The United States will take in more refugees worldwide in the next two years, US Secretary of State John Kerry said Sunday, September 20. This will include 10,000 Syrian asylum-seekers in 2016. In the fiscal year ending September 2015, the world’s biggest economy took in 70,000 refugees. This number will go up to 85,000 in 2016 and 100,000 in 2017 according to Kerry.  Kerry made the announcement as he conferred with German officials on the wave of migrants that has swamped Europe and met with Syrian refugees who are seeking asylum in Europe. Meantime, the Philippine government said it must first assess its ability to accept Syrian refugees before making any commitment to the United Nations. Responding to the call of the head of the UN refugee agency in the Philippines to admit Syrian refugees, who are torn between enduring a bloody civil war in their country or risking drowning to reach Europe, Palace Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr said that the Philippines will adhere to its international commitments to protect refugees but did not give a categorical answer on whether or not Manila will admit those from Syria. Coloma reiterated that the government’s resources are focused on rehabilitation efforts following a spate of disasters including Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan).

Read about Kerry’s announcement

More on Kerry’s statement regarding refugees on New York Times and Washington Post

Read about the Philippine government’s statement on the refugee crisis

Neophyte Senator Grace Poe continues to be the front runner in the presidential race, based on the results of the latest poll of the Social Weather Stations (SWS) conducted in early September. The results of the survey showed voters’ preference for Poe at 47%, up by 5 percentage points from 42% in June. Among the 3 declared presidential candidates, Roxas posted the highest jump in voters’ preference – 39% in September from 21% in June, an 18-percentage point increase. Roxas dislodged Binay who is now ranked third. Voters’ preference for Binay was statistically unchanged at 35%, from 34% in June. During the survey period, from September 2 to 5, respondents numbering 1,200 nationwide were asked to name a maximum of 3 people they believe should succeed President Benigno Aquino III. In a statement, Binay dismissed the survey results stressing that his core base remains intact. 

Read about the September SWS survey on preferred presidential candidates 

Read Binay’s response to the September 2015 SWS survey

With almost two generations of Filipinos who have no recollection of what happened under the Marcos dictatorship, the Aquino administration is now calling on citizens to strive to help new generations of Filipinos understand why the martial law era should never happen again.  In an interview over state-run radio dZRB, Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said that together with ensuring sustainable long-term growth, progress, and stability, lessons from the past should be conveyed to the youth. “It is important to impart to the youth of our land the lessons learned from martial rule and the struggle to restore democracy, as our continuing legacy to all future generations of Filipinos,” Coloma said. September 21, Monday marks 43 years since the late President Ferdinand Marcos imposed martial law through Proclamation No. 1081. In an open letter, trustees of the Bantayog ng mga Bayani Foundation urged the late dictator’s son, now Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr to apologize the corruption and abuses perpetrated by his father’s brutal regime. Senator Marcos is a potential candidate for the country’s top positions. 

Read about Coloma’s statement concerning martial law

Read the open letter to Senator Marcos from the Bantayog ng mga Bayani Foundation

Greece’s charismatic leftwing leader Alexis Tsipras romped to victory in Greece’s general election Sunday, September 20. Elected in January as Greece’s youngest prime minister in 150 years, Tsipras was a beacon for anti-austerity campaigners across the European Union. In July, however, he agreed to more punishing austerity for the nation in exchange for its third financial rescue in 5 years. He later argued he had effectively saved Greece from a chaotic exit from the Eurozone. Tsipras resigned in August and called snap elections, gambling crisis-weary Greeks would give him a new mandate despite his contentious bailout deal with European leaders. With over 70 percent of the votes counted, Tsipras’ Syriza party won 35.46 percent of the vote compared to 28.27 percent for conservative New Democracy and will likely again form a coalition government with the small nationalist Independent Greeks (ANEL) party. 

Read about the Greek elections

The website of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) was defaced Sunday, September 20, by hackers claiming to be from Anonymous Philippines. Hackers replaced the NTC homepage with a black background with overlaid text that said they acted in solidarity with Philippine Internet users who deal with the unreliable service or purportedly deceptive practices of Internet Service Providers (ISPs). The defacement comes 3 days after the NTC conducted pilot testing on the fixed broadband services of local ISPs. 

Read more on Rappler

Seven out of 10 Americans have a favorable impression of Pope Francis, though they have a less positive view of the Catholic Church as a whole, a new poll released Sunday, September 20, showed. The highly popular Catholic pontiff arrives in the United States for a 6-day visit on September 22. He has been active in urging compassion, including for those historically shunned by the Church, and for calling for action against economic inequality and environmental degradation. Over the weekend, the Pope visited Havana, Cuba and held mass at the Havana Revolutionary Square. There he warned Cubans against personal ambition and an every-man-for-himself mentality, at a time when the communist island faces a delicate period of economic and political transition. Towards the end of the mass Pope Francis also warned the Colombian government and the FARC rebels, who are currently in negotiations in the Cuban capital, that failure is not an option in their ongoing negotiations. Pope Francis has made fans of US Catholics and non-Catholics alike, with slightly more Catholics – 86% – approving of the pope than Americans in general. 

More about the US survey on Pope Francis

More about Pope Francis’ message to the Cubans

Pope Francis’ statement on the Colombia peace talks

Frontrunner Donald Trump slipped in the polls after this week’s Republican presidential debate while former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina shot to second place, a new poll released Sunday, September 20, found. Fiorina’s gain is attributed to her strong debate performance in which she icily skewered the brash real estate mogul for disparaging her looks in comments reported by Rolling Stone magazine. The CNN/ORC poll had Trump still leading the field, with 24% of Republican voters supporting him, but that total was down 8 percentage points from earlier this September. 

More about the post-Republican presidential debate poll

Twitter’s snails’ pace search for a new chief executive is raising concerns about deeper woes at the social media platform. The San Francisco messaging platform has been searching for a new leader since Dick Costolo announced on June 12 he was stepping down, with co-founder Jack Dorsey holding the job on an interim basis since July 1. Over the past 3 months, several reports had suggested that a decision was imminent, but Twitter itself has remained mum on the subject. The unusually long search has some investors and analysts worried over the future of Twitter, which has failed to ignite the kind of growth that many had anticipated when it launched its public offering in 2013. 

Read more on Rappler

The Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences Awards (FAMAS) held their 2015 awards night at the Newport Performing Arts Theater on Sunday, September 20. Allen Dizon won Best Actor for the movie Magkakabaung. Toni Gonzaga, meanwhile, won the Best Actress award. 

For the full list, check our story on the FAMAS

At least 22 container vans of illegally imported rice is set to be auctioned off on September 30, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) said on Saturday, September 19. The BOC is expected to generate P9.52 million ($1.9 million)* from the rice auction, which includes 8,040 sacks glutinous and white rice and 3,800 sacks of Evergreen Cereal consigned to International Grains International Trading, Inc.

More about the Customs auction