MANILA, Philippines – For the second time during his first full week in office, Philippine Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr found the need to clarify his statement on China regarding the disputed West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).

In a rare statement sent at around 6:20 am on a weekend, Yasay on Saturday, July 9, issued a "rejoinder" to an interview with him by international news agency Agence France-Presse a day earlier.

In his interview with Agence France-Presse on Friday, July 8, Yasay said the Philippines is willing to share resources in the West Philippine Sea.   

"We can even have the objective of seeing how we can jointly explore this territory – how we can utilize and benefit mutually from the utilization of the resources in this exclusive economic zone (EEZ) where claims are overlapping," Yasay said.

Yasay’s statement on Friday drew flak online, with critics saying the Duterte administration is set to give up the Philippines’ rights over the West Philippine Sea.

On Saturday morning, Yasay clarified, "What I said is, we have to wait for the ruling and study and dissect its implications."

The Philippines’ top diplomat added: "As the ruling will not address sovereignty and delimitation, it is possible that some time in the future, claimant countries might consider entering into arrangements such as joint exploration and utilization of resources in disputed areas that do not prejudice the parties' claims and delimitation of boundaries in accordance with UNCLOS."

UNCLOS is the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, or the so-called Constitution for the Oceans.

Under UNCLOS, a coastal state has the exclusive rights to explore and exploit marine resources in its EEZ, an area 200 nautical miles from its baselines.

UNCLOS is the basis of the Philippines’ historic case against China over the West Philippine Sea. The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague is set to announce the ruling on this on Tuesday, July 12.

Yasay hit for 'blunder'

The premise of Yasay’s statement was that the upcoming ruling will not tackle ownership of islands, among others (what he means by issues of "sovereignty"),  and the clarification of overlapping sea boundaries (what he means by "delimitation") in the West Philippine Sea.  

The case, after all, is not about ownership of islands but about the right to explore and exploit waters. It also does not tackle overlapping sea boundaries.

Given this, he said, claimant countries "might consider" sharing resources in disputed areas. These possible joint exploration activities, in any case, should "not prejudice the parties' claims and delimitation of boundaries in accordance with UNCLOS."

In a text message quoted by ANC, Yasay on Friday issued an earlier clarification to his statement to Agence France-Presse. 

Yasay said, "Since the PCA does not have any enforcement powers, any overlapping claims awarded can be best implemented by negotiating for an agreement with other claimants that could possibly include the joint exploration and utilization of the resources in the disputed area."

Reacting to Yasay’s clarification on ANC, a source privy to the Philippines’ case told Rappler: "Yasay still misses the point that if the tribunal rules there is no overlap, our EEZ is exclusively ours, and the Constitution prohibits any sharing of our EEZ resources with other countries, except that foreign companies can be contractors commissioned by the Philippine government."

On Yasay’s statement to Agence France-Presse, the source said: "This blunder can be corrected if Yasay issues a statement that any joint development must be undertaken in accordance with the Philippine Constitution, which says: 'The State shall protect the nation’s marine wealth in its xxx exclusive economic zone, and reserve its use and enjoyment exclusively to Filipino citizens.'"

"China can be a foreign contractor commissioned by the Philippine government, just like Shell which is extracting the gas in Malampaya," the source added. 

Yasay's other statements

Earlier this week, Yasay explained another statement he made about China.

At the Tapatan sa Aristocrat forum on Monday, July 4, Yasay said: "In my first official press conference last week, a reporter asked, 'Are you afraid of China?' In answer, I replied with a rhetorical question: 'Why should we be afraid of China?' The hall fell momentarily silent while reflecting a collective response."

(Watch that portion of his first official press conference below)

That moment, Yasay said he remembered the words, "There is nothing to fear but fear itself."

He added, "To paraphrase another world leader, let me say that we do not fear to negotiate, and we do not negotiate out of fear."

Sources at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said his explanation on Monday, about fearing China, was written personally by Yasay. He also included this in his speech during his first Monday flag ceremony as DFA chief. 

It was unclear if Yasay consulted other DFA officials about his statement on Monday. In the case of former DFA secretary Albert del Rosario, a source said Del Rosario always conferred with his colleagues first before releasing public statements, especially on contentious issues like the West Philippine Sea dispute. 

Before his statements on Monday and Friday, Yasay's comments during the first Duterte Cabinet meeting fueled concerns the new administration is afraid of China.

During their Cabinet meeting on June 30, Yasay referred to the Philippines’ possible victory in its case against China: "What if, in the face of these circumstances, China will dig in and put us to a test? They will disallow again our fishermen from fishing in Scarborough Shoal."

In his first press conference on July 1, Yasay said he meant that the Philippines should avoid issuing provocative statements if the Philippines wins against China.

Yasay, a former chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, has no previous experience in the DFA. – Rappler.com

PARIS, France – A single patient infected 82 people with the deadly MERS virus in an overcrowded South Korean emergency room in 2015, according to a scientific investigation released Saturday, July 9.

The study, published in the medical journal The Lancet, maps a lethal outbreak of Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in South Korea that caused 186 known infections in all, including nearly 40 fatalities.

The case is the most prolific transmission of MERS virus from one patient outside the Middle East.

As long as the highly-contagious respiratory disease – with a 30% to 40% mortality rate – continues to circulate in the Middle East, governments and health care providers should be prepared for sudden outbreaks elsewhere, the researchers warn.

"This study is the first to document the spread of MERS virus through a hospital," Doo Ryeon Chung and Yae-Jean Kim of Samsung Medical Center – where the outbreak occurred– said in a statement.

"Our results show the increased potential of MERS virus infection from a single patient in an overcrowded emergency room."

The outbreak in South Korea began with a 68-year old man – known as "patient 1"– who had travelled to Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar in the Spring of 2015.

Correctly diagnosed, he was admitted to Samsung and isolated from other patients.

But unknown to doctors and health officials, he had already infected several other people, including a 35-year old man with whom he shared a ward in another health facility.

It was this younger man, "patient 14," who later spread the virus through Samsung's emergency ward.

The researchers estimate that nearly 1,600 people were exposed to patient 14 in the emergency room.

Of the 82 who were infected, 33 were patients, 8 were health care workers, and 41 were visitors.

Patients staying in the same zone of the emergency room had a 20% chance of contracting MERS, the study found. – Rappler.com

SEOUL, South Korea (3rd UPDATE) – North Korea on Saturday, July 9, appeared to have test-fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), Seoul's defense ministry said, a day after the US and South Korea decided to deploy an advanced missile defense system in the South.

The launch from a submarine was apparently successful but the missile failed in the early stage of flight, the South Korean defence ministry said in a press statement.

It said the North launched "what was believed to be an SLBM" from waters off the northeastern port of Sinpo at around 11:30 am (0230 GMT).

Yonhap news agency said the missile, launched from a 2,000-tonne Sinpo-class submarine, reached an altitude of some 10 kilometres (six miles) before exploding in midair.

North Korea previously fired an SLBM on April 23 in a test hailed as an "eye-opening success" by leader Kim Jong-Un, who at the time declared his country had the ability to strike Seoul and the US whenever it pleased.

"North Korea has been persistent in violating UN resolutions by launching ballistic missiles continuously," the defence ministry in Seoul said.

It noted that the North carried out back-to-back tests of a powerful new medium-range missile on June 22, which sparked swift international condemnation.

The two missiles achieved a significant increase in flight distance over previous failed launches and were believed to be of a much-hyped, intermediate-range Musudan missile – theoretically capable of reaching US bases as far away as Guam, the ministry said in June.

"We strongly condemn such provocative acts", it said Saturday.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the launch did not pose an immediate threat.

"We don't consider the missile launch to be anything that would immediately affect Japan's national security directly. We have to cooperate with the international community and condemn North Korea," he told public broadcaster NHK.

'Declaration of war'  

The new launch came after Seoul and  Washington announced their decision to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, or THAAD, to the Korean peninsula and the North warned US sanctions against its leader amounted to a "declaration of war".

Tensions have soared since Pyongyang carried out its 4th nuclear test in January, followed by a series of missile launches that analysts said show the North is making progress toward being able to strike the US mainland.

The plan to deploy the powerful THAAD system in South Korea has angered Beijing and Moscow, which both see it as a US bid to flex military muscle in the region.

News of the deployment came after the US on Wednesday placed "Supreme Leader" Kim on its sanctions blacklist for the first time, calling him directly responsible for a long list of serious human rights abuses.

Pyongyang lashed out at Washington on Friday, warning North Korea would instantly cut off all diplomatic channels with the US if the sanctions were not lifted.

The North's foreign ministry called the sanctions against Kim "the worst hostility and an open declaration of war", vowing to take "the toughest countermeasures to resolutely shatter the hostility of the US".

It said any problem arising in relations with the US would be handled under its "wartime law".

North Korea often issues bellicose statements against the US, but the reference to "wartime law" is rare and analysts warned of more sabre-rattling to come over the sanctions. – Rappler.com

NEGROS OCCIDENTAL, Philippines – A top drug personality in Silay City in this province has surrendered to authorities.

Alain Gamboa, 32, of Barangay 1 surrendered to Silay Mayor Mark Golez  in the presence of Ronnie Delicana, director of Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-Negros Island Region, and Superintendent Willy Diel, city police chief, at the city hall on Thursday, July 7.

Delicana said that Gamboa, who was in the agency's "target list," was a "courier" of illegal drugs, which he gets from Luzon and Cebu.

He said that the suspect has a "significant influence" in the illegal drug trade in the city.

"Majority of the supply of drugs came from him. He deals with the suppliers but he doesn't sell at the street level," Delicana said.

Authorities interviewed Gamboa, and the information he provided will be evaluated. (READ: Duterte inspires Negros Occidental cops to intensify campaign vs drugs)

Delicana said they will "release him with the undertaking to stop his illegal activity but he is not exempted from possible arrest if found to have committed the crime again.

Gamboa, who has no previous criminal record, said he feared for his life, as he cited the Philippine National Police's aggressive campaign against illegal drugs wherein some  drug suspects were killed.

He said that the government's campaign has provided people like him an opportunity to change. 

Gamboa is the first drug suspect who surrendered to Silay authorities since July 1, the start of Oplan Tokhang (a combination of toktok and hangyo), meaning knock and then plead with suspected local drug users and peddlers to voluntarily surrender and stop their illegal activities.

As of July 8, 1,037 drug personalities have surrendered to different localities in Negros Occidental, with Sipalay City topping the list with 144.

In Negros Oriental, 2,456 drug personalities have yielded to authorities,  475 from Guihulngan City. – Rappler.com

WASHINGTON DC, USA – Hillary Clinton sought to move past the email controversy dogging her presidential campaign on Friday, July 8, placing some of the blame on other officials for sending her classified information.

Speaking during an interview with CNN, the presumptive Democratic nominee said her use of a private email account as secretary of state was a "mistake."

"That is something that, at the time... seemed like a convenience, but it was the wrong choice," she added. "I am certainly relieved and glad that the investigation has concluded."

FBI chief James Comey on Tuesday, July 5, recommended that no charges be brought over Clinton's email use during her time as State Department chief from 2009 to 2013. The Justice Department on Wednesday, July 6, accepted the recommendation, bringing the probe to an end.

However, Comey said the FBI investigation had found Clinton was "extremely careless" in sending classified information via her personal email account, and that 110 emails had contained classified information.

Clinton had said there were none whose content was classified at the time they were written.

In her interview Friday Clinton deflected some of the blame toward "people in government, mostly in the State Department" with whom she communicated "who did not believe they were sending any material that was classified."

"I do not think they were careless," she said. "I just believe that the material... was being communicated by professionals, many with years of handling sensitive classified material, (who) did not believe that it was."

Comey's rebuke of Clinton fanned the controversy and could still complicate her increasingly tight race against Republican rival Donald Trump.

He and other Republicans have cried foul over the lack of charges, alleging that Clinton's influence helped her escape criminal proceedings.

Clinton on Friday maintained she was unaware at the time that she had sent classified information.

"I certainly did not believe that I received or sent any material that was classified," she said, adding that emails containing classified information were "not marked or were marked inaccurately."

The State Department said Thursday, July 7, it will reopen its internal investigation into whether Clinton compromised her handling of classified material. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Barely a week after Liza Maza became the lead convenor of the National Anti-Poverty Commission, NAPC officials that served the previous administration urged her to “pause and consider the facts” before making any judgment call on the work done by the agency over the last 6 years.

In a letter to Maza dated July 8, NAPC officials led by Undersecretaries Florencia Dorotan and Patrocinio Jude Esguerra III called on her not to join the Left in attacking the agency, but instead "defend NAPC's integrity where there is no reason nor evidence to believe otherwise.”

"You are now its leader," officials said.

The other signatories to the letter are Director Natividad Bernardino, head executive assistant Jessica Cantos, and executive assistant Alicia Raymundo.

"We hope that this letter gives you pause. Pause to consider the facts. pause to defer conclusions. Pause to entertain the possibility that you are in luck for having inherited an institution that is not as bad as your comrades have led you to believe. Pause long enough to realize that the burden of proof has to be on those who make accusations," they said.

The officials were referring to a recent Manila Today report that alleged that the “Akbayan-led NAPC was riddled with corruption issues with coco levy fund.” It also raised the issue on the agency's hiring of consultants, which cost P28 million and was questioned by the Commission on Audit in 2012.

In the letter, the NAPC officials dismissed as malicious and ill-informed the  Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas' allegation that the NAPC, under the stewardship of Joel Rocamora, tried to access P1.6 million from the coco levy fund.

They said the amount requested by an inter-agency group – not by NAPC – was P1.6 billion, and not a single centavo of the coco levy fund was spent because of a temporary restraining order issued by the Supreme Court. 

The letter also debunked accusations that Bottom-up Budgeting (BuB), an Aquino administration program, is “hidden pork barrel.” BuB allows LGUs, civil society organizations, and non-governmental organizations to have their projects funded by the national government.

Detailing the steps taken in the BuB process, the officials pointed out that this is in fact, a “rigorous” process and keeps local officials from making unlimited recommendations.

This is not the first time NAPC fought for the reforms implemented by the Aquino administration. A few weeks before stepping down, Rocamora urged government beneficiaries to defend key pro-poor reforms by the Aquino administration – especially the BuB.

From a program that covered 609 poor municipalities when it was first implemented in 2013, this year, the BuB was implemented in all municipalities and cities across the country, NAPC said in a statement.

The BuB has a menu of programs, among them, the Integrated Community Food Production (ICFP), a program initiated by NAPC to help poor communities fight hunger and malnutrition by growing their own food.

The officials said they support Maza's statement that she would call for a NAPC audit outside the regular audits conducted by the Commission on Audit, but until any irregularities in fund use are proven, she should refrain from making any unfounded allegations.

After all, they added, that while they have different views and opinions, they share the same common goal: to eradicate poverty

According to Maza, leading the NAPC in the next 6 years is an opportunity to bring about change in the country, the campaign platform of the Duterte administration. She said she will focus on rural development.

‪"Bilang NAPC head, ibibigay ko ng lubos ang aking makakaya para tugunan ang mga responsibilidad at pangangailangan para maisakapatuparan ang agenda ng pamahaalan para sa mahihirap," she previously said.

‪(As NAPC head, I will give my best to take on the responsibilities and to do what has to be done to realize the government’s agenda for the poor.)‬– Rappler.com

DALLAS, United States – Thousands of protesters took to the streets in US cities Friday, July 8, after a black extremist shot dead five cops during a peaceful march against police brutality in Texas.

President Barack Obama said he will cut short a foreign trip and visit Dallas next week as a shooting rampage by the black army veteran bent on killing white police triggered urgent calls to mend troubled race relations in the United States.

Police found bomb-making materials and a weapons cache at the home of 25-year-old Micah Johnson, a Dallas area resident who gunned down the officers before dying in a standoff with police.

Five officers were killed in the late Thursday shooting, including a Dallas transit cop, while seven other officers and two civilians were wounded. (READ: Dallas police shooting: What we know) 

While the White House ruled out any link between the gunman and known "terrorist organizations," Johnson's Facebook page ties him to several radical black movements listed as hate groups.

Described to police as a "loner" with no prior criminal record, Johnson told negotiators before he died that he wanted to kill white cops in retaliation for the recent fatal police shootings of two black men.

The US Army said that Johnson served as a reservist for six years, including a tour of duty in Afghanistan.

The rampage revives an emotional debate over lethal use of force by police, and problems of alleged police bias towards racial minorities, especially African-Americans.

Leaders of the Black Lives Matter protest movement condemned the Dallas violence, but vowed to uphold planned weekend marches.

Vast crowds marched Friday in US cities including Atlanta, Georgia; Houston, Texas; and San Francisco, while scores protested outside the White House.

Addressing thousands of people at a prayer service in honor of the fallen officers, Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings urged Americans to "step up" to heal the country's racial wounds.

"We will not shy away from the very real fact that we as a city, as a state, as a nation are struggling with racial issues," he told the crowd.

Rawlings echoed Obama's message that black lives matter -- and so do "blue" lives, those of police officers.

"We must step up our game and approach complicated issues in a different way," Rawlings said. "And race is complicated."

 'This must stop' 

Obama, who ordered flags on government buildings lowered to half-mast for five days, said that there was "no possible justification" for violence against police.

The president commented on the attacks from the Polish capital, where he was attending a NATO summit. He condemned the shootings as "vicious, calculated and despicable."

The White House said Obama would return to the United States late Sunday, one day ahead of schedule, and visit Dallas early next week.

The shootings – which left nine wounded, seven of them police officers – sparked chaos as people ran for their lives during a march by several hundred demonstrators in the city of 1.2 million, near the site where president John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963.

The peaceful Dallas protest was one of several nationwide over the deaths of Alton Sterling in Louisiana and Philando Castile in Minnesota that prompted Obama to make an emotional appeal for urgent police reform.

The ambush marks the single biggest loss of life for law enforcement in the United States since the September 11, 2001 terror attacks.

"This must stop – this divisiveness between our police and our citizens," Dallas police chief David Brown said.

 'Every rabbit trail' 

Johnson was killed in a tense showdown with police in a parking garage, by a bomb robot sent in by officers after hours of negotiations and an exchange of fire.

"This was a well-planned, well-thought out, evil strategy," said Brown of the gunman.

Bomb-making materials, weapons and ammunition were found in Johnson's home.

"He said he was upset about the recent police shootings," Brown said. "The suspect said he was upset at white people. The suspect stated he wanted to kill white people, especially white officers."

Earlier, officials said three other people had been detained, but it was unclear if any remained in custody.

US Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said the gunman appeared to have acted alone.

However Texas Governor Greg Abbott said police would "continue down every rabbit trail... ensuring that we eliminate any other possible suspects or co-conspirators who may have aided this gunman in any way."

Hate groups 

The gunman told police he was not affiliated with any organized groups.

But Johnson's Facebook page ties him to a number of organizations listed as hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center, which studies such movements in the United States.

Groups that he "liked" include the New Black Panther Party (NBPP) and the Nation of Islam, both known for expressing virulently anti-Semitic and anti-white views, the SPLC said in a statement.

On his Facebook page, Johnson appears with his fist raised wearing an African style tunic against the backdrop of the red, black and green Pan-African flag, all reminiscent of the US black power movement of the 1960s.

Another of his "likes" is a group called the African American Defense League, whose leader called this week for bloody retaliation after the fatal shooting in Louisiana.

"We must 'Rally The Troops!'" the post read. "It is time to visit Louisiana and hold a barbeque. The highlight of our occasion will be to sprinkle Pigs Blood!"– Thomas Urbain, Agence France-Presse/Rappler.com 

MANILA, Philippines – More policies to reduce poverty could have been implemented if officials under the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) met more often during the past administration, said its new chief.

Recently appointed NAPC head Liza Maza told Rappler that the basic weakness of the agency was it never met en banc during the time of former president Benigno Aquino III.

"What they (NAPC officials) told me was that they have crafted many policies and resolutions from their sectoral meetings but none of those were adopted, which could have resolved the problem [of poverty], because they weren't convened to adopt and approve the proposals," Maza said in a mix of English and Filipino.

"Never nag-meet en banc ang NAPC sa panahon ni Aquino. Kasi it should meet en banc kasama ang ahensya ng gobyerno, mga basic sector because it coordinates and it has an oversight function pero ni minsan hindi nameet ni Aquino itong NAPC en banc kaya may basic weakness na 'yun," she said.

(NAPC never met en banc during the time of Aquino. It should meet en banc with different agencies of the government, basic sectors because it coordinates and it has an oversight function. But Aquino never met with the NAPC en banc, so there is a basic weakness there.)

Created through Republic Act 8425, NAPC's role is to oversee the government's anti-poverty program and social reform agenda. It should also bridge the concerns of the local government units and the marginalized sectors in crafting policies and recommendations for poverty alleviation. (READ: NAPC chief to beneficiaries: Defend BUB, Aquino admin reforms) 

Maza's goal: Models for empowering sectors

The former representative of the party-list group Gabriela said that her work as the agency's leader would focus on eradicating poverty rather than simply alleviating it, which has been the direction of anti-poverty programs "since time immemorial."

To achieve this, she said, combating poverty should be a concern of the whole government and not just NAPC and the agencies linked to it.

"Kailangan talaga 'yung macroeconomic policies should be geared towards developing our real economy – 'yung ating agriculture saka 'yung ating manufacturing sector. Kasi kung 'di ganun talagang alleviation lang 'yan," she said.

(Our macroeconomic policies should be geared towards developing our real economy – our agriculture and manufacturing sectors. Because otherwise, it will just be all about alleviation.)

Maza said she wants to develop models for anti-poverty programs. For instance, she said coconut farmers could be taught to make coco sugar instead of just harvesting their produce. In this way, agriculture and manufacturing are integrated to empower farmers who are among the country's poorest.

"This is more far-reaching than offering 4Ps," she said, referring to Aquino's main anti-poverty scheme – the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).

Maza's model is aligned with Social Welfare Secretary Judy Taguiwalo's proposal to include an economic component in the 4Ps.

Both Maza and Taguiwalo, who belong to the progressive Makabayan bloc, want to review and redesign the existing 4Ps, which benefits up to 4 million poor households.

Aside from creating long-term models to solve poverty, Maza vowed to improve consultations with people on the ground, especially sectoral groups.

She said this would be easy for her given her experiences with Gabriela and her recent stint as head of the Working for Empowerment and Good Governance Institute (WeGovern).

'Just' leader from the left

NAPC officials led by undersecretaries Florencia Dorotan and Patrocinio Jude Esguerra III recently urged Maza not to join the Left in attacking the agency.

This was their response to a Manila Today report that bared alleged corruption in NAPC.

Maza, for her part, said she would be fair.

"We are still in the transition process and I am right now studying the work of the commission. I am prepared to listen to all sides in order to form a just and principled opinion on issues brought to NAPC," she told Rappler in a text message. – Rappler.com

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (UPDATED) – A prominent Cambodian political analyst known for his trenchant criticism of the government was shot dead morning of Sunday, July 10, at a convenience store, police said.

The daylight slaying of Kem Ley comes at a time of heightened tensions between strongman premier Hun Sen and the country's political opposition, who accuse the prime minister of launching a fresh crackdown against them.

Police said Kem Ley, a popular commentator and grassroots campaigner, was gunned down as he drank coffee at a convenience store attached to a gas station in the capital Phnom Penh.

"He was shot dead at a mart just before 9am," Kirt Chantharith, national police spokesman, told Agence France-Presse.

A suspect was arrested nearby and confessed to killing the analyst over an unpaid debt, Kirt Chantharith said.

"But we don't believe him yet. We are working on this case," he added.

Cambodia has a long a tragic history of rights and labor advocates being murdered with their killers rarely brought to justice.

An Agence France-Presse photographer at the scene said Kem Ley's body lay in a large pool of blood below a metal table inside the convenience store.

Hundreds of onlookers had gathered as police cordoned off the area. One group of women were in tears, others were visibly angry. His heavily pregnant wife also rushed to the scene and could be seen sobbing outside the store.

Local media showed pictures of the alleged suspect being taken into custody. He appeared injured with blood running down the left-hand side of his face.

Simmering tensions

The killing will do little to lower already simmering tensions inside the impoverished Southeast Asian nation, which has been dominated by Hun Sen for the past 31 years in a reign marred by accusations of corruption, electoral fraud and rampant rights abuses.

Scores of government critics and rights workers have been arrested in recent months while others have been tied up in ongoing legal cases.

Phay Siphan, a government spokesman, described the assassination as "a vulgar and cruel act that is unacceptable".

"His killing will further deepen the complexity of the political situation," he told Agence France-Presse, adding that all sides of Cambodia's political divide needed to remain calm.

The opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party described the murder as a "heinous" act and called on the authorities to bring those involved to justice.

Britain's ambassador in Phnom Penh Bill Longhurst said the killing was "a serious loss to Cambodia".

Kem Ley was critical of both the government and opposition parties, advocating for a new era of clean politics in a notoriously corrupt nation which is expected to hold a general election in 2018.

But the bulk of his criticism was aimed at Hun Sen's ruling party.

The prime minister, a former army commander who defected from the Khmer Rouge, has held power alongside a small but powerful coterie of political allies that have become enormously wealthy.

A report published by Global Witness last week detailed how Hun Sen's family alone had amassed a multi-million-dollar business empire spanning the impoverished country's most lucrative sectors during his rule.

Last week Kem Ley gave a lengthy radio interview welcoming the report, saying it would enable both local voters and foreign investors to have a better idea of how Cambodia's political elite have become so rich. – Rappler.com

SYDNEY, Australia – Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull declared victory for the ruling conservatives on Sunday, July 10, after the Labor opposition conceded defeat despite an ongoing vote count eight days after close-fought national elections.

The declaration ended days of uncertainty about the new government's identity, after a tight race between the two major parties left neither of them with the 76 or more seats required for a parliamentary majority following polls on July 2.

"We've won the election, that's what we've done," Turnbull told reporters in Sydney, adding that he received a call from Labor leader Bill Shorten congratulating him on his re-election as prime minister.

Turnbull's ruling Liberal/National coalition is currently expected to secure 74 seats, and potentially two more, in the 150-seat House of Representatives, according to national broadcaster ABC's projections.

But the Australian leader has won the support of three independent MPs on budget matters and on votes of no confidence, paving the way for him to form a minority government if necessary.

Labor has won 66, and with five independents elected, the opposition does not have sufficient seats to govern in Canberra, according to the projections.

Shorten pledged earlier Sunday in his concession speech that his centre-left party wanted to work well with the government, amid concerns the close result and higher number of minor party and independent lawmakers in parliament could cause gridlock.

Turnbull welcomed his comments and said it was "vital this parliament works" to tackle the challenges Australia faces, including a rocky transition away from a dependence on mining-driven growth.

"Every member of the House and the Senate deserves respect because they have been elected by the Australian people."

Drawn-out count

The two seats the coalition hopes to pick up are among five in the balance, with the electoral commission still completing the painstaking task of counting postal votes and others cast outside people's normal electorates.

Both Turnbull and Shorten said they supported an inquiry into electronic voting, amid the protracted counting process.

"I have been an advocate of electronic voting for a long time... yes, this is something we must look at," Turnbull said.

Shorten added earlier: "I will be writing to Mr Turnbull and saying, 'really, we're a grown-up democracy, it shouldn't be taking eight days to find out who's won and who's lost'."

Turnbull lost the government's comfortable majority in the House of Representatives in last Saturday's election after his campaign on "jobs and growth" and "innovation" failed to resonate equally across the vast island continent.

Australia's politics has been turbulent in recent years, with a "revolving door" of prime ministers in charge. Four different leaders have served since 2013 as parties removed sitting prime ministers.

Turnbull became the nation's fourth prime minister since 2013 when he rolled Liberal leader Tony Abbott in a party vote last September. – Rappler.com

LONDON, United Kingdom – The fallout of the British exit (Brexit) from the European Union remains a big unknown weeks after the historic EU referendum on June 23, an uncertainty that has stoked hopes and fears among the Filipino diaspora.

The Brexit process cannot begin until the ruling Conservative Party elects in October the replacement of Prime Minister David Cameron, who resigned after failing to persuade UK to vote to stay. Changes in trade and immigration laws are expected. 

The son of Filipino and Iranian immigrants to the UK, 24-year-old Iman Forouzan, is upset because he fears that he will lose out on potential jobs. The fresh law graduate studied EU law and has contemplated working in Germany, but is afraid that Brexit will mean British citizens like him can no longer as easily travel, live, and work in continental Europe. 

"If I were to invoke my right to free movement to go to Germany to work, by EU right they cannot discriminate against me. You cannot turn me away. If we pull out of EU, it may become a bit more difficult," he told Rappler. 

The British economy was immediately hit as the sterling plunged to its lowest level, and ratings agencies downgraded UK's credit outlook. But Forouzan is not concerned so much about these, confident that the economy will bounce back soon enough. It is Brexit's impact on immigration that will be long-term, he said. 

Like most young voters, Forouzan voted to remain in the EU. It is the older British voters who wanted out. Forouzan's Filipino mother was inclined to vote out, but he successfully persuaded her to change her mind.

The end of free movement?

Free movement of people and trade is the heart of the EU, composed of 28 countries that agree to follow common economic and political arrangements.  Brexit means the UK will have to rewrite its immigration and trade laws.

Aimee Alado, a Filipino lawyer who migrated to the UK in 2005, regrets the impending return to those days when it was very expensive to travel to another European country. "Before the single market was in full operation, traveling to another EU country was very expensive. It cost me £500 to go to Finland. You can go there now for just 30 quids," she said. 

These are the costs the UK may have to pay for in seeking to limit the entry of other European nationals, one of the key promises Brexit figureheads made during the referendum campaign. It has sparked fears among EU nationals  living and working in the UK – among them with Filipino origins – despite assurances  that they will keep their jobs.

Less money to send to the Philippines?

University student Michael Needham, the son of a British national and a Filipino immigrant, said Filipinos who are depending on remittances from the UK should expect to receive less. 

"I think a big issue is that the British pound will be weaker versus the US dollar, meaning, remittances will be less valuable back in the Philippines," said Needham. 

Like Forouzan, he is counting on the economy to bounce back. But he knows that this will take a while. 

Alado is not so confident about the UK economy, however, especially after hearing news that international companies are withholding investments in the UK. 

"If there is a recession, it means less spending capacity for me. If I'm going to send money back home, it is going to be half of what I used to send," she added.

Easier for Filipinos to migrate to UK?

If there is a positive note, Needham said it is possible that the loss of EU nationals could be the gain of Filipino citizens who want to migrate to the UK. It could mean better chances for Filipinos because they will have the same status as job-seekers from other EU countries. 

"There is a niche minority  – the EU citizens in the UK. In theory, those with EU citizenship can expect that their job security will decrease. They may experience cuts....For Filipinos who are coming over and are still looking to get citizenships, they might see a more of a level playing field," said Needham.

Forouzan and Alado are not as optimistic as Needham, however. They are afraid that new immigration laws will become stricter.

But all of these are mere speculations. "The situation is going to be as is for the next two years. It would really depend on the outcome of UK's negotiations with the EU," said Alado. 

But she is afraid the EU will punish UK for leaving. "What makes you think that it is not going to punished? They will have to set a precedent to other members countries so they will not follow UK in leaving the EU," said Alado. 

Understanding the leavers

Forouzan, Alado, and Needham said they understand why other voters wanted to leave the EU. It is not a perfect organization, but they believe that the UK is better off staying in.

"I had formed my opinion that there are some pros and cons with being with EU. But I believe that UK staying in means we would remain in a stronger position in the world stage," said Forouzan.

The UK has enjoyed "the best of both worlds," he added. The UK joined the EU single market, but was allowed to keep its own currency instead of adopting the euro like everybody else. It was also allowed to opt out of the Schengen zone, an area that requires only one visa, allowing it certain control on the entry of people. 

A number of Filipino-British healthcare workers also voted out based on a promise that Brexit will mean more funding for the health sector. Brexit figureheads have reportedly reneged on this promise, however. 

Forouzan believes many voters also voted to leave to hit back at British politicians, making it a referendum on the current government instead of UK's membership in the EU. 

Grudgingly, Fourozan, Alado, and Needham said they accept the result of the referendum. 

"To play it politely, World War 3 has not happened. I may not be happy by the result. I am heartbroken. But this is the voice of the pople," said Forouzan. 

"As much as I wanted us to remain, you have to respect democracy," said Needham. 

"There’s not much we can do about it. The British public has spoken. I would love to be proven wrong," said Alado. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – It may have been an “unconventional” decision to join the cabinet of President Rodrigo Duterte but Vice President Leni Robredo had no doubts accepting the position offered her.

The offer came at the most perfect time for her, she said. Duterte asked her to be his housing chief on July 7 – the same date her late husband, Jesse Robredo, was offered to be the Aquino administration's interior secretary 6 years ago.

In addition to the seemingly serendipitous event, Robredo said housing was also her husband’s “biggest advocacy.”

“You might have seen how unconventional to join the Cabinet was. Pero again, parang sa akin, iyong during that phone call, it was a brief phone call, parang noong binaba ko ang telepono, parang binalikan ko iyong each and everywhere that was exchanged between us and I just said na the offer, parang ano siya, full circle for both Jesse and me,” Robredo said in a speech at the Ateneo De Manila University.

(You might have seen how unconventional to join the Cabinet was. But again, for me, during that brief phone call, when I put it down, I looked back and I just said that the offer is full circle for both Jesse and me.) 

“Parang when people ask me, nagpaparamdam ba sa iyo si Jesse? Sabi ko, ay naku, kapag nagsabi akong oo, again it’s the understatement of the year kapag nagsabi ako na nagpaparamdam,” she added.

(So when people ask me, does Jesse make his presence felt to you? I tell them, If I say yes, again it's the understatement of the year.)

Unsolicited advice

She may be the 2nd highest official in the country but Robredo is still new to politics. How, then, does she deal with unsolicited advice?

“Sometimes you get affected, sometimes you are thankful. Most of the times you are thankful pero I go by my instinct always. Kasi tingin ko naman ang instincts, iyon ang will of the Lord eh. Iyon ang guidance (Because I think instincts are part of the will of the Lord. That's the guidance),” she said.

With her experiences in life and politics, Robredo said she believes in the saying that everything happens for a reason.

Case in point, she said, was her appointment to the Duterte Cabinet – something that seemed unlikely just a few weeks ago. In fact, the Vice President said she was already preparing to work alone and without any Cabinet position.

Robredo, in an apparent concession, already told her team to just let go of the “ambition” to help the housing sector, as they could not do it without the government’s help.

“And then, this offer came. So iyon na ang gap di ba (So that was the gap, right)? Who would have thought na parang iyong kulang doon sa (that the gap in the) advocacy of the Office of the Vice President was housing and then I was given the housing portfolio so really, gifts come in the most mysterious ways,” Robredo said.

“Maraming ring nag-ooppose, maraming ring ano, pero di ba? Parang you will only tell yourself, kung hindi ito para sa akin siguro hindi naman dapat ginawa ang offer. Because I was prepared not to have any Cabinet post,” she said.

(Many opposed, right? But you will only tell yourself, if this isn't meant for me this would not be offered. Because I was prepared not to have any Cabinet post.)

Robredo is set to attend her first Cabinet meeting on Monday, July 11, a day before a United Nations-backed arbitral tribunal rules on the Philippines' case against China in the West Philippine Sea. – Rappler.com

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Three Indonesians have been kidnapped by armed men off an area in Malaysia, police said Sunday, July 10, where militants from the Abu Sayyaf group have been blamed for repeated kidnappings.

Malaysian marine police chief Abdul Rahim Abdullah confirmed the kidnapping to Agence France-Presse, adding: "It happened close to midnight yesterday. The three were crew in a fishing trawler."

Authorities did not say if they believed the Abu Sayyaf was involved.

The incident happened off Lahad Datu in Malaysia's eastern Sabah state on Borneo island, which is just a short boat ride away from Mindanao in the Philippines.

Islamist guerillas from Mindanao staged a bloody assault in the area in 2013.

Earlier this year, the Abu Sayyaf beheaded 2 Canadian tourists who had been kidnapped and a Malaysian man was beheaded last year.

Seven Indonesian sailors were kidnapped at gunpoint in June.

Also this year, the group kidnapped 14 Indonesian sailors, holding them in their stronghold in the southern Philippines. They were later freed but there was no information on whether a ransom was paid.

The Abu Sayyaf is a loose network of a few hundred Islamist militants, formed in the 1990s with seed money from Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network, that has earned millions of dollars from kidnappings-for-ransom.

Although its leaders have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, analysts say they are mainly focused on lucrative kidnappings.

The abduction was reported a day after Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte said the group's activities do not fit his definition of criminality, as they were driven by "desperation" to commit such acts.

Malacañang reiterated on Sunday, July 10, that the Abu Sayyaf would be held accoutable for all their criminal acts. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – The reimposition of death penalty in the country would likely hurt the Philippine government's efforts to save overseas Filipino citizens (OFWs) on death row abroad, a lawmaker said.

Buhay Representative Lito Atienza said in a statement on Saturday, July 10, that  reviving capital punishment in the Philippines could affect the country's appeals for clemency for OFWs who are facing execution abroad.

“Should Congress reinstate the cruel and inhuman punishment, it would be extremely problematic for us to plead with other governments for compassion, if we ourselves are killing own convicts here – if we ourselves do not respect the value of human life,” Atienza said.

In 2015, OFW Mary Jane Veloso was about to be executed in Indonesia for drug trafficking, but was granted an 11th hour reprieve due to appeals from the government and civil society groups.

Atienza said that based on data from the Department of Foreign Affairs, there are currently at least 88 Filipinos facing the death penalty abroad – mostly in Malaysia and China – for various crimes.

Malaysia is one of the top 10 destinations of OFWs, based on data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration. Other top OFW destinations include Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Qatar, Hong Kong, Kuwait, Taiwan, Bahrain and Canada.

Of these 10, only Canada and Hong Kong have abolished the death penalty.

“Right now, without the death penalty for a long time already, the Philippine government has great moral authority to invoke humanitarian grounds and implore foreign governments for them to show mercy to Filipino citizens who are about to be put to death,” Atienza said.

In his first press conference after winning the May 9 elections, President Rodrigo Duterte vowed to reintroduce capital punishment in the country by hanging.

Duterte has even met with his allies in Congress on Saturday, July 9, and asked them to revive the death penalty.

Through Republic Act No. 9346, the death penalty was abolished in the Philippines in 2006, and replaced with life imprisonment and reclusion perpetua (detention of indefinite length, usually for around 30 years). – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang on Sunday, July 10, said this week will be a historic one for the country, as it awaits several landmark announcements both internationally and locally.

"Ang announcement ko lang ay (My only announcement is that) next week will be a very, very historic week for everybody," Palace Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said over state-run Radyo ng Bayan.

Andanar is primarily referring to the impending decision of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) on the case lodged by Manila against Beijing in 2013 over the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).

Andanar said Solicitor General Jose Calida would have to study the decision before the Philippine government makes its moves.

"Magde-decision na po ang UN Arbitral Court at hintayin na lang po natin ang magiging decision. And kung anuman 'yung lalabas doon ay pag-aaralan po ng ating Solicitor General at from there doon po tayo mag-iisip kung ano po 'yung mga hakbang na dapat gawin ng ating pamahalaan," he said.

(The UN Arbitral Court will soon release its decision and we should just wait for it. Whatever the results will be, our Solicitor General will study it. From there, the government will decide on its next steps.)

The arbitral tribunal in The Hague is set to release its final decision Tuesday, July 12, in a case brought by the Philippines, challenging China's position.

Aside from the international ruling, the Palace official cited President Rodrigo Duterte's Executive Order on Freedom of Information as among the "historic" events that will happen in the coming days.

"At hindi lang po 'yan, meron pa pong mga ibang mga announcements na dapat po nating abangan next week tulad po ng pagpirma ng ating Pangulo ng Freedom of Information executive order at yung mga ibang announcement pa po ng iba't ibang departamento sa executive branch," Andanar said.

(Not only that, there are also other announcements like the President's signing of the Freedom of Information executive order and other announcements from other departments in the executive branch.)

The President himself earlier said he already has the draft of the EO but would want to "review it personally." (READ: Duterte reviewing Freedom of Information EO)

Duterte, during a speech aired on Thursday, July 7, read out the first line of the draft EO: "Operationalizing in the executive branch the people's Constitutional right to information and the state of policies and full public disclosure and transparency in public service and providing guidelines therefore."

He then reminded the public that the EO only covers his branch of government, the executive branch, as he cannot bind the Judiciary and Congress to follow due to separation of powers.

The President added that "it's up to Congress" if they want to pass the Freedom of Information bill. The measure has repeatedly passed in the Senate, but it continues to languish in the House of Representatives. – Rappler.com

JERUSALEM (3rd UPDATE) – Egypt's foreign minister met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, July 10, on reviving peace efforts with the Palestinians, the first such visit in nearly a decade and the latest sign of warming ties.

The trip came amid talk of renewing an Arab peace initiative and with Israel's military having recently saluted "unprecedented" intelligence cooperation with Egypt to combat the Islamic State group.

Speaking to journalists alongside Netanyahu before their meeting, Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said it was a "crucial and challenging juncture for the Middle East."

Resolving the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict would have a "far-reaching and dramatic and positive impact on the overall conditions of the Middle East region," he said.

"Egypt remains ready to contribute toward achieving this goal."

Shoukry also warned of the "constant deterioration" of the situation on the ground since the last round of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks collapsed in April 2014.

He said the current lack of process towards peace was "neither stable nor sustainable," and stressed the need for "serious steps to build confidence" toward the two-state vision.

Netanyahu welcomed Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's "recent offer of Egyptian leadership and efforts to advance peace with the Palestinians and a broader peace in our region."

He also called on Palestinians to engage in direct negotiations, as he has repeatedly done in the past.

'Real opportunity' for peace

An Israeli official said that during the meeting, Netanyahu asked for Egypt's help in returning the bodies of two Israeli soldiers held by Hamas in Gaza, as well as two Israeli civilians detained by the Islamist movement in the Palestinian enclave.

Shoukry responded in the affirmative, the official said.

Netanyahu and Shoukry were to meet again later for talks over dinner at the premier's Jerusalem residence.

Palestinian leaders say years of talks with Israel have not ended the occupation, and have instead pursued international diplomacy to promote their cause.

On June 29, Shoukry met Palestinian leaders during a visit to the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Sisi said in May there was a "real opportunity" for an Israeli-Palestinian deal that could lead to warmer ties between his country and Israel.

In 1979, Egypt was the first Arab state to sign a peace treaty with Israel after years of conflict, and it remains an influential player in the region.

However, ties have been formally cold over Israel's policies toward the Palestinians, and relations further soured after the June 2012 election of the Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi as Egyptian president.

After president Hosni Mubarak's ouster in the 2011 revolution, protesters stormed Israel's embassy in September that year amid clashes with police.

Morsi was ousted in July 2013 by then army chief Sisi, who was elected Egypt's president in 2014.

In June, representatives from 28 Arab and Western countries, the Arab League, European Union and the United Nations met in Paris to discuss ways to help advance peace efforts.

Israel strongly opposes that initiative, which is being promoted by France.

Netanyahu has at the same time spoken of reviving a long-dormant Arab peace initiative dating to 2002.

That proposal essentially calls for Israel to withdraw from the occupied territories and resolve the issue of refugees with the Palestinians, leading to the creation of a Palestinian state, in exchange for normalized relations with Arab countries.

'Existential threat'

But some analysts have questioned whether Netanyahu's comments were an attempt to fend off international critics over his appointment of hardline Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman and his opposition to the French plan.

Netanyahu has said he would seek changes to the Arab proposal. The Arab League has said the terms cannot be changed.

There have been repeated warnings that Israeli settlement building and Palestinian attacks are eroding the possibility of a two-state solution, especially with peace efforts at a standstill since April 2014.

Violence since October has killed at least 214 Palestinians, 34 Israelis, two Americans, an Eritrean, and a Sudanese.

Most of the Palestinians killed were carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks, according to Israeli authorities.

Others were shot dead during protests and clashes, while some were killed by Israeli air strikes in the Gaza Strip.

Egypt and Israel have cooperated in other areas, particularly after jihadists in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula pledged allegiance in November 2014 to the Islamic State group.

In April, Israel's deputy chief of staff spoke of an "unprecedented level of cooperation" with Egypt, mainly regarding intelligence.

Shoukry said the situation in the Middle East was "becoming ever more volatile and dangerous, particularly as the phenomenon of terrorism continues to grow and proliferate, representing an existential threat to the peoples of the region and the world at large." – Rappler.com

SHANGHAI, China (UPDATED) – The world’s top 20 economies will work to boost sluggish global trade despite growing protectionism, overcapacity concerns, and uncertainty over Brexit, G20 trade ministers said at a meeting in Shanghai on Sunday, July 10.

“The global recovery continues, but it remains uneven and falls short of our ambition for strong, sustainable and balanced growth. Downside risks and vulnerabilities persist,” the trade ministers said in a joint statement, adding that trade should remain "an important engine" to spur global growth.

The G20 nations, which account for 85 percent of global trade, admitted that protectionism has been rising since the financial crisis, and said that new trade restrictions in the group had reached the highest monthly average registered since the WTO began monitoring in 2009.

“We note with concern that despite the G20’s repeated pledge, the stock of restrictive measure affecting trade in goods and services has continued to rise,” they said in the statement.

Ahead of the meeting, WTO chief economist Robert Koopman warned that restrictive measures could affect industries including air freight cargo, sea based cargo, automobile sales and production, electronics trade, and agricultural raw materials.

The world’s leading economies at the weekend pledged to oppose trade protectionism and reiterated a promise not to add new protective measures until 2018.

Global trade is expected to grow at a tepid 2.8 percent in 2016, the World Trade Organization (WTO) said in April.

And this year is expected to be the fifth in a row where trade grew at less than three percent -- its weakest sustained level in 30 years, WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo said on Friday ahead of the talks.

To combat the global slowdown, the ministers said they agreed to improve global trade governance and to work towards easing and liberalising trade.

Brexit, China concerns

Concerns over China's production overcapacity in steel have led to trade disputes with the EU and US, and China's vice commerce minister Wang Shouwen said Sunday that the G20 economies "have realized the necessity to take global cooperation to handle the challenge caused by production overcapacity".

But despite claims that China is dumping steel in foreign markets, he said “China’s effort in (handling) over capacity has been highly recognized” by the group.

“While some other countries are talking about how to cut down production, Chinese government has already taken measures which have been effective.”

Meanwhile Britain’s referendum vote to leave the European Union has added new concerns for the recovery of global economic and trade growth.

“Britain leaving the European Union will definitely has some impact on global trade, especially short-term investment,” China’s Wang commented on Sunday.

Britain’s trade minister Mark Price told the Financial Times in Beijing ahead of the weekend talk that tariffs would jump to an average level of at least three percent after its exit from the EU.

He said it’s time to “start exploring options” on trade agreements and “China is making very positive noises at the moment”, the report said. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Long at odds over the issue of human rights, newly-elected Senator Leila De Lima is not backing down from President Rodrigo Duterte's call to revive the death penalty, even if she is part of the majority bloc.

In fact, De Lima is set to file a bill countering death penalty.

"I will be filing soon a qualified reclusion perpetua bill which is sort of an alternative bill, an 'antidote' to death penalty," De Lima told Rappler.

The neophyte senator said the penalty of "qualified reclusion perpetua" would be imposed for the "most heinous crimes," which she and her team are threshing out at present. De Lima said it is "graver" than the current reclusion perpetua but gave no details.

Reclusion perpetua is a penalty for a crime committed under the Revised Penal Code. It mandates the imprisonment of a convict from 20 to 40 years.

De Lima said she hopes her bill would be acceptable to pro-death penalty movers, as it would serve the purposes of retribution.

De Lima vs Duterte?

It will not be an easy fight for the senator. She herself knows this, as it is a fight against the major plans of the highest official of the land.

But De Lima maintained she would work hard to stop the reimposition of the death penalty. She intends to partner with other anti-death penalty advocates here and abroad.

"It will again be a tough battle but we just have to persevere and stand firm," she said.

With these moves against Duterte's proposal and the history between the two, it is not far-fetched that De Lima would be accused of being anti-administration.

De Lima said, however, that she would remain with the Senate majority, with her other partymates in the Liberal Party. If the present talks in the chamber push through, she would be the chairperson of the Senate committees on justice and human rights and on electoral reforms.

The senator added that labels are hardly an issue. She reiterated that she is supportive of the anti-crime and anti-corruption drive of the Duterte administration but not without prioritizing the Constitution over anything else.

"I'm not really concerned about labeling. Just being true to my principles and advocacies," she said.

'Balance'

What she plans to do, De Lima said, is to strike a balance between the two.

"I need to do a lot of balancing act between those twin roles. I am in full support [of] this administration's fight vs criminality [and] drugs, but will continue to defend our Bill of Rights," the senator said.

Duterte and De Lima have long been on opposing sides. In 2014, she had expressed outrage over Duterte's statements that he was ready to kill alleged smuggler Davidson Bangayan.

During De Lima's watch, the Department of Justice (DOJ) launched an investigation into Duterte's alleged involvement in the Davao Death Squad.

The DOJ stopped the probe in May due to the unwillingness of the sole witness to participate after Duterte won in the presidential elections.

De Lima's stance earned the ire of Duterte, who threatened to file charges against her for failing to stop drug peddling at the New Bilibid Prison under the DOJ.

Despite the animosity between the two, however, the President's ally Senator Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III previously said De Lima could still help the Duterte administration. – Rappler.com

ASHKELON, Israel – With an excavation in southern Israel unearthing a Philistine cemetery for the first time, bones of the biblical giant Goliath's people can finally shed new light on mysteries of their culture.

The cemetery's discovery marks the "crowning achievement" of some 3 decades of excavations in the area, the expedition's organizers say.

Some of the site's finds were going on display Sunday, July 10, at the Rockefeller Archaeological Museum in Jerusalem.

Almost 3 millennia since the Philistines were wiped off the face of the earth by Babylonian armies, a US archaeologist was hard at work crouched in one of their funerary chambers at the excavation in the Mediterranean city of Ashkelon.

Brush in hand he delicately extracted from the sandy soil the complete skeleton of a Philistine buried with a terracotta perfume flask, fused to the skull with the passage of time.

"This discovery is a crowning achievement, the opportunity to finally see them face to face," said archaeologist Daniel Master, in charge of the site excavated since 1985 under the Leon Levy Expedition, affiliated with Harvard University's Semitic Museum, among other institutions.

"With these 145 corpses we hope not only to understand their funeral customs, but to collect clues in the bones to understand how they lived, to bring the Philistines to life again," he told AFP.

Bone samples taken from the site are currently undergoing DNA, radiocarbon, and other tests to try to shed fresh light on the Philistines’ origin.

The first graves were discovered in Ashkelon in 2013 on the site of its ancient Philistine port city, which had 13,000 inhabitants at its peak.

Today the area lies in a national park popular with Israeli families from modern Ashkelon who come for a stroll along the seaside lawns and paths.

Sea people?

Who were the Philistines? The origins of this "sea people" – a term also used to describe their Phoenician contemporaries – remain a mystery.

Their red-and-black pottery suggests they may have come from the Mycenaean civilization of the Aegean.

"What is certain is that they were strangers in the Semitic region," where their presence between 1200 and around 600 BC is evident on a thin coastal strip running from present-day Gaza to Tel Aviv, said Master.

Traders and seafarers, they spoke a language of Indo-European origin, did not practice circumcision, and ate pork and dog, as proven by bones and marks found on them in the ruins of the other 4 Philistine cities: Gaza, Gath, Ashdod, and Ekron.

Beyond the previously scanty archaeological record, the Philistines are known mostly from the Old Testament account given by their neighbors and bitter enemies, the ancient Israelites.

The book of Samuel describes the capture by Philistine fighters of the Ark of the Covenant and the duel between their giant warrior Goliath felled by a stone from David's sling.

From these biblical descriptions of savage marauders comes the modern usage of "philistine" to mean a person without culture or manners.

Hard lives

A few hundred meters (yards) from the dig, at its outdoor laboratory, anthropologist and pathologist Sherry Fox told the skeletons' story.

"In their teeth, we can see that they did not have an easy life," she said.

"We see these lines that indicate a growth interruption as the teeth are forming. There were problems in childhood with either fever or malnutrition."

"We also see from their bones that they were hard workers, they practiced inbreeding, and they used their teeth as tools, probably in the weaving industry," she said softly, holding up a skull.

She said they were "normal size" with no evidence of any Goliath-sized giants.

Master said that, despite similar-sounding names, there is no connection between the Philistines and today's Palestinians.

"The words are similar, but not the people," he said.

"We know here in Ashkelon that these Philistines were completely destroyed by (Babylonian king) Nebuchadnezzar in December of 604 BC," he said.

"Everything that came after was very different and a very different group of people."

The 30 years of excavations at the Ashkelon cemetery come to an end this summer, when the dig will be reburied. – Rappler.com

HONG KONG – Hong Kong's leader on Sunday, July 10, blamed a huge rise in rubbish blighting the city's beaches on refuse washed ashore from the mainland, and pledged talks with Chinese authorities to stem the tide.

Environmentalists have posted images on social media of trash covering several beaches, including plastic bottles and packaging with labels written in simplified Chinese characters – used in mainland China but not Hong Kong.

Speaking after a visit to a coastal area Sunday morning, Leung Chun-ying said the refuse had been washed up in the city after heavy rain and floods struck southern China.

"A lot of domestic garbage was washed towards Hong Kong from the mainland... predictably due to heavy rainfalls and floods in the past few weeks," he told reporters on Lantau Island.

The extra waste put an increased burden on cleanup crews, he added, with the amount collected on beaches and other coastal areas "multiple times" what was seen over the same period last year.

"This is an extraordinary situation... we will follow this up with Guangdong relevant authorities," he said referring to the mainland province neighboring the city.

Flooding is common during the summer monsoon season in southern China, but rainfall has been particularly heavy this year and many areas have been lashed by torrential rains this week.

"If you actually look at the trash... it does not look like stuff you find in supermarkets here... this is not like our normally trashed beaches," Hong Kong-based green activist Gary Stokes, of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, said on Facebook.

But he added it is not "a chance to bash China", as the city should also tackle its own waste problems.

"Hong Kong creates more trash per capita than anywhere on earth, our track record on recycling efforts and cleanliness are dire," he said.

Domestic waste is deposited in landfill sites but also litters country parks, coastal areas, and waterways. – Rappler.com