MANILA, Philippines – While the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) is pushing for the revival of the anti-subversion law, it acknowledged it could drop the campaign should President Rodrigo Duterte considers negotiating with the Reds again. 

“The President himself has not said that the peace talks are completely over. Laging sinasabi niya, although he already has issued some excutive order, lagi siyang bukas, And even Senator Bong Go has said na bukas ang gobyerno sa peace talks,” DILG Undersecretary and Spokesman Jonathan Malaya said in a Rappler Talk interview on Monday, August 19.

(The President always says that, although he has issued some executive order [against the leftist movement], he is always open [to peace talks]. Even Senator Bong Go has said the government is open to peace talks.)  

He added: “So kung sasabihin ng Pangulong Duterte, ‘Peace talks tayo ulit’ (So if President Duterte says, 'Let's have peace talks again'), we will abandon this anti-subversion law, because this will be incongruent.” 

According to Malaya, Duterte has so far asked the DILG to “give details” about its recommendation, which he said he sees as his “tacit support” already.

The DILG is pushing for the revival of Republic Act 1700 or The Anti-Subversion Act of 1957, which made it a crime to be a member of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). In defending the campaign from flak, Malaya argued that Duterte is no Marcos.

What President Duterte is known for, however, is his changing stance in dealing with the CPP.

Duterte is the first president to declare himself a leftist, and courted the Left by releasing its top leaders at the start of his term. He tried to complete a peace agreement by his second year, but their relationship had soured to the point that Duterte declared the CPP-New People’s Army as a "terrorist organization.”

“If he (Duterte) does not like it (DILG proposal), I’m sure Secretary Año will receive a call,” Malaya said.

Nevertheless, the DILG will continue with its call, announcing repeatedly in the previous week that it is “ready” to coordinate with Congress in drafting legislation that it sees is the antidote to ending Asia’s longest lasting communist insurgency.

– Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) will be packed with President Rodrigo Duterte's appointees by the time he steps down in 2022, with all 7 poll commissioners handpicked by the Chief Executive just in time for the next presidential election.

Duterte has appointed two Comelec commissioners whose terms will last until February 2025: ccommissioners Marlon Casquejo and Socorro Inting. Five commissioners are scheduled to retire between February 2020 and February 2022. The elections happen in May 2022.

Below are the vacancies for 2020 up to 2022, in chronological order:

1. Replacement for commissioner Luie Tito Guia (retiring February 2020)
2. Replacement for commissioner Al Parreño (retiring February 2020)
3. Replacement for poll chair Sheriff Abas (retiring February 2022)
4. Replacement for commissioner Rowena Guanzon (retiring February 2022)
5. Replacement for commissioner Antonio Kho (retiring February 2022)

A report by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) showed that by February 2020, Guia and Parreño will retire from the Comelec. Both commissioners were appointed in April 2013 by then-president Benigno Aquino III.

PCIJ showed 3 more will retire in February 2022, or just months away from the 2022 presidential election: Comelec Chairperson Abas and commissioners Guanzon and Kho. Kho was appointed by Duterte in July 2018, while Guanzon was appointed by Aquino in April 2015.

Abas, meanwhile, is a rarity in having been appointed by both Aquino and Duterte. He was appointed by Aquino as Comelec commissioner in April 2015. Two years later, after Andres Bautista resigned as elections chief, Duterte named Abas Comelec chair in November 2017.

The PCIJ highlighted in its report that the exit of seasoned poll commissioners means the appointment of newer ones who have limited experience running a national automated elections.

The Comelec is crucial for Duterte as his administration continues to push for a shift to a federal system of government, which will require a plebiscite run by the poll body.

Like the Comelec, the Supreme Court will also be filled with Duterte's appointees by 2022.

The President's allies already rule the House of Representatives, while opposition bets were wiped out in the May 2019 senatorial election. – Sofia Tomacruz/Rappler.com

Read the full PCIJ report: 7 Duterte appointees to run 2022 elections

For more PCIJ reports on the 2019 elections, you may read the following: 

• 66% of Comelec's fingerprint verification machines malfunctioned in 2019 polls – PCIJ
• 37% of voters failed to choose a party-list in 2019 elections – PCIJ

SAN FRANCISCO, USA – Twitter and Facebook said Monday, August 19, they had uncovered a campaign by China to use the social media platforms against pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.

"We are disclosing a significant state-backed information operation focused on the situation in Hong Kong, specifically the protest movement and their calls for political change," Twitter said in an online post.

Facebook said a tip from Twitter led to the removal of pages, groups and accounts originating in China and involved in "coordinated inauthentic behavior" focusing on Hong Kong.

Twitter said it suspended 936 accounts that originated in China.

The California-based micro-messaging service is blocked in mainland China, so many of the accounts accessed it using "virtual private networks" that give a deceptive picture of the user's location, Twitter said.

We're disclosing coordinated account activity focused on the ongoing protest movement in Hong Kong. Our investigations have found that these accounts are linked to state-backed information operations from mainland China.https://t.co/Pc9R90Dp85

— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) August 19, 2019

"Based on our intensive investigations, we have reliable evidence to support that this is a coordinated state-backed operation," it said.

"We identified large clusters of accounts behaving in a coordinated manner to amplify messages related to the Hong Kong protests."

Facebook removed 7 pages, 3 groups and 5 accounts originating in mainland China deemed to be part of an influence campaign focused on Hong Kong, according to cybersecurity policy head Nathaniel Gleicher.

People running the campaign used "deceptive tactics" including fake accounts to pose as news organizations, spread content and steer people to news sites, Gleicher said.

"They frequently posted about local political news and issues including topics like the ongoing protests in Hong Kong," Gleicher said.

Distrust and confusion

"Although the people behind this activity attempted to conceal their identities, our investigation found links to individuals associated with the Chinese government."

About 15,500 accounts followed at least one of the campaign's Facebook pages, according to the social network.

The protest movement in Hong Kong was sparked by widespread opposition to a plan for allowing extraditions to the Chinese mainland, but has since morphed into a broader push for democratic rights.

During weeks of pro-democracy protests that have involved millions of people in Hong Kong, online rumors and conspiracy theories have sowed confusion and deepened distrust.

From 2011 footage of South Korean soldiers misrepresented as an impending Chinese "invasion" to doctored photographs exaggerating the size of rallies, Hong Kong citizens have been bombarded with conflicting claims from both sides of the political divide.

Videos and images of protests or violent incidents, often selectively edited or doctored to support a particular viewpoint, have circulated quickly on social media platforms, but also private chat groups such as Weibo or WhatsApp.

China's state-run media is a driving force behind discrediting pro-democracy events, according to lawyer Rachel Lao, who is a member of a pro-democracy legal group.

"The Chinese Communist Party is skilled at creating confusion among the public in China and shaming any such movements," Lao told AFP. – Rappler.com

Here are more stories about the Hong Kong protests:

• 'Tiananmen Square' crackdown in Hong Kong would harm trade deal – Trump
• Rival Hong Kong democracy and pro-China rallies in Canada
• Hong Kong protesters flood city streets in largest rally in weeks
• Rival rallies as Hong Kong's divisions deepen
• Shenzhen: The border city a world away from Hong Kong
• [OPINION] China’s soft underbelly

MANILA, Philippines – While the SOGIE equality law is in the works, the Duterte administration could create a commission to promote the rights of LGBTQ+ (lesbiam, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer) people.

The option was floated in the recent Malacañang meeting of President Rodrigo Duterte and Gretchen Custodio Diez, Senator Bong Go said on Tuesday, August 20.

“Go mentioned that one of the proposals that was also discussed in the meeting is the possibility of creating a commission for LGBTQ pending the enactment of a SOGIE law,” a statement from Go’s office said.

Go attended the meeting with Diez and Duterte on Monday evening. It was held a week after Diez was denied from using the women’s bathroom in a mall and then arrested, an incident which place gender equality back in the national conversation.  (READ: Trans woman Gretchen Diez: I didn't think I'd be treated like a criminal)

Senator Go added that the government is eyeing holding an “LGBTQ+ convention”, which “will serve as a venue for the LGBTQ community to raise their concerns and come up with policy proposals to promote and protect their welfare.”

In a phone interview after the meeting, Diez recounted how Duterte assured her of support from his administration. Diez said Duterte had a “surprise” set for the LGBTQ+ community to be announced in the coming days.

While touted as one of the most LGBTQ+-friendly countries in Asia, the Philippines is still frequented by discrimination incidents against the queer community. The SOGIE equality bill was passed by the House of Representatives during the previous Congress, but languished in the Senate.

– Rappler.com

BATAAN, Philippines – Around 120 Chinese workers are included in the list of some 400 dengue cases among employees of a coal-fired power plant in Mariveles town here, said the provincial health office.

Provincial board member Dr Godofredo Galicia discussed the report during a regular session of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan in the capitol city of Balanga.

Galicia, who also heads the Sangguniang Panlalawigan Committee on Health, said that there were only 57 cases of dengue in Mariveles from January to August in 2018. But this year, for the same period, the Bataan PHO recorded 398 cases among employees of the GNPower coal-fired plant – 120 of which were Chinese.

Galicia was citing a report from the Bataan Provincial Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit.

He said that based on an investigation and reports reaching his office, most of these workers allegedly practiced poor hygiene.

Vice Governor Ma. Cristina Garcia has ordered the Bataan PHO to look into the matter. She also told them to survey the workers, asking for a definite number of employees working in the coal plant.

Recently, the Bataan PHO said that there were 771 cases of dengue with one death in the province on the 30th morbidity week from January to July 25, 2019.

“This is 30% lower than in the same period last year,” Dr. Rosanna Buccahan, Bataan PHO chief, said.

There were 1,100 dengue cases province-wide for the same period in 2018.– Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Supreme Court (SC) Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio has declined his automatic nomination to be the Philippines' next chief justice. 

It was the final nomination of Carpio for the top post in the judiciary, as he is set to retire on October 26.

"Yes, I am declining because there are only 8 days left from the vacancy to my compulsory retirement," Carpio told Rappler in a message on Tuesday, August 20.

Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin will retire on October 18.

Carpio will be retiring as the No. 2 in the SC, or the most senior after the chief. Justices on the bench are fondly called by their numbers based on the order of their entry to the High Court. 

Carpio, who has served the SC for 18 years or since 2001, was bypassed for the chief justice post 3 times, even though he was No. 2 at all times. (READ: Justice Antonio Carpio: Forever the No. 2)

Carpio has gone head-to-head with the Duterte administration on China's policies in the West Philippine Sea, which made him a subject of the President's rants on several occasions.

Since the Duterte presidency in 2016, Carpio voted in favor of the Duterte administration only twice – in the SC ruling that Congress need not convene to confirm the proclamation of martial law in Mindanao, and in the decision that declared the closure of Boracay constitutional. (READ: Who voted for Duterte in the Supreme Court?)

Carpio dealt a big blow to the Duterte government when he, as member-in-charge, got unanimous votes to compel the administration to make public tens of thousands of documents related to killings in the government's campaign against illegal drugs.

The first resolution of the Court was also strongly-worded: "The government's inclusion of these deaths among its other accomplishments may lead to the inference that these are state-sponsored killings.”

The main petition to declare the entire war on drugs policy as unconstitutional is still pending.

Rappler’s review of high-profile en banc decisions in the last 12 years showed that Carpio was tough on the executive and politicians.

Carpio voted against former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo – who  had appointed him to the SC – on 3 key cases: Arroyo’s bid to extend her term, attempt to travel abroad, and acquittal of plunder.

On Tuesday morning, as he declined his last chief justice nomination, Carpio was still trading barbs with the Duterte government. He sent a message to reporters to "fact-check Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano" who said Malaysia and Vietnam occupy more geologic features than China in the South China Sea.

Tuesday deadline

Tuesday is the deadline for appllications and to confirm nominations for chief justice. The Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) will vet the aspirants to replace Bersamin.

Associate Justice Marvic Leonen declined his nomination on Monday, saying, "I will be able to do what I do best for our people in my current position at this time."

Two sources said Associate Justice Benjamin Caguioa also declined his nomination.  

One source said Associate Justice Estela Perlas-Bernabe accepted her nomination Tuesday morning, leaving only Associate Justice Diosdado Peralta to accept or decline his nomination.

Carpio was still included in the automatically nominated 5 most senior justices even though his retirement comes only a week after Bersamin's retirement. The other 3 automatically nominated justices apart from Carpio and Leonen are: Associate Justices Diosdado Peralta, Estela Perlas Bernabe, and Benjamin Caguioa.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra, a JBC member, said that the council was unlikely to restore the usual procedure of conducting public interviews for all applicants for chief justice. The council removed this requirement for incumbent SC justices when they were vetting the replacements for retired chief justice Teresita Leonardo De Castro.

"It is unlikely that public interviews of applicants (who are already associate justices of the Supreme Court) for the chief justice position will be held. At best, the JBC will interview nominees/applicants in executive session," Guevarra said in a text message.

The JBC  will start screening applicants for the replacements of Carpio and Associate Justice Francis Jardeleza, retiring in September, on September 6, 9, 10, and 11. – Rappler.com

Read more stories on the Supreme Court:

• Who voted for Duterte in the Supreme Court?
• By 2022, Supreme Court filled with Duterte appointees
• Duterte starts to pack Supreme Court with young appointees
• First among equals: How influential is a chief justice on the Court?
• How chief justice applicants voted on P7-B Delfin Lee scam

SYDNEY, Australia – The father of one of the victims of jailed Australian Cardinal George Pell said Monday, August 19, he hoped "justice would prevail" as a court prepared to rule on an appeal against his conviction of child sex abuse crimes.

Pell, the former Vatican number 3, is appealing against his conviction on 5 counts of sexually abusing two 13-year-old choirboys in the 1990s, with a court due to hand down its decision on Wednesday, August 21.

The case against the 78-year-old relied solely on the testimony of Pell's surviving victim, as the other – who never spoke of the abuse – died of a drug overdose in 2014. Neither man can be identified for legal reasons.

Lawyer Lisa Flynn, who represents the dead man's father, said he was anxious about the judgment, as were victims of child sexual abuse worldwide.

She told AFP they were waiting with "bated breath" ahead of "one of the most significant legal decisions in recent history".

"He just wants closure so he can try to get on with his life and stop thinking about it every single day," she said of her client.

"He has expressed that he would like to see justice prevail and George Pell kept behind bars where he cannot prey on more unsuspecting children."

Pell was convicted in December of sexually abusing the two boys in 1996 and 1997 at St Patrick's Cathedral shortly after he was appointed Archbishop of Melbourne.

The prosecution called the surviving victim "a witness of truth" and defended the jury verdict as "unimpeachable".

A three-judge panel deliberating since a two-day appeal hearing in early June can either dismiss the appeal, order a retrial or quash his conviction.

Lawyers for Pell, the most senior Catholic church figure to be convicted of child sex abuse, branded the verdict "a disturbing failure of our jury system".

They raised 13 objections to his convictions including that it was "physically impossible" for the cleric to have committed the crimes in a crowded cathedral.

If the judges accept these arguments and rule in Pell's favor, he could walk free immediately.

Alternatively, Victorian Bar Association president Matt Collins said, if the judges agreed with Pell's lawyers that procedural irregularities affected the trial, they could order it held again.

"It doesn't necessarily follow that there would be a retrial for a number of reasons: the prosecution would have to determine whether to pursue a retrial, and there could be scope for argument about whether Cardinal Pell could have a fair retrial given the publicity that attended the verdict in the last trial," he told AFP.

Pell has already faced two juries – his first trial in 2018 ended in a hung jury – with the second finding him guilty in December.

Both trials were hidden from the public until a comprehensive gag order was lifted in February after a batch of other charges against Pell were dropped.

The case has subsequently attracted a barrage of international media coverage amid intense interest in the downfall of a priest who once elected popes, controlled the Vatican's vast finances, and even created a redress scheme to compensate victims of clerical abuse in Victoria.

If the judges dismiss Pell's appeal he would be required to continue his six-year sentence, although Collins said his legal team would likely try to appeal to the High Court. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Some 119 Bureau of Customs officials are facing administrative and criminal complaints, the BOC announced on Tuesday, August 20.

According to the BOC mid-year report presented by Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero, the BOC filed a total of 120 administrative and 20 criminal complaints against 119 personnel.

The BOC said 27 other officials were served show cause orders for suspected underperformance and corruption.

Guerrero emphasized that his thrust to clear Customs of corrupt and underperforming officials would ultimately allow him to reach the BOC's revenue target.

The tally included  one suspended and 7 dismissed Customs officials as ordered by the Office of the Ombudsman on August 15. The dismissals and suspension were rooted in varying offenses, including failure to flag a consignee later apprehended for smuggling shabu.

Guerrero said the 52 Customs officials whom President Rodrigo Duterte wanted out were also included in the count.

Guerrero said the officials had been on “floating” status since they were assigned to the Customs Compliance and Monitoring Division where they have to report every day.

The Commissioner said the effort was in line with President Rodrigo Duterte’s aim of ridding Customs of corruption, after back-to-back smuggling controversies which led to the untimely exit of the last two Customs chiefs. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Supreme Court Associate Justice Estela Perlas Bernabe has accepted her nomination to become chief justice.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra confirmed this to Rappler on Tuesday, August 20.

Bernabe will apply to replace Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin who will retire on October 18.

Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio and Associate Justice Marvic Leonen declined their nominations.

Guevarra said that Associate Justice Benjamin Caguioa also declined his nomination.

With this, only Associate Justice Diosdado Peralta has yet to accept or decline his nomination.

The deadline of the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) for applications and confirming or declining nominations is Tuesday.

Who is Justice Bernabe?

In a speech before new lawyers who were taking their oath in June, Bernabe stressed the importance of integrity.

“At the end of it all, always remember that in whatever opportunity you choose, your integrity is non-negotiable.... Never compromise your integrity” said Bernabe.

On the bench, Bernabe has broken stereotypes. She could not be easily categorized in a voting group. (READ: The unpredictability of Supreme Court Justice Bernabe)

Bernabe concurred in the decision that acquitted Gloria Macapagal Arroyo of plunder, and in the decision that gave a hero's burial to the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

But she dissented to the decision that upheld the legality of Senator Leila de Lima's arrest, and to the quo warranto ouster of former chief justice Maria Lourdes Sereno. 

Her votes were also very nuanced. While she concurred in the decision that declared martial law in Mindanao as constitutional, she did not agree to the doctrine that those decisions established.

All 4 martial law decisions gave an unbridled discretion to the President to declare military rule. Bernabe disagreed, saying, “Our deference to the President must be circumscribed within the bounds of truth and reason." (READ: Who voted for Duterte in the Supreme Court?)

Bernabe also broke the notion that career jurists tend to vote in favor of the bureaucracy.

Bernabe's most most impactful ponencias, so far, went against this bureaucracy. This was when she penned the decision that declared the pork barrel system unconstitutional, in the decision that abandoned politicians' favorite condonation doctrine.

Under the doctrine, which many elected officials had invoked since 1959, the administrative offenses of an elected official are already deemed forgiven when the public decides to re-elect him or her for another term.

Bernabe also voted against former president Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III, who had appointed her, when she  favored petitions against the Philippines-US Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) and the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP).

Seniority

With Carpio declining his automatic nomination, Bernabe becomes the second most senior justice aspiring for the top magistrate post, after Peralta.

Bernabe, a career jurist, served as a judge of the Makati Metropolitan Trial Court (MeTC) in 1996. She was promoted as a Regional Trial Court (RTC) judge in 2000, and then appointed as Court of Appeals (CA) justice in 2004.

Aquino appointed her to as SC justice in September 2011.

Peralta was more senior than Bersamin when the latter was appointed as chief justice. 

President Rodrigo Duterte had promised that seniority would be his main basis in SC appointments, but in justifying his pick of Bersamin, Malacañang said to count from the year they started their career in the judiciary.

Bersamin was appointed trial court judge in 1986. Peralta started as a trial court judge in 1994; but he was longtime prosecutor before that, starting in 1987. – Rappler.com

Read more stories on the Supreme Court:

• #CJSearch: How did aspirants vote on key Supreme Court decisions?
• By 2022, Supreme Court filled with Duterte appointees
• Duterte starts to pack Supreme Court with young appointees
• First among equals: How influential is a chief justice on the Court?
• How chief justice applicants voted on P7-B Delfin Lee scam

WASHINGTON, USA – A man gathering firewood in Alaska discovered a bottle with a handwritten message inside wishing the finder "happy sailing" more than 50 years after it was dropped into the sea by a Russian sailor.

"Sincere greetings! From the Russian Far East Fleet mother ship VRXF Sulak," it read. "We wish you good health and long years of life and happy sailing. 20 June 1969."

Tyler Ivanoff, a teacher's aide in Shishmaref, Alaska, spotted the bottle on the shore near his village, and pried off the plastic stopper with his teeth.

"It was still dry on the inside and still smelled like wine or whatever, old alcohol. The note was dry," he told the Nome Nugget newspaper.

Ivanoff posted a picture of the bottle and the note on Facebook on August 5.

But the yarn doesn't end there.

Rossiya 1, a Russian television network, tracked it by its return address in Vladivostok to a retired Soviet ship captain now living in Crimea.

Anatoly Botsanenko, interviewed by the station in a naval uniform, said he served on the Sulak in 1969 when he was 35.

Peering at the message on the reporter's smartphone, Botsanenko said, "That's not my handwriting." But he then recognized the return address as his old home in Vladivostok.

"It's pretty cool how a small photo grew into a story," Ivanoff posted on Facebook. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – The Senate committee on women, children, family relations, and gender equality holds its first public hearing on the SOGIE equality bill on Tuesday, August 20.

The committee, shaired by Senator Risa Hontiveros, holds an organizational meeting before tackling the anti-discrimination bill.

Discussions on the SOGIE equality bill have been revived  transgender woman Gretchen Diez experienced discrimination in a Quezon City mall.

Watch the hearing live on Rappler. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – A commander of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Special Action Force (SAF) was shot dead by a subordinate inside Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City on Monday afternoon, August 19.

According to the police report, Major Emerson Palomares, 30, was killed by his subordinate Master Sergeant Sanwright Lobhoy after a “heated confrontation.”

Palomares is the commanding officer of the 125 SAF Force Service Batallion or FSB.

“Initial investigation disclosed that the victim and the suspect had a heated confrontation inside the office of the Commanding Office, which resulted to shooting,” the police report said.

Lobhoy was immediately arrested in Camp Bagong Diwa, where SAF is based.

Palomares was rushed to the Sabili Hospital then transferred to the Parañaque City Doctors Hospital for treatment, but he was pronounced dead at around 5:23 pm. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philipines – Marawi crisis spokesman and former Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) assemblyman Zia Alonto Adiong has been named a member of the Bangsamoro interim government.

Adiong's full name, Ziaurrahman Adiong, appeared in a list of new presidential appointees sent by Malacañang to media on Tuesday, August 20. He is identified as a new member of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA).

Adiong told Rappler he got a call from the Palace a week ago informing him that his appointment had been signed. It was signed on August 13, according to the Palace appointees list.

With Adiong's appointment, Duterte would have to name 3 more government-nominated BTA members.

Out of the total 80 target BTA members, 41 were nominated by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and named by Duterte. The government was supposed to nominate the remaining 39. 

But when the Palace released the names of the first batch of BTA members in February, there were only 76. The government was unable to name 4 members at the time.

Since that time, two BTA members nominated by the MILF have passed away – MILF leader Ghazali Jaafar and lawyer Abdul Dataya.

Jaafar's seat in the BTA was given to his son Mudjib Abu in May. The MILF had nominated Abdullah Hashim, Dataya's nephew and the son of MILF founder Hashim Salamat, to replace Dataya.

BTA Interim Chief Minister Murad Ebrahim told Rappler they would nominate Hashim.

"He is a senior engineering student. That's the eldest son [of Hashim Salamat], to replace his uncle who passed away," Murad said on August 9.

With Adiong's appointment, the BTA membership remains at 76 since Dataya's replacement and the appointment of 3 other government-nominated members had yet to be finalized.

New SEC commissioner, other officials

Also in the list of new appointees is Karlo Bello, former agrarian reform undersecretary who will now serve as commissioner for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

His appointment was signed on August 13.

The Department of Agriculture is also getting a new undersecretary, Ernesto Gonzales, while the Office of the Cabinet Secretariat has a new "assistant Cabinet secretary," Ricky dela Torre.– Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Supreme Court Associate Justice Diosdado Peralta has accepted his nomination to be the Philippines' next chief justice, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said on Tuesday, August 20.

Guevarra, a Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) member, added that Associate Justice Andres Reyes Jr has also applied for the post again. Reyes accepted his nomination from retired SC justice Jose Perez and retired CA justice Sesinando Villon.

Associate Justice Estela Perlas Bernabe also confirmed her nomination on Tuesday, meaning that so far, it's Peralta, Bernabe, and Reyes in the race for top magistrate.

Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, and Associate Justices Marvic Leonen and Benjamin Caguioa earlier declined their respective nominations.

Carpio, Peralta, Bernabe, Leonen, and Caguioa were automatically nominated by tradition as the 5 most senior justices. 

The JBC's deadline for applications for the replacement of Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin is 4:30 pm of Tuesday, August 20, 

Bersamin is retiring on October 18.

Peralta's 3rd time

Of the 3 confirmed applicants, Peralta is the most senior, followed by Bernabe and Reyes.

This is the third time that Peralta is applying to be chief justice, and the second time for Bernabe.

Peralta was bypassed for the post when President Rodrigo Duterte picked retired chief justice Teresita Leonardo De Castro, and then retiring chief justice Lucas Bersamin. Peralta was more senior than Bersamin.

Peralta was reported to be a front runner in the race for chief justice then, with his ace being no less than then-speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, a staunch ally of President Rodrigo Duterte.

Arroyo appointed Peralta to the SC in 2009, the last full year of her presidency. Their fathers were friends; Peralta was even named after Arroyo’s father, former president Diosdado Macapagal.

Peralta's voting record

Peralta penned the controversial ponencia that allowed a hero’s burial for dictator Ferdinand Marcos, triggering nationwide protests.

The hero’s burial was heavily opposed because of human rights violations during Marcos’ martial law rule – violations acknowledged by the government under Republic Act No. 10368 or the Human Rights Victims Reparation and Recognition Act of 2013.

“I hope that issue has been buried, because if you don’t bury that issue, we cannot move on. And I believe, whatever happened in the past, we should move on. We will not improve as a nation if you [do not move on]," Peralta had said during his first JBC interview for chief justice in August 2018, when asked about the controversial issue.

So far, Peralta has never voted against the President in cases that directly impacted his administration – like the martial law in Mindanao cases – and even those that were of interest to him, like the quo warranto ouster of Maria Lourdes Sereno.

Key SC decisions from 2006 indicate that Peralta, as well as Reyes,  lean towards the executive or politicians.

In cases involving powerful interests, Peralta concurred in the flip-flopping decision of the Court to favor Philippine Airlines (PAL) in a labor case filed by retrenched employees.

In that decision, Peralta, along with Bersamin, also flip-flopped in their individual votes to hand PAL a win.

Peralta also concurred in denying the petitions that sought to demand payment from the United States for the damages inflicted by the USS Guardian on Tubbataha Reef.

Peralta inhibited in the highly political cases of Danding Cojuangco's shares from coco levy, and the grant of bail to Globe Asiatique owner Delfin Lee. 

Peralta, who started as a prosecutor of his hometown in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte, in 1987, became trial court judge in 1994, and justice of the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan in 2002.

He was Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice in 2009 before his appointment to the High Court in 2009. – Rappler.com

Read more stories on the Supreme Court:

• Who voted for Duterte in the Supreme Court?
• #CJSearch: How did aspirants vote on key Supreme Court decisions?
• By 2022, Supreme Court filled with Duterte appointees
• Duterte starts to pack Supreme Court with young appointees
• First among equals: How influential is a chief justice on the Court?
• How chief justice applicants voted on P7-B Delfin Lee scam

MANILA, Philippines – The national budget proposed by the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte for 2020 shows it is prioritizing infrastructure, social services like education and universal health care, and peace and national security.

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) submitted on Tuesday, August 20, the proposed P4.1-trillion budget or National Expenditure Program (NEP) for 2020 to the House of Representatives. 

The submission marks the beginning of the House's deliberations on the 2020 budget, which lawmakers plan to pass on 3rd and final reading before the 18th Congress takes a break in October.

The 2020 budget is 11.8% higher than the P3.662-trillion budget for 2019 and represents 19.4% of the country's projected gross domestic product in 2020.

"This budget will renew our push for real change by sustaining our investments in public infrastructure and human capital development, namely health care, education, and poverty alleviation," said Acting Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado. 

The government's Build, Build, Build infrastructure program alone gets a whopping P972.5 billion in the proposed 2020 budget.

Of this number, about P203.8 billion will come from allocations under the Department of Public Works and Highways, including its network development program, asset preservation program, and bridge program. Other funds will come from the Department of Transportation: P106.7 billion worth of railway projects, P508 million for sea transportation, and P346 million for air transportation.

The Duterte administration is also prioritizing education, as the Department of Education will once again get the lion's share of the budget among all government agencies with a proposed budget of P673 billion.

Part of this figure is the P68.5-billion allocation for state universities and colleges and P35.4 billion for the free tuition law.

The universal health care program will also get P166.5 billion, P67.4 billion of which will go the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation.  

Other social protection programs prioritized under the 2020 budget are the following:

• Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program: P108.8 billion
• Unconditional Cash Transfer Program: P37.2 billion
• Social pension for indigent Filipino citizens: P23.2 billion
• Protective services for individuals and families in difficult circumstances: P5.1 billion

Duterte, who is waging a bloody anti-drug campaign, also put the Philippine National Police (PNP) on top of his list of priorities in his budget message. Of the P184.8-billion proposed budget for the police force, P546 million will fund the implementation of the Philippine Anti-Illegal Drug Strategy of the Dangerous Drugs Board. Another P14.4 billion will be used to help fill up 26,685 positions in the PNP.

The Department of National Defense will get P189 billion to fund its modernization program and finance its anti-terrorism efforts. The Department of Justice will also be given P38.7 billion.

Duterte himself wants a "smooth transition" for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), which will be getting P70.6 billion from the national government. A total of 63.6 billion of this accounts for the annual block grant for the region, while another P5 billion will go to its special development fund. The BARMM's infrastructure development program will also get P17.7 billion.

Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano said the House will "work day and night" to ensure the timely passage of the 2020 budget. 

He said the plenary session every Monday to Wednesday afternoon will be moved from 3 pm to 5 pm to give more time for the budget hearings, which will begin on Thursday, August 22. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte's idea for lessening discrimination against LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer) people is to put up "3rd restrooms" for them, Malacañang said on Tuesday, August 20.

 "He’s (Duterte) also inclined doon sa 3rd restroom for them, mayroon silang sarili (inclined to support 3rd restrooms for them, so they have their own)," Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said in a Palace news briefing.

Asked if by 3rd restroom, Duterte meant gender-neutral restrooms, Panelo said, "Just for LGBT. Just for them, not both."

However, Panelo later on said that he himself would support restrooms "common to all," regardless of gender, which is the concept of a gender-neutral restroom.

But the concept of "3rd restrooms" has been rejected by Gretchen Diez, the trans woman who was prevented from using a woman's restroom in a mall and has since used her experience to call for the passage of the SOGIE (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identify and Expression) equality bill.

Diez had said that the establishment of 3rd restrooms could even boost discrimination against LGBTQ+ persons.

A GMA News Online article quotes Diez as saying, “I am for equality and I think that producing a 3rd bathroom does not help in our fight against discrimination,” Diez said.

She was reacting to a proposal by 1-PACMAN Representative Eric Pineda for the creation of LGBTQ+ bathrooms, separate from ladies' and men's rooms.

SOGIE equality bill

But what of Diez's main advocacy, the passage of the SOGIE equality bill? Panelo was uncertain if Duterte would certify the measure as urgent given his meeting with Diez  on Monday night in Malacañang.

"Ayan ang hindi ko alam, kung ice-certify niya (That's what I don't know, if he will certify it)," said Panelo.

The spokesman, however, said he was not present at Diez's meeting with Duterte.

All he could do was emphasize that the President was "all for" the SOGIE bill. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano promised to go hard against corruption in Congress, saying he will not tolerate any schemes to "park" funds in the proposed 2020 national budget.

"'Yung parking ng funds, the way I understand it, it's a form of corruption. And ang usapan sa Congress, we will fight corruption," said Cayetano after the House of Representatives officially received a copy of the P4.1-trillion budget from the Department of Budget and Management on Tuesday, August 20.

(The parking of funds, the way I understand it, it's a form of corruption. And we agreed in Congress that we will fight corruption.)

Cayetano said lawmakers have agreed to expose any anomalies they discover during the budget deliberations, even those that may be committed by House members themselves. 

"And ang usapan po sa 18th Congress, walang takipan. Meaning may mahuli na ganito ang ginawa o mayroong scam.... You know the President and the executive department, Ombudsman will be decisive, and the House will cooperate," said the Speaker.

(And in the 18th Congress, we discussed that we will not be covering for each other. Meaning, if we see there is a scam happening.... You know, the President and the executive department, Ombudsman will be decisive, and the House will cooperate.)

"Parking" funds is a term used when a lump sum, often without a specific purpose identified for its use, is listed under the budget of a particular congressional district. But the lawmaker of that district is informed by a fellow lawmaker that the allocation is merely listed or "parked," but will be used for a different project or district.

Accusations of alleged parking of funds, illegal budget insertions, and conflicts between Congress and the Cabinet not only delayed the passage of the 2019 budget, but also led to the government reenacting the 2018 budget in the 1st quarter of this year. 

President Rodrigo Duterte was able to approve the 2019 budget only in April, but he vetoed P95.3 billion worth of allocations under the Department of Public Works and Highways.

Acting Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado gave the assurance that every penny under the proposed 2020 budget is earmarked for a specific project.

"'Yung sinasabi naka-park, naka-park in the sense that na ginagamit sa kung saan. Hindi po. Dito sa budget na ito, identified po lahat diyan," said Avisado.

(When you talk about parking, it means you park the funds in one allocation but it will be used for something else. That won't happen here. In this budget, all allocations are identified.)

But he added it is Congress' responsibility to scrutinize the proposed budget in the next couple of weeks.

The House will begin budget deliberations on Thursday, August 22. – Rappler.com

BANGKOK, Thailand – At least 13 Chinese tourists were killed and dozens injured when their bus skidded off the road and plunged 30 meters into a ravine in Laos, a police officer said Tuesday, August 20.

The bus was carrying more than 40 Chinese nationals heading towards the tourist town of Luang Prabang when the accident occurred late on Monday.

"At this moment, 13 bodies have been recovered... while two are still missing," police officer Xaiyaphon Chitavong told AFP, blaming brake failure for the accident.

He added that 31 people were receiving medical treatment. 

Chinese state media showed photos of rescuers wading through ankle-deep floodwaters.

Traffic accidents in Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Myanmar are common, with safety regulations often flouted and law enforcement low. 

The monsoon season from June to October also drenches rural roads with heavy rains creating slippery conditions.

Tourism to communist-run Laos has grown in recent years, and visitors from China increased by 13 percent in the first half of 2019 compared to the year before, according to the state-backed Vientiane Times. – Rappler.com

HONG KONG – Hong Kong's embattled leader Carrie Lam on Tuesday, August 20, said she hoped "calm" will prevail after a massive weekend march passed without clashes between police and demonstrators, but again refused to give ground to protester demands. 

Hundreds of thousands of people marched through the heart of the city on Sunday, August 18, in a show of peaceful protest after escalating street battles with police drew stark warnings from Beijing and threatened to undermine public support.

"On Sunday, many Hong Kong residents participated in a rally at Victoria Park that was largely peaceful," Chief Executive Carrie Lam said at a televised press conference. 

"I wholeheartedly hope that this is the beginning of society returning to calm and staying away from violence." 

The protests began against a proposed extradition law to China but morphed into a pro-democracy movement sparking the city's biggest political crisis in decades.

They have been fuelled by anger over alleged police brutality, with tear gas and rubber bullets deployed against protesters.

Lam reported 174 complaints have been made against police since protests began.

She said they would be "robustly" investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Council, whose head is appointed by the chief executive.

However, the probe is unlikely to satisfy protesters who have called for an independent inquiry by an external body. 

In addition to universal suffrage and cancelling the extradition bill, protesters also demand the release of those detained during clashes.

Lam, pilloried by press and protesters for failing to step down while the city plunges into crisis, said her government would continue a "fact-finding mission" on how to move forward from the demonstrations. 

She took a softer tone than in recent weeks, but again refused to formally withdraw the contentious extradition bill, repeating only that: "The bill is dead. There's no plan to revive this bill."

The chaos has caused mounting concerns for business and investment in Hong Kong, with the effects of the trouble particularly impacting the tourism industry. 

"One of its most important strengths is the rule of law," Lam said of the financial hub. 

"That's why we have been doing so much to ensure that the rule of law is being upheld and respected in Hong Kong." – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte warned of consequences should foreign ships pass through the Philippines’ territorial waters without securing a clearance from the government.

“To avoid misunderstanding in the future, the President is putting on notice that beginning today, all foreign vessels passing our territorial waters must notify and get clearance from the proper government authority well in advance of the actual passage,” said Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo on Tuesday, August 20.

“Either we get compliance in a friendly manner or we enforce it in an unfriendly manner,” he added, without elaboration.

Duterte’s warning comes after a string of reports of Chinese warships and survey ships passing through areas like the Sibutu Strait

The Philippine military had earlier reported that 5 Chinese warships passed through Sibutu Strait in July and August without notifying the Philippine government.

On July 25, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the military reported 4 instances of Chinese naval vessels traversing the Sibutu Strait in the waters of Tawi-Tawi province since February.

On August 6, the AFP Western Command (Wescom) said 4 Chinese warships passed through the waters near Balabac Island in Palawan province on June 17 without permission, and virtually ignored radio communications from Philippine patrols.

In response, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has issued a series of diplomatic protests.

In around a week, Duterte is set to visit China for a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping during which the Palace says he will bring up the 2016 Hague ruling and recent flashpoints between China and the Philippines in the West Philippine Sea.

Duterte has also called for the speedy completion of a South China Sea code of conduct to avoid maritime incidents and confrontations. – Rappler.com