October 10, 2014 Edition

A much-awaited testimony of a lawyer from the Anti-Money Laundering Council revealed that Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr and members of his family had “suspicious” inflows and outflows of money in their bank accounts. The total amount – P87 million – matched what a whistle-blower had earlier recorded in a ledger of kickbacks that alleged mastermind Janet Lim Napoles supposedly gave the senator. The deposits were made between 2006 and 2010, the years Revilla, according to state auditors, misused P224 million ($5 million) of his Priority Development Assistance Fund or pork barrel.

Read the full story on Rappler.

To understand the pork barrel scam better, see Rappler’s multimedia report.

Almost 5 in 10 Filipinos – 48% – “are of the view that it is still possible to successfully combat governmental corruption,” a survey conducted in September showed. Respondents in the Pulse Asia survey were asked if they agreed, disagreed, or were undecided on this statement: “We can still successfully fight the corruption of officials in using public funds.” Agreement to the survey statement was highest among the richest Class ABC (54%), followed by Class D (48%), and the poorest Class D (47%).

Read the full story on Rappler.

A Metro Manila court decided that there was no sufficient evidence that Benjamin Abalos Sr, who headed the Commission on Elections during the Arroyo administration, ordered a poll official in South Cotabato province to cheat in favor of the administration’s senatorial candidates. All 11 counts of electoral sabotage in South Cotabato were dismissed, but Abalos is facing two counts of the same offense involving votes in another Mindanao province, North Cotabato. The fraud allegedly involved shaving opposition candidates’ votes to zero, so the administration slate could dominate.

Read the full story on Rappler.

Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle will be one of 3 president-delegates in a historic meeting of bishops in the Vatican, where he wants to bring attention to the “dramatic” effect of poverty on Filipino families – the migration of parents or grown-up children to work so they could support families back home. Tagle has always stressed that, for Filipino families, migration due to poverty remains a major challenge that could bring “long-term danger.” He added: “We hope these realities could be brought to the synod – not only from Asia, not only from the Philippines, but many of the poor countries that have been witnessing an exodus of many people.”

Read the full story on Rappler.

A day before talks that both camps had hoped would end the protests that have paralyzed the country’s financial hub, the Hong Kong’s government backed out. Chief Secretary Carrie Lam said protest leaders had “undermined” the basis of the “constructive dialogue” after they vowed to ratchet up their occupation of key city streets if they failed to win concessions from the government. The demonstrators have called for Beijing to grant the former British colony full democracy and for the city’s Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying to resign.

Read the full story on Rappler.

The Swedish Academy awarded the 2014 Nobel Prize in Literature to historical novelist Patrick Modiano, the 11th French writer to win the medal. His works, which have been translated to 30 languages, capture the lives of ordinary people during the German occupation of France from 1940 to 1944. First published when he was 22, Modiano has had trouble expressing himself in public and refused a nomination to the elite Academie Francaise.

Read more about Modiano and why he was chosen for the award on Rappler.

A top health expert in the United States warned that the Ebola, which has killed around 4,000 in West Africa, could become “the world’s next AIDS” if international institutions and governments don’t act fast enough. Thomas Frieden, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said he had not seen a disease without cure spread so fast before this except the AIDS. Ebola has claimed its first death in the American state of Texas, where 50 more persons are being monitored. Cases are also being watched in Spain and in Australia.

Read the full story on Rappler.

Lego will not push through with its marketing campaign with oil giant Shell after the environmentalist group Greenpeace dragged the toymaker into its campaign on the Arctic oil spills. Greenpeace had uploaded a video on YouTube featuring Arctic Lego landscapes dotted with oil rigs and children and polar bears drowning in oil. Lego’s Vig Knudstorp said the green group used the Lego brand to target Shell when it “ought to have a direct conversation with Shell.” Lego figures were supposed to be sold in Shell petrol stations around the world, and the toys were supposed to bear Shell logos. Given the controversy created by activists, however, Lego said, “We do not want to be part of Greenpeace’s campaign.”

Read the full story on Rappler.

Tycoon Wei Yin-chun of Taiwan stepped down from his posts at several companies that have been linked to a series of food safety issues. The authorities ordered Cheng I, one of the companies he headed, to recall hundreds of tons of lard, cooking oil, and margarine over claims that the products were adulterated with oil intended for animal feed. He also resigned from Wei Chuan, which was among the companies that also removed products from sale in a damaging “gutter oil” scandal in September. “Chairman Wei is deeply saddened and blames himself over the food safety incidents. Even though the incidents may have originated from problematic materials from the suppliers, he expresses heartfelt apologies for being unable to effectively manage the origin,” the company statement said.

Read the full story on Rappler.

The second synchronized assembly of village residents all over the Philippines this year will be held on Saturday, October 12. Citizens in country’s 42,028 barangays are encouraged to attend their Barangay Assembly, where they will be given the chance to discuss policies and programs that affect their everyday lives, such as garbage disposal, faulty street lights, and clogged canals. Through the event, residents can either raise questions – especially about fees collected and funds spent – propose solutions, or demand answers from their elected village officials. The conduct of barangay assemblies is mandated by Presidential Proclamation Number 260.

Read the details of the activity on Rappler.

To know what to demand of barangay officials, learn first the power and perks we give them when we elect them.