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How’s the start of your week, Rappler readers?
Monday was a busy news day around the country and abroad. In the political front, the Duterte government gets two new top officials, one in charge of the environment and the other, in charge of the country’s central bank. However, one story overshadowed it: the acquittal of alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim Napoles in her serious illegal detention case. Meanwhile, abroad, a former official of the Obama administration revealed that the Trump administration was warned against hiring an ex-general for a top national security post – but was ignored.
But the news from the past 24 hours wasn’t all grim and serious: for one, rap diva Nicki Minaj gave away money to fans in need of help for college, and the Philippine Red Cross gets a new humanitarian ship.
These stories, and more, are in today’s wRap.
The Court of Appeals (CA) acquitted businesswoman and alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim Napoles in her serious illegal detention case. The CA 12th Division reversed the 2015 conviction of Makati Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 150, which found Napoles guilty of holding former employee Benhur Luy against his will. Makati RTC Branch 150 had sentenced Napoles to at least 30 years in prison. Solicitor General Jode Calida lauded the decision, while lawmakers were dismayed.
Despite Senator Alan Peter Cayetano insisting that there is no new wave of killings, United Nations member states still called on the Philippine government to conduct a “thorough” investigation into extrajudicial killings in the country. This was what at least 45 countries recommended to the Philippine delegation during the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in Geneva, Switzerland on Monday, May 8. They also urged Philippine authorities to ensure that those behind the killings – either in police operations or through summary executions – are held accountable.
South Koreans went to the polls Tuesday, May 9, to choose a new president, after Park Geun-Hye was ousted, detained and indicted for corruption, and against a backdrop of high tensions with the nuclear-armed North. Voters have been galvanized by anger over the sprawling bribery and abuse of power scandal that brought down Park, which catalyzed frustrations over jobs and slowing growth.
President Rodrigo Duterte made two major appointments Monday, May 8. First was the designation of former Armed Forces chief Roy Cimatu as the new Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources, replacing Gina Lopez whose confirmation was rejected by the Commission on Appointments. The second was the appointment of Nestor Espenilla as the next Governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, succeeding the outgoing governor Amando Tetangco.
The White House was warned in January that President Donald Trump’s national security advisor Michael Flynn was vulnerable to Russian blackmail, a top former official told lawmakers Monday, May 8, as the issue of Moscow’s meddling in the US election returned to the spotlight. Former acting attorney general Sally Yates made the disclosure during hotly-anticipated testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Up to 2,600 American soldiers are in the Philippines to join the Balikatan 2017 exercises with 2,800 of their Filipino counterparts, an annual activity that President Rodrigo Duterte wanted scrapped last year as he threatened to cut ties with the United States. During the opening ceremony, US officials underscored the importance of the annual exercises in strengthening its relationship with the Philippines, its longest treaty ally in the region.
Years after the passing of a law that declared they deserved compensation for the abuses they suffered under the Marcos regime, Martial Law victims received on Monday, May 8, the first tranche of money from the human rights claims board. At least 317 Martial Law victims from Metro Manila received cash cards containing the first tranche of their monetary compensation from the Human Rights Victims’ Claims Board (HRVCB), which was created by a law passed under the administration of former president Benigno Aquino III.
Uncertainty over America’s future in the climate-rescue Paris Agreement loomed large over UN talks that opened in Bonn on Monday, May 8, to work out the nuts and bolts of implementing the hard-fought international deal. US President Donald Trump has yet to announce whether he intends keeping a campaign promise to withdraw Washington from the pact in whose birth his predecessor, Barack Obama, was instrumental.
The new humanitarian ship of the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) has been named the M/V Amazing Grace. The ship is the biggest humanitarian and disaster response vessel in the country. President Rodrigo Duterte will christen the new ship on Tuesday, May 9, marking a milestone for PRC, which celebrates its 70th anniversary this year.
Hip-hop star Nicki Minaj has promised to pay university tuition for dozens of fans after a promotional contest metamorphosed over Twitter. Minaj’s transformation into educational benefactor took place over the weekend as she unveiled a contest of the sort popular among celebrities seeking an online buzz.
Top photo: People listen to a speech delivered by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte shown on a screen during the universal periodic review of the Philippines by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on May 8, 2017 at the UN offices in Geneva. Fabrice Coffrini/AFP
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