agreed with DOLE and the LTFRB in the exercise of their quasi-legislative powers, which meant a notice and hearing were not required for their validity. It added the order and circular did not violate petitioners' rights to due process.

The SC explained: "There can be no meaningful implementation of Department Order No. 118-12 if violating it has no consequence. As such, the LTFRB was not unreasonable when it required bus operators to comply with the part-fixed-part-performance-based payment scheme under pain of revocation of their certificates of public convenience.

“In sum, Department Order No. 118-12 and Memorandum Circular No. 2012-001 are in the nature of social legislation to enhance the economic status of bus drivers and conductors, and to promote the general welfare of the riding public. They are reasonable and are not violative of due process,” the SC added.

The SC also dismissed the bus operators' stand that the issuances violated their right to non-impairment of obligation of contracts. Labor contracts, the court said, are “impressed with public interest, and therefore, must yield to the common good.”

“Labor contracts are subject to the special laws on wages, working conditions, hours of labor, and similar subjects. In other words, labor contracts are subject to the police power of the State,” the SC concluded. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – House Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo described the late Kabayan Representative Ciriaco Calalang as a "champion of children's rights" during a eulogy she delivered Thursday, September 27.

"Congressman Acoy, you have done so much, not only in loving your children but also in protecting the rights of all children," Arroyo said at the plenary hall during a necrological service for Calalang.

Calalang died Sunday, September 23, after suffering a massive stroke. He is survived by his 3 adopted children, Carissa, Carlo, and Joesph.

in her speech, Arroyo recalled Calalang's decision to adopt his children whose father had been ambushed. The eldest child was only 3 years old at the time.

She said this was the "true reason" why Calalang advocated for childrens' rights.

She also remembered Calalang as one of her volunteer lawyers when she was secretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development from 1998 to 2000. Even during that time, she said, Calalang was "active in child rights advocacy." 

Calalang was likewise praised for his work done during his almost 8-month stay in Congress. Among the bills he filed were those seeking to declare every August 12 as National Youth Day and to create the Department of Disaster Resilience.

"You have done so much, not only in your practice of law but also in lawmaking, especially those two bills that we have passed already in the Lower House and we hope soon to become laws para mayroon siyang legacy sa kaniyang maikling panahon bilang Congressman (so that he has a legacy from his short time as a Congressman)," Arroyo said.

The House Speaker recalled Calalang's interest in having an "active role" in the committees on justice and constitutional amendments before his passing.

Calalang was sworn in as a lawmaker last January 20, weeks after former Kabayan representative Harry Roque was appointed presidential spokesperson. – Rappler.com