MANILA, Philippines – He hasn’t given up the fight.

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV harked back to the Oakwood mutiny he staged with other military officers in 2003 as the beginning of his fight against corruption. He’s taking the fight even further as he guns for the vice presidency in the 2016 elections.

The 44-year-old naval officer-turned-lawmaker says he will continue his reformist agenda if elected to the post. He has many accolades under his belt, including 47 principally-authored or co-authored bills passed into laws and numerous medals as a military officer.

He is running as an independent candidate, with support from the Samahang Magdalo, a 500,000-strong socio-civic group that traces its roots to the Oakwood mutiny. But he supports the presidential bid of Senator Grace Poe.

Though a close ally of President Benigno Aquino III, Trillanes has taken positions on key issues that are not necessarily the same as the Chief Executive's. (READ: 8 things to know about Antonio Trillanes IV)

As part of Rappler’s #PHVote “The Leader I Want Series,” we look at Trillanes’ stand on issues the next vice president will have to face: corruption, social inequality, climate change and disasters, foreign policy, overseas Filipino workers, and peace in Mindanao.

1. Corruption

The fight against corruption is foremost in Trillanes’ platform. Recently, he played an aggressive role during a Senate probe into corruption charges against Vice President Jejomar Binay, a presidential candidate.

The Oakwood mutiny, the event that catapulted him to the political scene, was in protest of corruption in the military during the administration of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

While still a University of the Philippines Diliman graduate student, he produced two papers on corruption in the procurement sytem of the Navy. These were published by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism.

2. Social inequality

Trillanes was principal author of laws like the Anti-Bullying Law, Expanded Anti-Trafficking In Persons Act, and an Act Increasing the Burial Assistance for Veterans.

He co-authored laws like the amended National Health Insurance Act, Cheaper Medicines Act, Expanded Pag-Ibig Fund Coverage Act, and Expanded Senior Citizens Act.

He was the only senator to vote against the K to 12 law during Senate deliberations. He said the proposed law could adversely affect parents, teachers, and students. He has also called for an increase in the salaries of public school teachers.

3. Climate change and disasters

Trillanes was co-author of the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management System Act, the law that outlined the country’s national disaster preparedness and response plan.

But in the aftermath of Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), Trillanes refiled a Senate bill for the creation of the Emergency Management Agency (EMA) to replace the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC), the body created by the law.

The NDRRMC, Trillanes criticized, was only a council of other departments that had other priorities, while the EMA would be a fully dedicated agency under the Office of the President and would have powers to disburse calamity funds.

4. Foreign policy

Chairman of the Senate committee on defense, Trillanes was a staunch supporter of the controversial Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) between the United States and the Philippines.

A former Navy officer, he said the agreement would lessen the Philippine government’s expenses on modernizing the military. It would also improve cooperation with the US military.

He did not believe that the EDCA should compel the US to intervene in the Philippines’ territorial dispute with China.

In 2012, Trillanes served as a backdoor negotiator with China during the China-Philippines standoff in the Scarborough Shoal that year.

President Benigno Aquino III gave Trillanes credit for reducing the number of Chinese vessels in the disputed shoal. But Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said Trillanes’ role got in the way of government efforts to resolve the standoff.

5. OFWs

When disturbing reports of OFWs being exploited in Saudi Arabia came to light in 2011, Trillanes wanted to investigate the alleged collusion between Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) employees and illegal recruiters.

He urged the Senate blue ribbon committee to probe how recruitment scams were not detected or stopped by the POEA when it was the agency processing the papers of both the OFWs and the recruitment agencies.

In the scam, OFWs were promised jobs as nursing aides but instead ended up working as cleaners who were paid meager salaries.

6. Peace in Mindanao

Following the killing of 44 police officers by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels in Maguindanao, Trillanes said the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law should not be rushed.

Despite being an ally of the Aquino administration that wants the BBL passed, Trillanes said passing the BBL in its current form could give the MILF too much power and resources.

Trillanes also had qualms about the police and military set-up in the proposed Bangsamoro entity. – Rappler.com

Read Rappler's "The Leader I Want Series":

• The Leader I Want: Jejomar Binay's to-fix list for 2016
• The Leader I Want: Mar Roxas' to-fix list for 2016
• The Leader I Want: Grace Poe's to-fix list for 2016
• The Leader I Want: Miriam Santiago's to-fix list for 2016
• The Leader I Want: Gringo Honasan's to-fix list for 2016
• The Leader I Want: Leni Robredo's to-fix list for 2016
• The Leader I Want: Chiz Escudero’s to-fix list for 2016
• The Leader I Want: Alan Peter Cayetano's to-fix list for 2016
• The Leader I Want: Bongbong Marcos' to-fix list for 2016

MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Jejomar Binay said he will not only continue the flagship poverty alleviation program of the Aquino administration, but he will even expand it to cover more senior citizens as well.

Binay made the statement on Saturday, November 21, as he denied reports that he would scrap the government's Conditonal Cash Transfer program if elected as president.

"Ang plano ko nga palawakin pa ‘yan. Isasama po natin ‘yong healthcare, at ‘yong narinig ko na ‘yong mga senior citizen from 60 to 64 ay hindi kasama. Bakit naman kaya? After all, ang mga senior citizen start at 60. Ewan ko kung ano ang explanation kung bakit 65 lang ‘yon nagsisimula," said Binay.

(My plan is to expand it. We will add healthcare, and I also heard that senior citizens from 64 to 65 years old aren’t included. I wonder why. After all, senior citizens start at 60. I don’t know why they started from 65.)

He reiterated that he will "not scrap a good project started by the previous administration, referring to the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), which was introduced by the Arroyo administration and continued by Aquino.

The Aquino administration turned 4Ps, also called the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program, into its flagship poverty alleviation program.

Under 4Ps, a household beneficiary with 3 children can receive P1,400 ($30) a month or P15,000 ($331) a year. In exchange, they have to meet conditions set by the DSWD such as regular health checkups and better school attendance of children.

Include healthcare, senior citizens

However, Binay sees a limitation in 4Ps – it does not provide healthcare nor does it benefit senior citizens. He said he plans to give a regular and automatic allocation for the social protection program.

"'Yung mga bagay-bagay na ‘yon ay dapat nating ituwid. At annually, maisasama na ‘yon sa gastusin ng ating pamahalaan (These should be corrected. Annually, they should be part of the annual expenditure of the government),” Binay added.

Administration tandem Manuel Roxas II and Camarines Sur Third District Representative Leni Robredo had also vowed to continue the program by institutionalizing it. However, it’s not clear whether they plan to expand its coverage if elected.

Binay and other critics had called out Roxas and Robredo for allegedly politicizing the anti-poverty program when they attended the Department of Social Welfare and Development event in  Koronadal City to mark the achievements of the 4Ps program. This happened just two days after they formally entered their bids for the 2016 national polls.

'Recurring deficiencies'

Binay also took issue with the “recurring deficiencies” that the Commission on Audit identified in a recent report, including inaccuracies in the list of beneficiaries, distribution gridlocks, non-receipt or underpayments, non-compliance with requirements, and verification issues.

The program itself has also received its share of flak from other critics who tag it as a mere dole-out program. Critics also claim that some of the program's beneficiaries are not really the poorest of the poor.

However, Social Welfate Secretary Corazon Juliano-Soliman clarified that her agency has already taken steps to address the issues, including the conduct of the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NTHS-PR).

According to Soliman, the NTHS-PR results will serve as basis for the development and implementation of social protection programs of both the national government and members of civic society for “deserving beneficiaries.”– Rappler.com

BAMAKO, Mali (UPDATED) – Investigators in Mali were on Saturday, November 21, hunting at least 3 people suspected of links to the jihadist siege at a luxury hotel in the capital that left at least 19 people dead.

The government has declared a state of emergency after the bloody 9-hour hostage-taking at the Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako on Friday, exactly a week after the Paris massacre.

The Al-Murabitoun group, an Al-Qaeda affiliate led by notorious one-eyed Algerian militant Mokhtar Belmokhtar, nicknamed the "Uncatchable" or "Mr Marlboro," claimed the attack.

Gunmen went on the rampage through the hotel from the early morning, shooting in the corridors and taking 170 guests and staff hostage, many of them foreigners.

The assault, which ended when Malian and international troops stormed the hotel, left 19 people dead as well as two attackers, President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita said.

The victims included several Russians, 3 Chinese, two Belgians, an American, and a Senegalese. 

A Malian military source had said earlier there were at least 27 dead, while at least "3 terrorists had been killed or blown themselves up."

Authorities are now "actively pursuing" at least 3 people over the attack in the former French colony, one security source told AFP.

'Terror will not win'

Keita is due to visit the site of the carnage on Saturday as Mali prepares to begin 3 days of national mourning on Monday.

"Terror will not win," Keita said in a televised address. "Long live Mali."

A security cordon remained in place around the Radisson and security was also boosted around public buildings and banks and other hotels.

The attack came as fears mount over terrorist threats a week after 130 people died in the devastating Paris attacks claimed by the Islamic State group, which also said it had downed a Russian passenger jet in Egypt on October 31.

United States (US) President Barack Obama and his Russian and Chinese counterparts Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping all condemned the attack.

"This barbarity only stiffens our resolve to meet this challenge," Obama said of the global terrorist threat.

Mali has been torn apart by unrest since the north fell under the control of jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda in 2012.

The Islamists were largely ousted by a French-led military operation launched the following year, but large swathes of Mali remain lawless.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also condemned Friday's "horrific terrorist attack," suggesting the violence was aimed at destroying peace efforts in the country.

Dramatic rescue

The assault began around 0700 GMT on Friday, when gunmen pulled up at the hotel and starting shooting their way inside, taking guests and staff hostage. 

Malian television broadcast chaotic scenes from inside the building as police and other security personnel ushered bewildered guests along corridors to safety.

Special forces – including Malian, French and two US soldiers who were also in the area – staged a dramatic floor-by-floor rescue, ending the siege after about nine hours.

In an audio recording broadcast by Al-Jazeera television, Belmokhtar's group claimed responsibility, saying it had worked with Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.

French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Belmokhtar, one of the world's most wanted men, was indeed "likely" the brains behind the assault.

The jihadist is also accused of spearheading an attack on an Algerian gas plant in 2013 in which around 40 hostages were killed, most of them Westerners.

Attackers 'spoke English'

The palatial 190-room Radisson, regarded as one of west Africa's best hotels, is a favourite with entrepreneurs, tourists and government officials from across the world.

Guinean singer Sekouba Bambino Diabate, who was among the survivors, told AFP the gunmen spoke English among themselves.

"They were firing inside the hotel, in the corridors," Diabate said.

France has more than 1,000 troops in its former colony, a key battleground of the Barkhane counter-terror mission spanning five countries in Africa's restive Sahel region.

The attack follows a hotel siege in August in the central Mali town of Sevare in which five UN workers and four soldiers were killed.

Five people, including a French citizen and a Belgian, were also killed in an assault on a Bamako restaurant in March, the first of its kind in the capital. – Serge Daniel and Sebastien Rieussec, AFP/Rappler.com

AKLAN, Philippines – A 63-year-old woman was killed by her own son after he allegedly suffered a severe nervous breakdown at their home in Numancia town in this province.

The father of the suspect said that at around noontime on Friday, November 20, he and his wife were preparing lunch in their home in Barangay Badio when their son, 27-year old Noli Francisco Jr, attacked him and began choking him. 

“Idto halin dun kaina sa banwa it Lezo nag-pabueong sa ispirista. Sinumpung ta imaw tag gaeaha kami it suea sa ilabas (We came from Lezo, Aklan to consult a medium. He had an attack while we were preparing lunch),” the suspect’s father told Bombo Radyo Kalibo.

His wife, Ethelyn, tried to pacify their son but he also choked her. This prompted her husband to leave the house to seek the help of their relatives. 

Francisco attacked his mother with a bamboo pole in full view of witnesses. The suspect told the police that he killed his mother because he thought she was a "demon."

His father also suffered minor head injuries, the police said. 

A team led by Senior Inspector Jerick Vargas, acting Numancia police chief, arrested the half-naked suspect while he was hiding inside their house. They also recovered in the area the bloodstained bamboo pole used by Francisco. 

Vargas said the victim was found lying on the ground outside their house. She was pronounced dead on arrival at a local hospital at around 12:40 pm.

“Naabutan pa natin ang suspek na lumuluhod at parang dinadasalan pa niya habang nakahandusay ang biktima. Parang wala na sa isip ang suspek. Inaresto natin ngunit malakas siya,” he said. 

(When he arrived, the suspect was on his knees, as if praying over the victim. The suspect seemed to be out of his wits. We arrested him but he was very strong.

Still, father's suspect claimed that his son was not a violent person and it was the first time for him to attack them.

Francisco, who is detained at the Numancia police station, faces parricide charges. He is the sixth of 8 children of the Franciscos. – Rappler.com

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Saturday, November 21, confirmed that it has in its custody the decapitated head of a Malaysian hostage in the Philippines.

At the same time, the search for the rest of the victim’s remains continues in Sulu, Western Mindanao Command outgoing commander Lieutenant General Rustico Guerrero said.

The Abu Sayyaf beheaded the male Malaysian hostage around 4 pm on Tuesday, November 17, Rappler sources said.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak identified the hostage as Berhard Then.

Najib on Saturday condemned the beheading of Then in the Philippines. 

“We are ever vigilant against a threat that is very real in our region. Local militants and groups such as Abu Sayyaf have sworn allegiance to the so-called Islamic State. It was they who cruelly murdered our countryman Bernard Then on Tuesday,” Najib said at the opening ceremony of the 27th Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit in Malaysia. 

He was kidnapped nearly 6 months ago from a restaurant in Sabah, alongside a Malaysian woman, Thien Nyuk Fun. The woman was released earlier in November.

According to reports reaching security officials in Manila, the victims remains were immediately buried in the vicinity of Barangay Tanan in Indanan. His head was reportedly thrown down a ravine in the same area.

At around 8:30 pm the same day, a street sweeper reportedly found the kidnap victim's severed head, placed inside a sack with a note bearing the man's name, in Jolo, Sulu.

In the past, the Abu Sayyaf released hostages only after hefty ransoms were paid. 

They have also beheaded captives if their demands were not met. – Richard Falcatan, with reports from Agence France-Presse/Rappler.com

BAGHDAD, Iraq – The Islamic State in Syria and Iraq or (ISIS) jihadist group has claimed an attack at a Shiite mosque south of the Iraqi capital that officials said killed at least 6 people.

ISIS, in a statement, said a suicide bomber named as Abu Hussein al-Ansari carried out the attack inside the mosque, while security and medical officials said it took place nearby after Friday prayers, also wounding at least 19 people.

The ISIS only mentioned the suicide bombing, but officials said it was preceded by a roadside bomb, and that the attack took place after security forces arrived at the scene.

ISIS frequently carries out attacks against civilians from Iraq's Shiite Muslim majority, whom it considers to be heretics.

The Friday attack came a week after a series of bombings claimed by ISIS targeted Shiites in Baghdad, killing at least 19 people.

ISIS overran large areas north and west of Baghdad in June 2014, sweeping security forces aside, and though Iraqi forces have since pushed the jihadists back, the group still holds much of western Iraq.

Bombings in Baghdad have become less frequent since the ISIS offensive last year, apparently because the jihadists have been occupied with fighting elsewhere. – Rappler.com

PARIS, France – French President Francois Hollande will meet British Prime Minister David Cameron in Paris on Monday, November 23, to discuss the fight against terrorism and the Syrian crisis, his office said Saturday.

The meeting opens a week of intense diplomatic exchanges in which Hollande will meet with US President Barack Obama, Russia's Vladimir Putin, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The flurry of meetings comes in the wake of France's worst-ever terror attack which left 130 dead and has exposed holes in European intelligence and border security.

The attacks prompted both France and Russia to step up air strikes against ISIS jihadists in Syria, while pledging to work closer together in combating the group.

ISIS claimed both the Paris attacks and the downing last month of a Russian plane over Egypt, killing 224 people. – Rappler.com

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – US President Barack Obama voiced his determination to put Asia front and center in his foreign policy Saturday, November 21, even as a two-nation visit to the region was eclipsed by jihadist attacks in France and Mali.

America's self-styled "Pacific president" has been frustrated to see a trip to Malaysia and the Philippines – designed to highlight his stated re-focus on Asia – overshadowed once again.

After years of talking about the need to deepen trade, security, and diplomatic ties with the region, White House officials had hoped the trip would be a victory lap.

Twelve countries recently agreed to Obama's Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade pact, and the US pledged to boost security assistance to its ally the Philippines, which is in a confrontation with China over disputed waters.

During the week-long Asia swing, Obama has touted his years growing up in Southeast Asia, vowed to become the first president to visit Laos, and chatted with audience members in Bahasa Indonesia.

But at a Southeast Asian business forum on Saturday, Obama had to begin by talking about events half a world away in Mali, where at least 21 people died in an attack by gun-toting jihadists.

Obama condemned the "barbarity" and stressed the need to combat violent jihadism globally.

Later Saturday, Obama made a long-planned visit to a refugee centre that took on a domestic political hue, thanks to a bitter debate over Syrian and Iraq migrants in the United States.

During his stop at the Dignity for Children Foundation, Obama knelt down to chat to children aged between 7 and 9 years about their art work and hopes for the future.

Many at the small, well-appointed center, complete with a pet bunny, were members of Myanmar's persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority, which was at the center of a dramatic boatpeople crisis earlier this year.

He later said the kids were "the face of not only refugees from Myanmar – that's the face of Syrian children and Iraqi children."

"When I sat there and talked to them, they were drawing and doing their math problems; they were indistinguishable from any child in America," he said.

Thwarted pivot

Trying to get back on message, Obama made the case to the region, if not the distracted American public, that "security and prosperity of the Asia Pacific is vital to the national interests of the United States." 

"When I became president, I made a strategic decision that after a decade in which the United States had focused so heavily elsewhere, especially the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, that we would rebalance our foreign policy and play a larger and long-term role here in the Asia Pacific."

"While I've been in office, we've boosted our exports across Asia by more than 50%, to record levels," he said.

"We've strengthened our alliances. We've modernized our defense posture. More US forces are rotating through more parts of the region for training and exercises." 

With the TPP deal yet to navigate its way through a hostile Congress, Obama also made the case for US ratification.

US allies are skittish that the deal may not be signed into law before Obama leaves office in early 2017.

"A new trade deal like TPP can be a tough sell," he admitted, before insisting "TPP is a win for the United States. I'm not going to be shy about this."

Positioning himself as the salesman-in-chief for US industry, Obama even took to boosting a host of sectors including farmers – "there is no steak like American steak," he said.

Obama, who heads homes Sunday, November 22, also had a message for his hosts in Malaysia, deciding to meet civil society groups who have come under pressure from an increasingly heavy-handed government.

"When you have a strong civil society, you have a government that's more accountable," he told the group.

"Malaysia, as a country that traditionally has a wide range of ethnic groups and religious faiths and a tradition of tolerance, very much benefits from the multiplicity of voices that need to be heard," Obama said.– Rappler.com

SHANGHAI, China – China on Saturday, November 21, pledged Aus$20 million ($14.5 million) to help fund the search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, the government said in a statement, after the plane vanished in 2014.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, who is visiting Malaysia, made the offer in a meeting with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, according to the statement posted on the central government website.

Australia is leading the difficult search in the southern Indian Ocean for the plane which mysteriously diverted off course on March 8 last year and disappeared with 239 people on board – the majority Malaysians and Chinese.

Li was quoted as saying that he hoped Malaysia and Australia would continue the search and maintain "effective communication" with China. 

In September, French officials confirmed that a wing part found on a remote Indian Ocean island was from the ill-fated plane, a month after tests on the flaperon began. 

Based on satellite analysis of the plane's likely trajectory, searchers are scouring the seabed off Australia's west coast, so far covering some 60,000 square kilometers.

The search area is scheduled to have been completely combed by the end of June 2016. 

"There's still a lot of territory to cover and still a very high prospect that we will find the aircraft there," Martin Dolan, chief commissioner of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, said last month.

 "If the aircraft is in the [search] area, which we think highly likely, then we will find it." – Rappler.com

PARIS, France – Paris has extended a ban on public gatherings introduced after the terror attacks in the French capital until November 30, the start of United Nations (UN) climate talks, the city's police headquarters said Saturday, November 21.

In a statement, the prefecture recalled the "extreme seriousness" of last week's attacks, which left 130 people dead and prompted the government to put in place a 3-month state of emergency.

Authorities have already banned two citizens' rallies planned around the climate summit that will be attended by 138 heads of state and government after the worst-ever terror attack on French soil.

The French government has said it will not "give in" to terrorism and insists the long-anticipated conference will go ahead.

A state of emergency put in place immediately after the November 13 attacks was this week extended to 3 months.

It allows government to place under house arrest anyone considered to be a threat to security, and police to launch raids without advance authorization from the courts.

Hundreds of such raids have taken place this week, turning up weapons arsenals in people's homes – a rocket-launcher in one case – and the flag of the Islamic State group which claimed the attack.

While the state of emergency does not allow control of the press, the interior ministry reserves the right to block websites or social media accounts promoting terrorism.

It also allows authorities to dissolve groups or associations participating in, facilitating or inciting acts which threaten public safety. – Rappler.com

MOSCOW, Russia – Russia has offered to send an Alsatian puppy to France in a gesture of solidarity after a police dog was killed during a raid on jihadists linked to the Paris attacks.

Russia's interior minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev said he had written to his French counterpart Bernard Cazeneuve offering to send a puppy named Dobrynya to replace Diesel, a Belgian Shepherd killed in a huge raid north of Paris last Wednesday.

Kolokoltsev said that as "a sign of solidarity with the people and police of France," he was offering the puppy, which "will be able to occupy the place in service of the police dog Diesel killed during a special operation to neutralise terrorists."

The dog is named after a hero of Russian folk legend, Dobrynya Nikitch, famed for his strength, goodness, and courage, he added.

The ministry late Friday posted pictures of the small fluffy puppy and a video of him playing with a ball, which can be viewed here.

The puppy was also shown on state television on Saturday. 

Dobrynya is two months old and lives at a police dog center in the Moscow region, Channel One television reported. He will have to undergo medical checks and quarantine before going to France.

Two dog handlers from Moscow police's special forces also posed with their dogs and signs with the hashtag "Je Suis Diesel" on the service's Instagram account.

"Our 4-legged friends also serve the police, protecting society from terrorist threats," the Moscow police service said.

The hashtag #JeSuisChien (I am a dog) trended on Twitter after French police announced that 7-year-old Diesel died in the raid targeting Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the suspected ringleader of the November 13 attacks in Paris that killed 130 people.

Three people died during the massive operation at the apartment in Saint-Denis north of Paris – Abaaoud, his cousin Hasna Aitboulahcen, and a suicide bomber who has yet to be identified.

Seven people arrested during the raid were freed on Saturday. – Rappler.com

MOSCOW, Russia (UPDATED) – Six Russians who worked for a cargo airline were killed in the siege at a luxury hotel in Mali, the foreign ministry said Saturday, November 21.

In all, 12 Russians – all staff at the Volga-Dnepr airline – were caught up in Friday's hostage-taking in Bamako, but 6 were freed.

Those who died "were shot by gunmen in the restaurant literally in the first minutes of the terrorist attack on the hotel," the ministry said. (READ: Mali hunting at least 3 suspects over hotel attack)

President Vladimir Putin condemned the attack, which was claimed by the Al-Murabitoun group, an Al-Qaeda affiliate run by a notorious one-eyed Algerian militant.

"The inhuman crime committed in Mali's capital again confirms that terrorism knows no borders and is a real danger for the whole world," he said in a statement released by the Kremlin on Saturday.

"People of different nationalities and beliefs become its victims, and it is only possible to confront this threat with the broadest international cooperation."

Five of the dead Russians were from the central Ulyanovsk region, governor Sergei Morozov told RIA Novosti news agency, announcing that Monday would be a day of mourning in the region. 

The foreign ministry said the Bamako assault was "aimed at destabilising the situation in Mali and wrecking the process of settling the conflict within the country".

Volga-Dnepr is a private charter airline with 17 planes, according to its website.

In August, a Russian United Nations contractor was among those rescued from an attack at another hotel in central Mali. – Rappler.com

DHAKA, Bangladesh – Two top Bangladeshi opposition leaders who are expected to be hanged within days sought clemency from the president Saturday, November 21, in a last-ditch attempt to escape the gallows, the country's justice minister said.

Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid and Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury, facing execution for their roles in Bangladesh's 1971 independence war with Pakistan, have sent mercy pleas to the home ministry, Anisul Huq told AFP.

"It won't be treated as a mercy petition by an ordinary condemned prisoner, which means it will be treated on an urgent basis," the minister said.

The two leaders have exhausted all legal appeals to avoid execution and their fate now rests with President Abdul Hamid, who has the power to pardon or commute the death sentences of any convict. 

Mujahid, 67, is the second most senior member of Bangladesh's largest Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami, while Chowdhury, 66, is an ex-lawmaker and a top aide to Khaleda Zia, leader of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party.

Bangladesh's Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed their final legal appeals, upholding the leaders' death sentences originally handed down by a controversial war crimes tribunal in 2013. 

The president will seek advice from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina before making a decision, Huq said, adding the Supreme Court's decision to uphold the sentences "reflected the desire of the country."

Mujahid's son, however, questioned whether his father had in fact sought mercy from the president.

"To seek mercy is to admit guilt. But my father has all along said that he is innocent, innocent, innocent," Al Ahmad Mabrur, the condemned man's youngest son, told AFP.

Chowdhury's son Humam Quader Chowdhury also cast doubt on the mercy plea.

"Until I hear it from my father, I refuse to believe anything the government says. It's an attempt to humiliate him," he said.

The pair are among more than a dozen leaders of the opposition alliance convicted by a tribunal set up by the secular government in 2010.

The convictions triggered the country's deadliest violence since independence, with some 500 people killed, mainly in clashes between Jamaat-e-Islami activists and police.

There are fears the latest verdicts could spark fresh unrest in the Muslim-majority nation, which is reeling from a string of killings of secular bloggers as well as the murders of two foreigners in recent months.

Jamaat called a nationwide strike on Thursday, declaring Mujahid's original trial "farcical" and "aimed at eliminating" the party's leadership. 

International rights groups and legal experts have also criticised the trial, saying it fell short of international standards.

On Friday, New York-based Human Rights Watch asked Bangladesh to halt the "imminent executions" of Mujahid and Chowdhury, citing "serious fair trial concerns surrounding their convictions." – Rappler.com

ILOILO CITY, Philippines –  “I am on the threshold of running for the presidency. I am on the brink,” said Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday, November 21, on the sidelines of a doctors’ forum in Iloilo City.

He was elaborating on a speech he made earlier during the forum, saying the option for him to seek the presidency is now “on the table,” a statement greeted by thunderous applause from the forum participants.

While he reiterated during his speech that the presidency still “did not appeal” to him, the recent Senate tribunal decision thumbing down the disqualification case against Senator Grace Poe’s presidential bid might just push him to gun for it. 

In his belief, Poe, being a foundling, is not a natural born citizen and is thus not qualified to seek the highest post in the land. 

“I’m terribly disappointed. Pwede pala maski hindi natural born (Even someone who is not a natural born citizen can run). I’ve been warning to everybody, I said I am not interested, it does not appeal to me and I do not have a need for it. Pero ‘pag ganito ang laro ng ating bayan (But if this is how the game is played in our country), then the option to run is on the table,” he said.

Duterte reasoned that while the United Nations Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness declares that foundlings are to be “deemed citizens,” it stops short of declaring the foundling a natural-born citizen, one of the requirements for being the president of the Philippines.

If future jurisprudence were to look at the recent SET decision, it would mean even naturalized citizens can run for president, reasoned Duterte, a stickler for following the law to the word. 

“Why is [the requirement] exacting? it is exacting because of the presidency,” he said, adding that he believed the presidency is “sacred.”

“I have nothing against Grace. But bigyan mo na lang ako ng Ifugao, Badjao. Bigyan mo na lang ako ng plumber, karpentero o accountant, basta Pilipino okay lang. ‘Wag mo akong bigyan ng hindi Pilipino,” he stressed.

(I have nothing against Grace. But give me an Ifugao, Badjao. Give me a plumber, a carpenter, or an accountant as long as they are Filipino. Don’t give me someone who is not Filipino.)

Visibly distressed, he recalled reports that Poe had used her American passport during trips abroad. 

“There is a central rule by the Supreme Court which says when you use an alien passport thereby representing you to be a citizen of another country, you have renounced the Philippine citizenship. Why is it not followed? Eh kung ganoon, kanya-kanya na tayo (If that is the case, let’s just go our own separate ways),” he said. 

Asked after his speech if the SET decision was the sign from God he was waiting for in deciding to run for president, Duterte said, “Maybe.”

His statements of being “on the brink” of joining the presidential race are a development from previous declarations that he was only “half a percent” convinced he should run.

He had disappointed supporters by not filing his candidacy for president but a Commission on Elections policy on substitution allows him to take the slot of a withdrawn candidate from the PDP-Laban party. 

'I'll do it my way'

Duterte went on to elaborate on what he would do for the country if he is elected, something he had done often even when he had said he was out of the race. 

“Pagka dumating ako diyan, presidente, then you can be very sure I will not sit there at ipupusta ko ang buhay ko pati kulong ko, and everything and even go to jail after. Hindi ako dadaan sa presidency na walang mangyari. Kailangan may mangyari o ayaw ko; that’s the deal.” 

(When I get to the presidency, then you can be very sure I will not sit there and bet with my life, even go to jail after – I won’t go through the presidency without anything happening. Something has to happen or I don’t want it; that’s the deal.) 

Among the specific things he would do? Put up a railway system along the Pasig River, the only thoroughfare in Metro Manila that did not suffer from conflicting rights of way.

A nod to supporters of the Freedom of Information Act, he said he would “open all the books” and be "transparent with everything."

Though he “can’t give heaven,” he promised “a comfortable country" for everyone.

"You can go out at night and you don’t have to worry about your children,” Duterte said.

About Metro Manila traffic, he said the root problem was the unchecked purchasing of cars. As for airport infrastructure, the main challenge was the number of airplanes approaching Metro Manila airports despite the lack of runways to accommodate all the traffic. 

Alongside his vision of a better Philippines, he warned that if his efforts to improve the country were to be blocked by a corrupt Congress, he would “declare a revolutionary government” and “close down Congress.”

“Because I have to solve so many problems, stop fucking me….If you want me to do it, then I’ll do it but in my way,” he said. – Rappler.com

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis heads to Africa this week for the riskiest trip of his papacy, defying danger with an open-topped popemobile and visits to a slum, refugee camp and mosque despite security fears following jihadist attacks.

The Argentine pontiff will urge efforts towards peace, social justice and conciliation between Islam and Christianity on his travels to Kenya, Uganda and the Central African Republic (CAR) during the five-day trip from Wednesday.

His bodyguards will be working overtime in a region riddled with jihadist violence and following a spate of deadly attacks from France to Turkey and Mali by gunmen claiming to be acting in the name of Islam.

The 78-year-old, a self-appointed defender of the downtrodden, will give 19 speeches on his 11th foreign trip, meeting with victims of war, child soldiers and AIDS sufferers, as well as those who live in extreme poverty.

The Vatican has warned the CAR part of the trip could be changed or cancelled entirely if security risks increase.

But Francis is keen for it to go ahead, particularly the planned opening on Sunday of a "Holy Door" in Bangui's cathedral 10 days before the start of the Jubilee Year, a period devoted by the Catholic Church to forgiveness and reconciliation.

"If he opens the Holy Door in Bangui, a Jubilee Year will begin for the first time ever in the periphery" rather than the Church's seat in the Vatican, Giulio Albanese, an African expert with Radio Vatican, told AFP.

"It would be the best summary of the pope's doctrinal attitude," of a humble Church dedicated to the poor, he said.

It may not happen: Vatican police warned Friday the schedule could change and sources say CAR's acting president Catherine Samba Panza could cut the visit to a few hours in Bangui airport under the watchful gaze of UN peacekeepers.

A visit to a camp for people displaced by the conflict, a stop to pray at a mosque in Bangui's notoriously dangerous PK5 neighbourhood and a mass in a sports stadium in the capital would be scrapped, disappointing thousands of pilgrims.

Social exclusion, corruption

Before CAR, Francis will travel to Kenya and Uganda, where a respective 32% and 47% of the populations are Catholic, and where the threat of attacks by the Somali Islamist group al-Shabaab is ever present.

It will not be the first papal appearance in either country: the pope's globe-trotting predecessor John Paul II travelled to Kenya three times, while Uganda holds the honour of having been the first African country to be visited by a pope, with Paul VI going in 1964.

On his first visit, Francis is expected to slam inequality and corruption within all spheres of life, from politics to the Church.

The fight to tackle poverty will dominate both his trip to Kenya's vast Kangemi slum – a multi-ethnic shanty town home to some 100,000 people – and a Ugandan charity centre in Nalukolongo.

"The problem of social exclusion is serious in both countries. In Kenya, for example, 75% of the wealth is owned by one percent of the population," Albanese said.

With international climate change talks in Paris just around the corner, all eyes will be on the pontiff's speech in Nairobi to the UN's Environment Programme (UNEP) and Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat).

Francis is a fierce environmentalist and is unlikely to temper his words when discussing global warming and the exploitation of the Earth for profit, tightening the screws on the world's political leaders before crunch time at the talks, which begin on November 30.

In Uganda, he will honour Christian martyrs persecuted for religious, cultural, political or sexual motives, celebrating a mass to commemorate the first African saints – 22 young men burned alive in 1886 by royal order because they refused to renounce their faith or become sexual slaves. – Jean-Louis De La Vaissiere, AFP/Rappler.com

PARIS, France – On November 30, some 120 heads of government and state will kick off a high-stakes negotiation to curb global warming and help poor countries cope with its impacts.

The parlay runs until December 11. 

The objective: the first-ever universal climate deal to include all of the 195 nations under the umbrella of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. 

Dozens of issues have stymied the negotiations, now into their third decade. Here are the key points of contention: 

Mitigation

All countries agree that greenhouse-gas emissions which drive warming must be curbed. But by how much?

The UN has endorsed a global warming ceiling of 2ºC (3.6ºF) over pre-industrial levels.

But poor countries and low-lying, small-island states – which will be hit first and hardest by climate change – call for a tougher goal of 1.5ºC (2.4ºF).

Timing is important too: To have a 50/50 shot at 2ºC, global CO2 emissions must peak by 2025 and drop dramatically thereafter, scientists say. 

Fairness

The 1992 UNFCCC charter enshrines the principle that rich countries – historically responsible for warming – should do more to fix it.

That divide was codified in the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which went into force in 2005 and placed emissions-curbing targets on industrialized nations. The United States did not ratify the plan. 

Much has changed since the principle of "differentiated responsibility" was set in stone nearly 25 years ago.

Fast-growing China and India have become the world's number one and four carbon emitters, and erstwhile "developing" countries have scaled the economic ladder.

At the same time, the European Union and United States have reduced their per capita carbon emissions.

Developing nations insist that industrialized countries should do more to cut emissions, having polluted for much longer. But rich countries insist on liability for all.

The hugely contentious issue touches on all aspects of the deal – from setting emissions goals and agreeing on a review system, to the flow of climate aid.

Money

One of the few concrete decisions to come out of the 2009 UN climate conference in Copenhagen was a pledge from rich economies to muster $100 billion (93 billion euros) per year in financial support for poor countries from 2020.

The money will help develop technology and build infrastructure to cut emissions. It will also be used to adapt to climate impacts – like rising seas and spreading deserts – which can no longer be avoided.

Exactly where that money will come from and how it will be distributed have yet to be worked out.

More recently, least-developed countries, small-island and developing states have sought additional payment for climate "loss and damage." Rich nations balk the concept of "compensation".

Review

The proposed Paris accord will have as its backbone a roster of voluntary national pledges for reducing carbon emissions. 

China, the United States and the EU – which together account for more than half of global CO2 pollution – have submitted theirs, along with more than 150 other nations.

But scientists say the sum of global commitments will not meet the 2ºC objective.

As a result, some countries have proposed putting in place a process to "ratchet up" national emissions efforts and financial commitments.

There are disagreements about when the first review of national actions must take place, how often it should be repeated, and whether there should be a duty on countries to automatically ramp up action. – Rappler.com

YANGON, Myanmar (2nd UPDATE) – At least 90 people have died in a huge landslide in a remote jade mining area of northern Myanmar, officials said Sunday, November 22, as search teams continued to find bodies in one of the deadliest disasters to strike the country's shadowy jade industry.

Those killed were thought to have been scavenging through a mountain of waste rubble dumped by mechanical diggers used by mining firms in the area to extract Myanmar's most valuable precious stone.

The massive landslide crushed dozens of flimsy shanty huts clustered on the barren landscape, where an unknown number of itinerant workers had made their homes in the hope of finding riches on the side of the secretive multi-billion dollar jade industry in war-torn Kachin state.

"We found 79 dead bodies on November 21 [and] 11 today so the total so far is 90," said Nilar Myint, an official from the local administrative authorities in Hpakant, northern Kachin, adding that the rescue operation was ongoing. 

"We are seeing only dead bodies and no one knows how many people live there," he told AFP, adding that only one person had been pulled alive from the rubble, but had died soon after. 

Myanmar is the source of virtually all of the world's finest jadeite, an almost translucent green stone that is prized above almost all other materials in neighboring China. 

Landslides are a common hazard in the area as people living off the industry's waste pick their way across perilous mounds under cover of darkness, driven by the hope that they might find a chunk of jade worth thousands of dollars. 

Scores have been killed this year alone as local people say the mining firms, many of which are linked to the country's junta-era military elite, scale up their operations in Kachin. 

'Dystopian wasteland'

Nilar Myint said rescuers workers from the Myanmar Red Cross, the army, police, and local community groups were all at the scene trying to dig people out of the earth, but their efforts have been hampered by poor weather conditions overnight in the remote region.

In an October report, advocacy group Global Witness estimated that the value of jade produced in 2014 alone was $31 billion, the equivalent of nearly half the country's gross domestic product. 

But that figure is around 10 times the official $3.4 billion sales of the precious stone last year, in an industry that has long been shrouded in secrecy with much of the best jade thought to be smuggled directly to China.

Local people in Hpakant complain of a litany of abuses associated with the mining industry, including the frequency of accidents and land confiscations.

The area has been turned into a moonscape of environmental destruction as huge diggers gouge the earth looking for jade. 

Itinerant miners are drawn from all parts of Myanmar by the promise of riches and become easy prey for drug addiction in Hpakant, where heroin and methamphetamine are cheaply available on the streets.

"Industrial-scale mining by big companies controlled by military families and companies, cronies and drug lords has made Hpakant a dystopian wasteland where locals are literally having the ground cut from under their feet," said Mike Davis of Global Witness, calling for firms to be held accountable for accidents.

The group wants the jade industry, which has long been the subject of United States sanctions, to be part of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), a global scheme designed to increase transparency around natural resource management. – Kelly Macnamara, AFP/Rappler.com

SEOUL, South Korea – Former South Korean president Kim Young-Sam, whose election pulled down the final curtain on more than 30 years of military rule, died on Sunday, November 22, hospital officials said. He was 87.

The pro-democracy activist who served as president from 1993-1998, was suffering from a serious blood infection and died shortly after midnight, several days after being hospitalized with a high fever, Seoul National University Hospital president Oh Byung-Hee told reporters.

South Korean President Park Geun-Hye expressed "deep condolences," her spokesman said. Seoul announced a state funeral for Kim, to be held on Thursday after four days of mourning.

Kim's term was bookended by two major events, the first nuclear crisis with North Korea in 1994 and the Asian financial crisis of 1997-98, when he accepted a $58 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund.

He also had the two generals who served as presidents before him indicted and convicted on treason charges, although he pardoned both men at the end of his presidency.

A leading figure in the pro-democracy movement, Kim was twice placed under house arrest for a total of two years in the early 1980s.

He stood in South Korea's first free direct presidential election in 1987, but split the opposition vote with fellow activist Kim Dae-Jung, allowing the former general Roh Tae-Woo to take office.

He defeated Kim Dae-Jung in the 1992 election and was inaugurated the following year – becoming only the third civilian to hold the office and first since 1962.

Anti-corruption drive

In office, Kim launched a popular anti-corruption campaign and had his two predecessors, Chun Doo-Hwan and Roh, arrested on bribery charges that later morphed into trial for mutiny and treason.

Both men received lengthy prison sentences but served only two years before being released under a presidential pardon.

Kim's anti-graft drive was later tarnished after his son was arrested on charges of bribery and tax evasion.

The start of Kim's presidency was marked by the first crisis over North Korea's nuclear programme, triggered by Pyongyang's announcement in 1993 that it would withdraw from the non-proliferation treaty (NPT).

As North Korea began removing spent fuel from its Yongbyon nuclear reactor which could be reprocessed into weapons-grade plutonium, military tensions on the Korean peninsula sky-rocketed.

At one point, the US military drew up plans for a strike against the Yongbyon facility -- an act that Kim staunchly opposed on the grounds that it would almost certainly lead to a full-scale conflict.

The crisis ended with a deal brokered by former US president Jimmy Carter in June 1994, which led to the "Agreed Framework" under which the North agreed to freeze and eliminate its nuclear facilities in exchange for two US light-water reactors.

That deal collapsed in 2002.

Financial crisis

The end of Kim's presidency was clouded by the Asian financial crisis -- still known in South Korea as the IMF crisis, because of the massive bail-out negotiated with the world lender.

The terms of the deal were widely seen by South Koreans as a national humiliation and an infringement of the country's economic sovereignty.

In his farewell address to the nation as president, Kim apologised for a five-year term that had failed to fulfil its initial promise.

"I cannot but frankly admit that my efforts fell short of your expectations," he said.

"My heart aches because of the heavy responsibility that weighs on my mind whenever I think of your suffering because of the current foreign exchange and financial crisis," he added.

Kim was born into a rich fishing family in 1927 when the country was still under Japanese colonial rule.

As a member of the ruling party of South Korea's first president Syngman Rhee, Kim was elected in 1954 as the youngest member of the National Assembly.

But a few months later, he broke with the ruling regime over a constitutional issue and joined the opposition – a move that was followed by decades struggling against military rule. – Rappler.com

GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Philippines – Armed men believed to be communist guerrillas attacked a pineapple plantation in Maasim, Sarangani and burned 3 heavy equipment owned by Dole Philippines (Dolefil) on Saturday, November 21, according to the military here.

Col. Ronald Villanueva said 3 suspected members of the New People’s Army (NPA) flagged down one of the vehicles and siphoned fuel from the tank which they used in torching one bulldozer, a tractor, and a ‘Saddam’ truck owned by the pineapple company.

Villanueva said the attack happened at 9 am Saturday in the sub-village of Blat in Amsipit, Maasim town.

No one was hurt, although police sent to investigate the area said the NPAs were armed with an AK-47, an M-16 armalite rifle, and a .45 cal pistol. 

There was no immediate statement from Dolefil although lawyer Rene Almero, legal counsel for Dolefil, later denied earlier reports 3 company guards were killed in the attack.

“Per our security manager, nobody was hurt and the incident is already being investigated by Maasim PNP,” Almero said in a text message.

Villanueva, commanding officer of the 1002^nd Infantry Brigade here, believed the attack was a ploy to divert attention away from ongoing operations by government soldiers belonging to the 27^th Infantry Battalion against the NPA. 

“They could be feeling the pressure or they did not get what they wanted from the company,” he added in a telephone interview. 

He said the attackers were monitored to have withdrawn towards the direction of the nearby border town of Tboli. 

“The NPAs are holed up in the tri-boundary of Kiamba and Maasim in Sarangani and Tboli in South Cotabato,” Villanueva added.

The attackers are believed to be member of the Front 73 guerrilla unit of the NPA.

Maasim is a former hotbed of the communist rebel movement until setbacks forced the NPAs to abandon its third guerrilla front in the Far South Mindanao Regional Command in the mid-2000s.

They, however, are making a comeback over the last 2 years where former University of the Philippines Mindanao Student Council chair Rendell Ryan Edpan Cagula, who joined the NPAs, was slain along with 3 other rebels in an encounter with government soldiers in November 2014.– Rappler.com

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – With the symbolic bang of a drum, Southeast Asian leaders declared the establishment of a single market and production base despite predictions that it will take years before it will be fully realized. 

The 10 leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) signed the declaration establishing the ASEAN Community, calling it a “historic milestone” for the regional bloc. It will be Asia's first sub-regional community. 

The ASEAN community is set to formally take effect on December 31, 2015. It includes the 3 ASEAN pillars, with economic, political and security, and socio-cultural components. (READ: A united region: The ASEAN Community 2015)

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, this year's ASEAN chairman, said that the group has a lot of work left to do despite the declaration on the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC).  

“We now have to ensure that we create a truly single market and production base, with freer movement of goods and services. For that – with common standards, far greater connectivity, and the removal of the barriers that make our borders a hindrance to growth and investment – will be one that is primed to expand, exponentially,” Najib said at the signing ceremony on Sunday, November 22.

The prime minister cited a forecast that ASEAN has the potential to be the 4th largest economy in the world as early as 2030. If measured as a country, ASEAN is now the 7th largest global economy with a combined GDP of $2.5 trillion. 

“There is so much we stand to gain economically that will benefit the daily lives of all our citizens,” he said. 

ASEAN includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.  

Protectionist barriers, economic disparity  

The AEC aims to facilitate the free flow of goods, services, capital and labor across the region, with some observers comparing it to the European Union. The goal is for investors to tap easier logistics to enter the regional market. 

Analysts though said that not much will change when the AEC takes effect by year-end. 

Challenges to economic integration include non-tariff and protectionist barriers, infrastructure, multiple and contrasting rules, and improving workers' skills. 

Sanchita Basu Das, fellow and lead researcher at the Singapore-based ASEAN Studies Centre, predicts it will take 10 to 15 years more before benefits from AEC are seen.

“What we have to see yet is how the rules and regulations are getting harmonized in the region. So if you have different customs rules, then it's likely taking more time to import and export across the countries in ASEAN,” she said. 

Basu Das added that ASEAN members who are not yet ready for integration may become more nationalistic. Traditionally protected sectors in ASEAN include agriculture, steel, and motor vehicles. 

Poor infrastructure in many parts of the region also hinder investment and the ease of doing business. 

The region also has a wide economic disparity. The rich and middle-income economies – Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines – are at more advanced stages of development compared to Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia. 

Continuity roadmap  

To help monitor the implementation of the ASEAN Community, leaders signed another document called "ASEAN 2025: Forging Ahead Together." It sets the vision for ASEAN in the next 10 years.  

Among the goals for the AEC after 10 years is to advance “a single market agenda through enhanced commitments in trade in goods, and through an effective resolution of non-tariff barriers; deeper integration in trade in services; and a more seamless movement of investment, skilled labour, business persons, and capital.” 

The leaders also committed to put in place policies supporting innovation, a “science-based approach to green technology and development,” and to embrace digital technology. 

ASEAN also pledged to improve policies to support micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which account for at least 50% of ASEAN economies. (READ: Is Nanay Tess' bagoong ready for ASEAN integration?)

To achieve the vision, the leaders vowed to strengthen the Jakarta-based ASEAN Secretariat, and to increase the efficiency of the work of ASEAN organs and bodies.

ASEAN leaders also plan to increase the organization's presence in national, regional and international levels.

The declaration of the ASEAN Community is part of the bloc's efforts to strengthen ASEAN.

It is deepening ties with its partners, entering into new strategic partnerships with the United States and New Zealand. Other ASEAN partners include Australia, China, Japan, Russia, South Korea, India, and the United Nations. – Rappler.com