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Hello Rappler readers,
After going into hiding, Davao Death Squad hitman Edgar Matobato voluntarily surrendered and posted bail after being charged with frustrated murder. His lawyer Jude Sabio is heading to the Netherlands to file a crimes against humanity case against President Rodrigo Duterte. How that will pan out will be worth watching.
Meanwhile, the saga of Perfecto Yasay Jr finally ended with the appointment of career diplomat Enrique Manalo as acting foreign affairs secretary.
Still on the foreign front, a Chinese survey ship was spotted last year near Philippine territory. The Philippines will not allow a repeat of this, declared Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana.
Be up to speed with the news. Here’s what you shouldn’t miss.
Jude Sabio, lawyer of self-confessed hitman and former Davao Death Squad member Edgar Matobato, is filing a case against President Rodrigo Duterte before the International Criminal Court (ICC) by end of March. Matobato on Thursday, March 9, voluntarily surrendered to authorities following the issuance of his arrest warrant over frustrated murder charges. Sabio said he will fly to the Netherlands to file a case of crimes against humanity over extrajudicial killings attributed to the President.
Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said a Chinese survey ship was monitored plying the area of Benham Rise for as long as 3 months last year. Bigger than Luzon Island, it is part of Philippine territory. Lorenzana told a forum on national security the Philippines will not allow Chinese ships to return to the area.
President Rodrigo Duterte warned on Thursday, March 9, he will be “forced” to declare martial law in Mindanao if violence in the region worsens. Speaking to local officials in Davao City, Duterte said he does not want trouble in Mindanao to spin out of control because he will be “compelled to exercise extraordinary powers.”
The Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia will launch joint patrols in piracy-plagued waters, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said Thursday, March 9. He and his counterparts from the two countries had agreed to patrol a sea lane where commercial vessels could pass with protection from the navies of the three nations. Islamic militants have been kidnapping and murdering foreigners.
After a string of controversies that involved former foreign affairs secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr, the country has a new top diplomat: Enrique Manalo. A son of diplomats and a seasoned career diplomat himself, Manalo, who has been appointed acting foreign secretary, assured Filipinos the Department of Foreign Affairs will continue serving the public.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange accused the CIA of “devastating incompetence” for keeping hacking secrets in one place. Speaking during a press conference streamed live from the Ecuador embassy in London, where he has been staying as a fugitive from justice since 2012, Assange also said he would work with tech giants to develop fixes after he leaked them. “It is impossible to keep effective control of cyber weapons.. If you build them, eventually you will lose them,” Assange said.
Mark Zuckerberg revealed that Facebook’s first family is growing, with a baby sister on the way for one-year-old daughter Maxima. In a post on his Facebook page, Zuckerberg wrote, “We can’t wait to welcome our new little one and do our best to raise another strong woman.”
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