MANILA, Philippines – Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday, December 8, downplayed a warning from human rights group Amnesty International (AI) about his presidential bid because of his human rights record.

Duterte said his bad human rights record “started as a political gimmick” of his then-rival, former Davao Representative Prospero Nograles.

Duterte told reporters, “700 daw ang pinatay ko? Nagkulang ho sila sa kuwenta.” (I killed 700? They underestimated the figures.)

Reporters laughed, then one of them asked, “Ilan po talaga, Sir?” (How many, Sir?)

Duterte answered, “Mga 1,700.” (Around 1,700.)

Known as “The Punisher,” Duterte made this statement as he “reaffirmed” his certificate of candidacy at the Commission on Elections on Tuesday.  

Duterte is the Philippines’ leading presidential candidate in a recent survey. He espouses a strongman type of leadership that reminds the public of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, who was ousted by a peaceful revolution in 1986. 

His comment comes a day after AI Philippines said Philippine presidential candidates have ignored human rights in their campaigns.

Quoted by the Philippine Daily Inquirer on Tuesday, AI said it has monitored Duterte’s moves “for the longest time.”

AI Philippines chair Ritz Lee Santos III said their group is alarmed at Duterte’s claim that he wants to carry out the death penalty “on a weekly basis,” according to the Inquirer.

'Killing people is corruption'

In May, the New York-based Human Rights Watch already said the Philippine government should investigate Duterte’s “possible role” in the extrajudicial killings of suspected criminals.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), for its part, also warned the public on December 1 about Duterte.

The CBCP slammed Duterte for cursing Pope Francis in a recent speech, and without accusing him of anything, delivered a litany of crimes that form “a great scourge of Philippine politics.”

One of these crimes is murder. “Killing people is corruption. Killing is a crime and a sin whether it is done by criminals or public officials no matter what the intention,” the CBCP said in a statement titled, “Mayor Duterte?”

Still, Duterte remains firm: In an interview with Rappler’s Maria Ressa last October, the mayor stressed that he is willing to kill to ensure peace.

“When I said I’ll stop criminality, I’ll stop criminality,” Duterte said. “If I have to kill you, I’ll kill you. Personally.” – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – One of Senator Grace Poe's accusers, Rizalito David, challenged 5 members of the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) to resign as senators if the Supreme Court declares Poe as not a natural-born Filipino.

"If the Supreme Court upholds our allegations that she is not a natural-born Filipino citizen, I challenge them to resign as senators for violating their oath of office, that is, to protect and uphold the sanctity of the Constitution and uphold the rule of law," David told reporters on Tuesday, December 8, after filing a petition for certiorari before the SC.

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<blockquote class="twitter-video" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">EARLIER: Rizalito David asks senators who voted in favor of Grace Poe to resign if SC declares her not natural-born <a href="https://t.co/gHqek6Z8hQ">pic.twitter.com/gHqek6Z8hQ</a></p>&mdash; Jee Y. Geronimo (@jeegeronimo) <a href="https://twitter.com/jeegeronimo/status/674170008499449856">December 8, 2015</a></blockquote>
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He also applied for a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction on the SET decision not to disqualify Poe as senator.

In his petition, David highlighted the dissenting opinions of 3 SC justices who voted in his favor: Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, Associate Justice Teresita Leonardo-de Castro, and Associate Justice Arturo Brion. Senator Nancy Binay concurred with the justices.

But majority of the SET members voted to uphold Poe's natural-born status: Senators Paolo Benigno "Bam" Aquino IV, Pia Cayetano, Loren Legarda, Vicente "Tito" Sotto III, and Cynthia Villar. (READ: Senate tribunal upholds decision in favor of Grace Poe)

David's camp has insisted the 5 senators voted based on "political considerations." David's lawyer, Manuelito Luna, said they included in their petition evidence to support this allegation.

"I pity our 5 senators for not being able to live up to the expectation and for desecrating our Constitution because even an ordinary layman could properly appreciate that foundlings like [Poe] are not within the ambit of the Constitutional definition of natural-born," David's lawyer Manuelito Luna told reporters.

David expressed his disappointment over the senators' votes, especially since his camp did not ask any of the senators to inhibit from the case.

"We know for a fact that, for example, Senator Sotto is very close to the family of Grace Poe-Llamanzares. Loren Legarda was the running mate of FPJ in 2004….We respected their office, that's why we never asked them to inhibit themselves, and yet when the time came that they had to make a decision, they did it along political lines," he explained.

David also denied allegations from Poe's camp about groups behind this disqualification case, as well as other cases pending at the Commission on Elections.

"Sa haba-haba na ng panahon na ginagawa natin 'to, wala naman silang maituro. Mas maganda siguro itanong natin sa kanila, sino 'yung nasa likuran nila, sino 'yung nagbibigay kay Grace Poe-Llamanzares ng daan-daang milyon para mangampanya this early?" David asked.

(We've been doing this for a long time already, and yet they could not pinpoint anyone. I think it's better to ask them: who's behind them, who is giving Grace Poe-Llamanzares hundreds of millions of pesos to campaign this early?)

He added: "Dapat 'yun ang tanungin natin, at 'wag nila akong tanungin, dahil hanggang sa ngayon, wala akong pera para sabihin nila na mayroong nasa likuran ko na gumagawa nito."

(We should ask that, and they shouldn't ask me, because until now, I don't have money for them to say someone's backing me in this case.) – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang on Tuesday, December 8, criticized presidential candidate Senator Grace Poe for hitting the Aquino administration’s Daang Matuwid program. 

In an apparent reminder to Poe, Palace Communications Secretary Sonny Coloma said the senator was once allied with the administration, having been a former Movie and Television Review and Classification Board chairperson and senatorial candidate of the administration slate in 2013.

“For the past 5 years, Senator Poe had identified herself with the government’s priority reform programs on inclusive growth anchored on Daang Matuwid that have resulted in poverty alleviation, increased employment, and improved revenue collection,” Coloma said in a statement.

Speaking at the 70th anniversary of the Philippine Government Employees Association-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, Poe hit the administration’s so-called Daang Matuwid (Straight Path).

“Sabi nila, meron na raw nagawa na matuwid na daan. Tuwid nga, ma-trapik naman,” said the senator, who ran on the same platform in 2013. 

(They say they have already achieved the 'Straight Path.' The road may be straight, but the traffic is bad.)

“Sa madaling salita, meron din mabuti na nagawa ang huling administrasyon. Pero kailangan din nating magising sa katotohanan: hindi lahat ng naisagawa nung nakalipas na anim na taon ay nakapagbigay ng ginhawa sa karamihan. Marami pa rin ang naghihirap, nagugutom at walang pag-asa,” Poe added, referring to the problems of contractualization, transportation, and incompetence in government service.

(To cut it short, the administration has done something good but we have to wake up to reality: Not all their actions in the past 6 years have provided relief for the majority. Many people are still in poverty, hungry, and losing hope.)

With this, Coloma was quick to defend the administration, saying Poe has so far failed to offer alternative projects and solutions to the public.

“Recently however, Senator Poe has been promising to surpass the administration’s accomplishments without offering concrete alternative programs, which our people have the right to expect from presidential candidates such as herself,” Coloma said.

He maintained the 2013 elections proved that the Aquino government is doing its job well. After all, he said the administration slate Team PNoy won 9 out of the 12 senatorial seats, led by Poe with 20 million votes. – Rappler.com

LAGUNA, Philippines – Almost everyone in the crowd was clad in yellow, and the familiar “Daang Matuwid (Straight Path)” hymn was playing in the background – typical for a political sortie featuring Liberal Party (LP) standard-bearer Manuel Roxas II.

There was a congressional bet, a gubernatorial bet, and two vice gubernatorial bets. In the vote-rich province of Laguna, two candidates are vice gubernatorial bets – by virtue of affiliation and coalition with the ruling LP.

There’s Laguna Provincial Board member Angelica Jones, a member of the LP; and then there’s current Laguna Vice Governor Katherine Agapay, a member of the Nacionalista Party (NP). Laguna is among a handful of provinces in the Philippines where two major parties in the Philippines – the LP and the NP – have coalesced for the 2016 national elections.

The LP’s candidate for governor is incumbent Governor Ramil Hernandez, who is running against disqualified governor ER Ejercito, an opposition ally.

In two of the the 3 cities Roxas visited on Tuesday, both Jones and Agapay were onstage, alongside Hernandez, Laguna 1st District Representative and Santa Rosa mayoral candidate Dan Fernandez, and a host of local politicians.

Roxas made it a point to introduce both candidates, one after another, but was careful not to refer to either as the “next vice governor” of the province, unlike other local bets.

“Laguna is lucky because it has two vice governors,” Roxas even quipped during a multi-sectoral assembly in San Pedro City.

The awkwardness was not lost on members of the audience who giggled and pointed out the situation when either of the two vice gubernatorial bets would be introduced.

Hernandez, in a chance interview with reporters, said long before the coalition was forged, both bets had already decided to run for vice governor.

It’s only a glimpse of the unique situation in Laguna, where political support does not always toe party lines. While there’s an NP and LP coalition in the province, NP leaders have yet to pick a vice presidential bet.

Three members of the NP in the Senate – Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, and Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr – are all running for vice president. Hernandez never mentioned the name of LP vice presidential candidate Camarines Sur Representative Leni Robredo, although LP members in Laguna were generous in endorsing Robredo to their constituents.

Taking Laguna

Roxas has been a frequent Laguna visitor, even before announcing his plan to run for president. The former interior secretary frequented the province during turnovers of police patrol cars and fire trucks to different local government units.

Laguna is also where Roxas lost badly in 2010, when he ran for vice president under the LP.

While Vice President Jejomar Binay garnered over more than half a million votes in the province, Roxas barely mustered 340,000 votes, according to official Commission on Elections data. As of the 2013 elections, Laguna had over 1.5 million voters.

“The signs are positive. At ang pinakamahalaga rito ay mayroon tayong tinutuntungan na matibay na pundasyon ng delivery ng makatotohanang nangyari na sa ating bansa. Damang-dama ng ating mga kababayan. Sila mismo ang nakakapagsabi sa mga kaginhawaan na nakarating sa kanilang pamayanan,” said Roxas in a chance interview with reporters, when asked about his chances in the vote-rich province come 2016.

(The most important thing here is that we have a solid foundation to stand on, of concrete changes happening in the country. Our countrymen feel this. They themselves talk about the improvement they're experiencing in their communities.)

Roxas’ campaign is hinged on the promise of continuing the reforms and programs – results of “Daang Matuwid” – that President Benigno Aquino III started.

Each of his visits to the cities of Santa Rosa, Biñan, and San Pedro featured a testimony from a beneficiary of the Aquino administration’s flagship poverty alleviation program, the Pangtawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), improvements in public health care, and the Performance Challenge Fund for local government units.

“Nandun nakabalot sa istorya ni Mommy Isadora kung ano ang ipinaglalaban natin eh (Mommy Isadora’s story encompasses what we’re fighting for),” said Roxas, who turned emotional in Santa Rosa when he spoke to a 4Ps beneficiary on-stage.

“Sino ba ang may gusto ng daang baluktot? O daang madilim? O daang paikot-ikot lang, wala namang mararating? Or daang namamasyal yan, walang direksyon… daang malubak? (Who wants to go down a crooked path? A dark path? Or a long and winding road with an unclear destination? Or a path where you just go around aimlessly, without any direction; or a path full of potholes?" Roxas asked.

"Dito, hindi lang sa Santa Rosa, hindi lang sa Laguna pero sa ating buong bansa ang istorya nila Isadora, nila Leonora…ay totoo. Hindi po ito photo-op, hindi pang tarpaulin lang. Ang kanilang mga pamilya – ang inyong mga pamilya – makakapagsabi na na-touch kami, na-touch kami sa katas ng ating pagtatahak sa Daang Matuwid,” said Roxas, taking indirect potshots at his rivals.

(Here, not just in Santa Rosa, not just in Laguna, but in the entire country, the story of Isadora, or Leonora, is real. This is not just a photo-op, not just for tarpaulins. But their families – your families – can say that we've been touched, we’ve been affected by the results of Daang Matuwid.)

Even if he is the administration candidate, Roxas is not the dominant bet in a crowded presidential race. According to a recent survey that was privately commissioned by a Davao-based businessman, Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has an overwhelming lead over Roxas, Binay, Senator Grace Poe, and Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago.

Surveys commissioned and designed for public consumption, meanwhile, rank Roxas third, or in a virtual tie with all other candidates. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Supporters of Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr trooped to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Tuesday, December 8, to urge Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte to choose Marcos as his running mate.

Supporters of Marcos, who is running for vice president, gathered in front of the Comelec as early as 8 am on Tuesday, alongside sympathizers of Senator Alan Peter Cayetano.

It was a sea of Duterte-Marcos and Duterte-Cayetano banners, as supporters waited for Duterte to visit the Comelec. (READ: Duterte 'reaffirms' presidential bid in Comelec)

(See the banners in the video below)

Cayetano is Duterte’s chosen vice presidential bet. Still, Marcos loyalists said the mayor known as “The Punisher” should choose the dictator’s son instead.

Dave Diwa, 63, explained that in recent surveys, Duterte has fared the lowest in the island group of Luzon.

In a recent Social Weather Stations survey, most respondents in the Philippines, at 38%, said they will vote for Duterte as president.

Broken down into island groups, the survey showed 26% will vote for Duterte in Luzon, 44% in the Visayas, and 50% in Mindanao.

Diwa said: “Ang weakest point ni Duterte ay Luzon, north Luzon. Kaya si Bongbong, kung magkakatulungan sila, tiyak na ‘yung panalo ni Duterte.” (The weakest point of Duterte is Luzon, north Luzon. So if he and Bongbong can help each other, Duterte will surely win.)

Ilocos Norte, which is located in Northern Luzon, is Marcos’ bailiwick and the birthplace of his father.

Long-time Marcos loyalists

Diwa also addressed criticisms that Marcos’ father was behind human rights abuses, including the murder of critics.

Referring to the younger Marcos, Diwa said: “Sinabi mo, anak lang naman siya e. Wala naman siyang kinalaman sa mga nangyari.” (You yourself said it, he’s just the son. He didn’t know anything about what happened.)

Carrying a pro-Marcos banner, 59-year-old Julita Orolfo, for her part, said she is supporting the younger Marcos because she also supported his father.

Lito Gomez, 59, is also supporting Marcos because he once supported the late dictator.

Gomez defended the senator’s father despite human rights charges against him. 

“E hindi naman siya corrupt, kasi lahat naman ng kinuha, nandoon naman sa Malacañang,” he said. (But he is not corrupt, because everything he got remains in Malacañang.) – Rappler.com

LE BOURGET, France – Developing countries on the frontline of climate change devastation deserve an exact number.

This was one of the main points raised by the Philippines during a high-level session on the second day of the Paris climate summit’s final week. Environment Secretary Ramon Paje delivered the Philippine statement in front of other ministers.

“The Philippine delegation is seriously concerned about the fact that there is not enough provision in the draft Paris Agreement that provides for adaptation finance for the developing countries most vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change,” he said.

In the current draft of the agreement, the world’s action plan against climate change, “no reference to the amount of finance needed for adaptation” is given in a crucial part of the document which deals with finance, lamented Paje. 

“My delegation hereby further intervenes to ensure clear reference to a collective target for adaptation with solid quantitative and qualitative goals for target-setting and progression,” he added.

Protection for the vulnerable

The Philippines, a country battered annually by strong typhoons and now suffering one of the worst El Niño events in history, has been one of the countries aggressively pushing for solid commitments in climate adaptation finance.

This means funds from developed nations intended to help poorer nations protect their citizens against impacts of the climate crisis – including freak storms, devastating drought, and sea level rise. 

Adaptation finance is one of the most contentious issues up for discussion in the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. 

In fact, all of the adaptation finance provisions in the document were recently taken out, said a climate negotiations insider. 

It’s no surprise that poor, vulnerable countries like the Philippines and small-island states in the Pacific like Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu, as well as drought-affected African countries, are demanding more specific commitments on funding and assistance.

Paje reiterated the Philippine position calling for the total amount of adaptation finance to be reviewed every 5 years. This amount should also be made public, must be grant-based and based on specific needs of the vulnerable countries.

He also reminded ministers about the other major clarion call of vulnerable nations: that the goal of the Paris agreement should be to limit warming to below 1.5°C instead of below 2°C.

What’s in a number? According to scientists, though 2°C could avert climate disaster for some countries, this goal cannot protect countries extraordinarily exposed to climate hazards – countries like the Philippines.

Some 112 countries back the Philippines’ call for this more ambitious, and more difficult target.

The Philippines was recently ranked the top 4th country affected by climate change impacts from 1995 to 2014.

Its experience of Super Typhoon Haiyan (local name Yolanda), which in fact happened during a similar climate summit in 2013, has made it the "poster child" of climate change. 

Filipino negotiators have said the country's tremendous losses from climate-linked disasters have given the country the moral high-ground to demand a more ambitious Paris climate deal.– Rappler.com

Bookmark to watch the livestream with Al Gore on Rappler

PARIS, France – Al Gore, renowned environmentalist and former vice-president of the United States, will be at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference.

Gore, who talked about the realities of climate change in his 2006 documentary "An Inconvenient Truth," will speak at the Global Climate Change Communication event.

Watch it live on Rappler. – Rappler.com

COTABATO, Philippines – At least 6 people were killed when suspected Muslim guerrillas clashed with armed Christian settlers in the southern Philippines on Tuesday, December 8, in a feud over land, police said.

At least 30 armed men, suspected to be from a Muslim rebel group, descended on the southern town of Tulunan on Mindanao island and began harassing Christian farmers at noon, said Senior Inspector Ronnie Dillera, the town police chief.

The Christians fought back, triggering a gun battle that lasted about 3 hours and left 3 villagers and 3 Muslim gunmen dead, he added.

The clash was an offshoot of a dispute over a 10-hectare (25-acre) lot between Christians and Muslims in the area, the police chief added.

Although the Philippines is largely Catholic, there is a significant Muslim minority which counts the southern region as its traditional homeland.

Christian settlement in the south has led to violent clashes with Muslims over the years including a Muslim insurgency that has claimed over 100,000 lives since the 1970s. – Rappler.com

KANO, Nigeria – Boko Haram gunmen have torched almost an entire village near the northeast Nigerian town of Chibok from where over 200 schoolgirls were kidnapped, a resident who fled and a local elder said Tuesday, December 8.

The raid in Takulashi village happened on Sunday and saw the Islamists loot food supplies, two days after fighters stole more than 200 cattle from the same location.

Recent months have seen a reduction in such hit-and-run raids in rural northeast Nigeria, in an indication the rebels' ability to strike has been reduced by an army counter-offensive.

But sporadic raids still occur and there is concern about an increase in suicide and bomb attacks in urban centers.

A group of insurgents on bicycles and on foot invaded the farming and herding community at about 6:00 am (0500 GMT) on Sunday, shooting indiscriminately and setting fire to homes.

"They burnt more than 100 homes in the village. Only five houses were spared the inferno," said a resident who gave his name as David, after fleeing to the nearby town of Askira Uba.

The attackers loaded food supplies onto four vehicles they took from the village and burnt four more they were unable to take with them. The rest of the supplies were set on fire.

"We will have to wait till everybody is back to know if there were any fatalities in the attack," Ayuba Chibok, a community leader in Chibok, told AFP. 

"We are making contacts with the residents who fled to locations where there is a phone network.

"We thought the worst had happened after Boko Haram rustled over 200 cattle in the village on Friday."

In April last year 12 people were killed when gunmen attacked Takulashi in the wake of the abduction of 276 schoolgirls from their school in Chibok by Boko Haram.

Fifty-seven girls escaped soon afterwards but nothing has been seen or heard from the remaining 219 in captivity since a video in May 2014. – Rappler.com

LONDON, United Kingdom – The British government condemned comments by US presidential hopeful Donald Trump as "wrong" on Tuesday, after the Republican frontrunner said Muslims should be barred from entering the United States.

British Prime Minister David Cameron "completely disagrees" with the remarks, which are "divisive, unhelpful and quite simply wrong," a spokeswoman for the Conservative leader said.

Trump called for a "total and complete shutdown" of Muslims entering the US on Monday, in the wake of a mass shooting in California by a Muslim couple believed to have been radicalized.

The statement, the latest in a series of increasingly virulent remarks by Trump in recent weeks, was quickly attacked by presidential rivals and was described as "totally contrary" to US values by the White House.

Despite broad public outrage at many of his remarks, billionaire real estate mogul is leading in polls of likely Republican voters and is the clear frontrunner for the conservative party's nomination as presidential candidate for the 2016 US election.

In a speech on Monday, Trump read part of his statement aloud and said the ban on Muslims entering the US should remain "until our country's representatives can figure out what the hell is going on."

His campaign did not clarify whether the proposed ban would be imposed on both tourists and immigrants, or whether it would affect American Muslims based abroad. – Rappler.com

TAIPEI, Taiwan – Hundreds of Taiwanese took to the streets to protest the acquittal of a tycoon accused of selling tainted cooking oil, in a string of food scandals that has sparked widespread anger.

Wei Ying-chung, ex-chairman of Ting Hsin Oil and Fat Industrial Co., was found not guilty last month along with five others by a district court in central Taiwan. He could have faced a 30-year jail term if convicted.

Prosecutors have appealed the ruling, as a fresh wave of public outcry against the company surfaced with consumers boycotting its products.  

"It is unacceptable that Wei was acquitted. We want Ting Hsin to close business and the government to know people's anger at its failure to ensure food safety," said Monico Lo, an organiser of the protest. 

Holding placards reading "destroy Ting Hsin" and "punish black-hearted toxic business", protesters marched in downtown Taipei before rallying in a square near the presidential office.  

"They didn't get the punishment they deserved and they will continue to sell tainted food," said a 23-year-old protester who gave her family name as Liu. 

Ting Hsin Oil is a unit of food giant Ting Hsin International Group – founded by Wei and his three brothers – which owns the Master Kong instant noodle brand popular in Taiwan and China. 

Wei was indicted in October 2014 on charges that his company made and sold cooking oil adulterated with imported animal fat extracted from unhealthy animals.  

However, the court said prosecutors failed to prove that Ting Hsin imported raw materials from Vietnam that were not suitable for human consumption or that the company's products were manufactured under unsanitary conditions. 

Wei was also chairman of Wei Chuan Foods Corp -- also under the Ting Hsin group -- which was involved in two other scandals including selling "gutter oil" -- reclaimed from used cooking oil. 

The head of another Taiwan firm was given a 20-year-sentence in July for his role in a "gutter oil" scandal in which hundreds of tonnes of cakes, bread, instant noodles and dumplings had to be removed from shelves in Taiwan and Hong Kong. 

Taiwan's government passed a tougher food safety law in 2013 but the public has demanded an amendment to raise jail terms and fines further. 

"I am really fed up by the food scandals. The government needs to revise the law to leave no loopholes for big food companies to evade responsibilities," said college student Wang Po-chieh at the rally. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – It’s a problem that often makes headlines in the country but the Liberal Party's (LP) vice presidential bet says that for the most part, Metro Manila’s infamous congestion is something not many from the provinces can relate to.

“Using the lens of someone coming from the provinces...kasi doon sa amin, Pia, hindi maka-relate yung tao sa traffic kaya tingin ko rin, pagkatapos gawin lahat yun, parang yung mas long term solution, tingnan na talaga yung pag-spur ng rural development," Camarines Sur 3rd district Representative Leni Robredo said on Thursday, December 10, during CNN Philippines’ Town Hall at the Far Eastern University.

(Using the lens of someone coming from the provinces...for us in the provinces, we can’t relate to traffic so I think after we solve that, the more long-term solution would be to really spur rural development.)

Robredo and the LP’s standard-bearer, Manuel Roxas II, were asked by CNN Philippines anchor Pia Hontiveros about their plans for the worsening traffic and transportation woes of the country’s megacity.

“Nobody wants traffic and we want to solve this. Now, the solution is, in fact, already being built,” said Roxas, who then went on say that the two North Luzon Expressway and South Expressway connectors are under construction.

Roxas also talked about his plans to rationalize Metro Manila’s bus system and to improve existing transportation infrastructure that have long been overstretched.

“We need to keep investing in infrastructure," he said.

"Nahuli tayo nang konti dahil talagang umusbong ang ekonomiya natin, pero ginagawa na ito. At sa mas mabilis na panahon ay magagawa yung pang karagdagang pang imprastraktura," added Roxas, who was Aquino’s transportation secretary for over a year before he was named interior secretary.

(We got left behind a litte because the economy flourished, but this is being done. And at the soonest possible time, we will build additional infrastructure.)

Robredo, who said her strength as a candidate is her exposure to the grassroots, had another solution to traffic: Make sure those from the provinces would no longer find any need to work in Metro Manila.

“Kaming taga-probinsya, kung meron lang kaming choice na hindi pumunta sa Manila, hindi kami pupunta. Pero pumupunta dito lahat dahil nandito yung opportunities. Pero pag nag-invest tayo sa rural development, maglagay ng maraming a, hindi na lahat magfaflock sa Manila, hindi na sikip na sikip yung Manila,” she said.

(We from the provinces, if we had a choice, we wouldn’t come to Manila anymore. But we come here because the opportunities are here. But if we invest in rural development, put up growth centers, people won’t need to flock to Manila and we’ll see less congestion.)

Robredo, a neophyte legislator, added: “Palagay ko, dahil merong pera ngayon yung gobyerno, kaya natin gawin – nasimulan na yung pagdagdag ng mga growth centers sa mga probinsya (I think now that the government has money, we can do that – we’ve started adding growth centers in the provinces).”

Both Roxas and Robredo are campaigning on the promise of continuing the supposed gains of the current administration, under the tagline “Daang Matuwid (Straight Path).” – Rappler.com

NAIROBI, Kenya – At least 39 dead bodies were seen lying in the streets of the Burundi capital, Bujumbura, on Saturday, December 12, witnesses said, a day after coordinated armed assaults on 3 military bases.

Witnesses and journalists in Nyakabiga, a hotspot neighborhood for anti-government protests in recent months, reported seeing at least 20 corpses, some apparently shot at close range. Other witnesses reported further bodies seen lying in streets in other parts of the city.

One witness described some of the victims as "kids" and said they had been shot execution-style "through the top of the skull".

"It is an absolute horror, those who committed this are war criminals," the witness told the Agence France-Presse (AFP).

In the neighbouring Rohero II at least 5 dead bodies – again young people – were found on the main road, residents said.

In Musaga, close to a military college that was attacked by armed men early on Friday, a local official said there were more than a dozen corpses in the streets. "I have counted 14 dead bodies with my own eyes," he said, blaming "soldiers and police" for the killings.

Several residents contacted by AFP accused the police of rounding up young men after Friday's attacks and executing them.

"Most of those killed are young heads of households who were at home... it's carnage, there is no other word for it," said an outraged resident of Nyakabiga.

Burundian officials could not be reached for comment early on Saturday. – Rappler.com

KABUL, Afghanistan – The death toll from a devastating US air strike on an Afghan hospital in October has risen to 42, medical charity MSF (Doctors Without Borders) said on Saturday, December 12, citing an internal probe as pressure grows for an international inquiry. 

The October 3 bombing of the hospital in the northern city of Kunduz during a Taliban offensive forced the facility to close and sparked an avalanche of global condemnation. (READ: UN slams 'inexcusable' Afghan hospital air strike)

The charity has said the raid by a AC-130 gunship lasted nearly an hour and left patients burning in their beds with some victims decapitated and suffering traumatic amputations.

"Previously MSF had reported a death toll of at least 30 people, but the organization confirms the toll has risen to 42, after methodical review of MSF records and family claims, as well as patient, staff and family testimonies," MSF said in a statement.

"The revised figures include 14 MSF staff members confirmed to have been killed, as well as 24 patients and four caretakers."

The strike was "caused primarily by human error", General John Campbell, the US commander in Afghanistan, said last month, prompting a strong rebuke from the charity who slammed American forces for "gross negligence".

In the aftermath of the strike MSF branded the incident a war crime.

The charity has called for the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission (IHFFC) – an independent body created under international law but which has never been used – to investigate the attack.

However, it would need permission from the US and Afghanistan to proceed, and neither country has so far agreed.

MSF on Wednesday delivered a petition signed by 547,000 people to the White House demanding an independent investigation.

"Only a full accounting by an independent, international body can restore our confidence in the commitments of the United States to uphold the laws of war, which prohibit such attacks on hospitals in the strongest terms," Jason Cone, executive director of MSF-USA, said in a statement.

"It is not sufficient for the perpetrators of attacks on medical facilities to be the only investigators."

The strike came after a resurgent Taliban briefly captured the northern provincial capital in their biggest military victory since they were toppled in 2001.

A new UN report on Saturday said the fatalities from the two-week occupation was more than three times higher than previously thought.

"The report provides a preliminary figure of 848 civilian casualties (289 deaths and 559 injured) that occurred in Kunduz province between 28 September and 13 October," said the report.

"The vast majority of these casualties resulted from ground fighting that could not be attributed solely to one party."

The figures did not include the additional toll from MSF. – Rappler.com

LE BOURGET, France (3rd UPDATE) – The world is moments away from a historic deal that could set the course for our planet's fate.

As of posting, ministers and delegates representing 195 groups are assembling inside the La Seine plenary hall at the UN climate change conference (COP21), where in the coming hours countries are set to decide on whether to agree on a deal to curb global warming to 2ºC or below.

The 31-page draft document, released at past 1:30 pm local time Saturday, December 12, will now be the focus of the plenary session, after a review of the delegations participating in the talks.

If approved, the document will be the first-ever global agreement on climate change that will have all nations on board.

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French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, prior to the release of the draft document, described it as "fair, durable, dynamic, balanced, and legally binding."

More than half of the delegations have signified their intention to adopt the draft agreement, most notably the G77+China bloc – a group of 134 nations mostly from the developing world, and includes China, India, and most of the oil-producing Gulf nations that are seen as the biggest possible stumbling blocks to a deal.

The Philippines, for its part, earlier said it will say yes to the agreement.

"We have recommended to the delegation head, Secretary Manny de Guzman, that the Philippines, in the plenary session that's happening soon, adopt or recommend the adoption of the Paris agreement in toto, or without any change in the text because it already has the full package," Philippine delegation spokesperson Tony La Viña told Rappler.

"This is a historic agreement. We've gone this far. Let's maintain it," he told the group who had gathered to analyze the clean text of the pact released by the French presidency of the UN climate summit in Paris (COP21).

'The whole world is watching'

"We are almost at the end of the path and no doubt embarking on another," Fabius said during the final Comité de Paris plenary session at the UN climate change conference (COP21) in Le Bourget, northeast of Paris.

"Today we are close to the final outcome. It is my deep conviction that we have come up with an ambitious and balanced agreement," an emotional Fabius said.

"Let us now finish the job. The whole world is watching," UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the assembled negotiators prior to the document's release earlier in the day.

"We have to do what science dictates. We must protect the planet that sustains us. For that we need to have all hands on deck," he said.

French President Francois Hollande urged the negotiators to take the "decisive step" towards an agreement.

"You'll make a choice: a choice for your country, your continent, and also the world," the French president said. "This will be a major leap for mankind."

If adopted, Fabius said the document – as well as the COP21 – will be seen as a "turning point" in the history of the global battle against climate change.

"We need to show the world that our collective effort is worth more than the sum of our individual actions," he told the plenary.

"The world is holding its breath. It counts on all of us," he added.

"It is rare for an opportunity for you to change the world," Hollande added.

Praise and caution

Despite still needing to be adopted by the parties, the draft document has already received praise from civil society groups and other observers, but most of them cautioned that there is still a lot of work to be done.

Civil society groups said the deal may not be as ambitious and strong as they hoped, but they say it is a significant step in reducing the risks.

Some leading scientists also said the pact is a good start in starting the move towards a safer world, but said it is just the beginning. – With reports from Pia Ranada, Voltaire Tupaz, and Agence France-Presse / Rappler.com

SEOUL, South Korea (UPDATED) – Two days of rare, high-level talks between North and South Korea aimed at easing cross-border tensions broke up on Saturday, December 12, with no agreement and no set date for further discussions.

South Korea's chief delegate, Hwang Boo-Gi, suggested North Korean intransigence over what issues could be discussed had contributed to the failure of the meeting in the jointly-run Kaesong industrial zone.

He also said it was Pyongyang who had rejected the idea of resuming the dialogue next week.

The vice-minister-level talks, with a mandate to address a broad but unspecified range of inter-Korean issues, were the first of their type for nearly two years.

While no substantial breakthrough had been expected, there had been hopes of some tangible progress with both sides seeking the resumption of stalled cooperation projects that have significant symbolic and financial value.

The cash-strapped North wanted the South to resume lucrative tours to its scenic Mount Kumgang resort, which Seoul suspended in 2008 after a female tourist was shot dead by a North Korean guard. 

South Korea, meanwhile, wanted the North to agree to regular reunions for families separated by the Korean War. (READ: Traumatic final farewell for reunited Korean families)

Speaking to reporters at the talks venue, Hwang said the North Korean side had insisted on linking the two issues and making a resolution of the Mount Kumgang question a pre-condition for discussing the reunions.

"They insisted that the two sides reach an agreement on the resumption of the tours first," Hwang said.

"Our side stressed that the humanitarian issue of separated families and the resumption of the tours to Mount Kumgang are different in nature and should not be bundled together," he added.

There was no immediate comment from the North Korean side.

No further talks

Hwang said he had offered to resume discussions on Monday, but the North Korean delegation "conveyed its decision there was no need to continue talks".

The failure to set a date for continuing the dialogue will be a disappointment for those who saw an opportunity to put inter-Korean relations on a more constructive footing.

Previous efforts to establish a regular dialogue have also tended to falter after an initial meeting – reflecting decades of animosity and mistrust between two countries that have remained technically at war since the end of the 1950-53 Korean conflict.

When they shook hands at their first session on Friday morning, Hwang had declared it was time to "take a crucial step", while his North Korean counterpart Jon Jong-Su underlined the opportunity to move towards a less confrontational relationship.

There was no indication that the two sides had discussed the elephant in the room for any North-South dialogue – Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program.

The talks started a day after North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un said the country had developed a hydrogen bomb – a claim treated with skepticism by US and South Korean intelligence officials.

They also come amid diplomatic shifts in northeast Asia that have left North Korea looking more isolated than ever, with Seoul moving closer to Pyongyang's main diplomatic and economic ally China, and improving previously strained relations with Tokyo.– Park Chan-Kyong, AFP/Rappler.com

LE BOURGET, France – After the release of the the final draft of the UN climate change agreement, country delegations have only a few hours to decide whether or not to accept it.

The draft was released around 1:30 pm in Paris, France (8:30 pm Manila time) around an hour after country representatives gathered in a Comite de Paris meeting where French Foreign Minister and COP21 president Laurent Fabius, French President Francois Hollande, and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon spoke.

The powerful speeches of the 3 world leaders were last-ditch efforts to convince countries to adopt the draft climate action agreement later today.

Fabius has asked country delegations to meet again at 3:45 pm, for a plenary session where ministers will declare their support or rejection of the draft. This was later on moved to 5:30 pm after the biggest negotiating bloc, G77+China, decided to hold a meeting at 4pm.

The decisions to be made in the next few hours, within the wooden walls of over a hundred delegation offices, may determine if the Paris talks will end in success or failure.

Pia Ranada reports from outside the Comite de Paris venue minutes after the meeting.– Rappler.com

LE BOURGET, France – Hours from history being made at a UN climate summit (COP21) in Paris, the Philippine delegation is taking a break the good ol’ way: a Filipino salu-salo. 

What’s on the table? Batangas-style roast chicken. The feast comes complete with liters of Coke, soy sauce, ketchup, paper plates, and plastic cups.

The meal is special because it may be the last one before the world adopts a landmark agreement on how it will curb climate change in the next 50 years.  

It began the traditional way: Filipino negotiators and their staff gathered around the table in prayer.

With a limited number of chairs, some delegates ate while standing. But no one minded because time was of the essence. The salu-salo was to be the only down-time before the release of the final UN climate agreement.

After this lunch, the forks and spoons would be set aside, replaced by pens and paper as negotiators poured over each and every line of the pact. 

In the next few hours, they would decide whether or not the Philippines will adopt the agreement.

Pinoy style

Head of delegation Emmanuel “Manny” de Guzman described the viand as “French chicken, cooked Filipino-style.”

It was especially prepared for the delegation by a group of Filipinos based in Paris, called the Batangas Association. 

The group, led by Batangeña nurse Cornelia Mendoza Mistruzzi, reached out to the Philippine delegation only the previous night to say they would take care of today’s food.

The chicken had to be picked up from a train station in a nearby town. Upon arriving at Le Bourget the conference venue, it had to go through strict security checks.

“The guards had to open all the soy sauce bottles to make sure they weren’t bombs,” said Climate Change Commission staff member Alfred Anciado.

But all the hard work was worth it. For at least a few minutes, Philippine negotiators would be able to taste a little bit of home. This is the first Filipino meal the delegation has had together.

And there's more to come. The Paris-based Filipinos have even volunteered to host their home country’s delegation to a party near famous shopping district Champs Elysee, hopefully to celebrate a climate agreement. 

They’ve invited an Italian singer. They’ve readied the karaoke machines.

Paris may be on the other side of the world from the Philippines, but negotiators here never forget they're fighting for home. – Rappler.com

BERLIN, Germany – German Chancellor Angela Merkel defended her open-door policy on refugees in an interview published on Saturday, December 12, ahead of a key party congress and an EU summit likely to see her stance come under fire.

Merkel said she was working on reducing the number of migrants coming to Europe's biggest economy, which is bracing for the expected arrival this year of one million people fleeing war and poverty.

However, she added that "it's illusory to believe that the problem of refugees can be resolved at the German-Austrian border.

"The large movements of refugees can only be resolved through international cooperation," Merkel told the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper.

And she urged improved protection of the EU's external borders, as well as increased cooperation with Turkey from where most of the Syrians fleeing their country's four-year conflict set off across the Mediterranean.

Merkel also reiterated the need to preserve Europe's passport-free Schengen zone. "We all value the free movement of people, goods and services. And no country in Europe needs that like Germany.

"But it can only function long-term if the external borders of the EU are protected," she said, ahead of an EU summit Thursday and Friday.(READ: EU states pledge to move faster on migrant crisis)

The German chancellor's sudden move in early September to unconditionally welcome asylum seekers from Syria created a rift within the EU, where some countries accused her of exercising a "pull" effect on migration.

As the migrant flow swelled, several countries within the Schengen area, including Germany, reintroduced border checks, raising fears for the future of free movement with the 26-country bloc.

Merkel will also seek to stamp out dissent in her conservative Christian Democratic Union over the record refugee influx at a party congress on Monday. – Rappler.com

MOSCOW, Russia – Russia on Saturday, December 12, slammed as unrepresentative the talks held this week in Saudi Arabia among Syrian political and armed opposition groups which culminated with a call for President Bashar al-Assad to step down.

"We cannot agree with an attempt made by the group that gathered in Riyadh to monopolize the right to speak on behalf of the entire Syrian opposition," said the foreign ministry in Moscow, which supports Assad.

Gathered in the Saudi capital for the first major talks among various political and armed factions, representatives on Thursday agreed a framework for negotiations sought by world powers.

But the opposition groups insisted that Assad and his aides quit power "with the start of the transition period" set out by world powers in Vienna last month.

The United States welcomed the Riyadh accord but warned that some problems remain to be resolved between the opposition forces if UN-backed peace talks are to resume next week.

Russia had said it would confirm whether next week's planned meeting of the 17 nations of the International Syrian Support Group could go ahead after the rebel talks.

But on Saturday, Moscow did not say whether the meeting would be held and instead took issue with the Riyadh talks, saying the opposition groups had continued to insist on a "number of preconditions."

Moscow also said the talks did not include members of the so-called "patriotic Syrian opposition" seen as friendly towards Assad.

The Kurdish Democratic Union Party did not attend the talks either, the foreign ministry said. "The organizers did not send them an invitation having faced opposition from Turkey," it said in a statement.

'Terrorists should be excluded'

By contrast, Moscow said the negotiations were attended by controversial groups such as the Saudi-backed Jaish al-Islam (Army of Islam) rebel force, which includes hardline Islamists and the Ahrar al-Sham force, one of Syria's most important rebel groups, which Moscow accused of shooting at its embassy in Damascus.

"We are still convinced that terrorists of all stripes should be excluded from the political process in Syria," the foreign ministry said, adding it was up to UN peace envoy Staffan de Mistura to bring together various representatives of the opposition.

Moscow said it was ready to continue work within the framework of the International Syrian Support Group but stressed political transition in the war-torn country should begin without preconditions.

"All members of the International Syrian Support Group signed up to the key principle: only the Syrian people can decide the fate of Syria," the foreign ministry said. 

"Agreements should be respected."

US Secretary of State John Kerry heads to Moscow on Tuesday to try to keep the fragile Syrian peace process on track. – Rappler.com