Dear Rappler reader,
Call Tuesday “reinstatement day.” There’s the Espinosa protector who got his post back, Inday Varona who got her Facebook account back and Gina Lopez, to the consternation of big mining interests, who is back as environment secretary. The only ones who are out are thousands who were displaced as the military retook Butig town in Lanao from terrorist group Maute. Over at the House of Representatives, congressmen had mixed reactions to the wave of criticism that hit them after the Bilibid probe where mostly nonsense questions were asked. House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez apologized while a partylist congressman cried foul. The misogynistic and sexually charged questions were directed at the witness, Ronnie Dayan, Senator de Lima’s alleged bagman and lover.
Below are the big stories we think you shouldn’t miss.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday made the first high-level confirmation of links between ISIS and the homegrown Maute terror group that occupied the abandoned municipal hall of Butig town in Lanao Del Sur last week. In a speech in Malacanang he said, “The intelligence community advised me that ISIS has vitally connected to the group in the Philippines called the Maute.” A total of 1,955 families were displaced in Butig town since the military took the offensive to flush out the terrorists from the area.
The police official who led the team that killed Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr has been reinstated upon orders of higher-ups. Philippine National Police chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa explained that before the police operation against the mayor on November 5, he had already relieved Superintendent Marvin Marcos after receiving information that he was on the payroll of the Espinosas. But someone asked him to reinstate Marcos, “May tumawag sa akin.” He refused to identify who the caller was.
Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez said it was necessary to ask witness Ronnie Dayan about his love affair with Senator Leila de Lima, but he also apologized for congressmen’s “inappropriate” questions to Dayan during the House probe into the drug trade inside the New Bilibid Prison. His colleague, 1-Ang Edukasyon Representative Salvador Belaro Jr, meantime, reacted with outrage. He claimed his questions ‘were taken out of context’ and went after this site for publishing the story and his video asking Dayan “When did you climax?” In a related development, Senator Leila de Lima said she would “not honor” the show cause order issued against her by the House of Representatives after she reportedly tried to obstruct its probe. House leaders said De Lima may be cited for contempt and ordered arrested if she ignores the show cause order.
Writer and activist Inday Espina-Varona has been reinstated after being blocked on Facebook. Varona had reached out to the social network through her account and asked why issues being raised about online abuse were being ignored. This brings to the fore Facebook’s content policies and how the decision-making may have been turned over to outsourced call centers abroad, including Accenture in the Philippines. According to NPR.org, subcontractors running the show raises concerns that reviewers may have their own political agendas or are given too little time to make nuanced decisions. The result in this case: calm and rational media professionals are blocked while loud, senseless trolls remained rampant on the platform.
President Rodrigo Duterte has reappointed Gina Lopez as environment secretary after the Commission on Appointments bypassed her confirmation. Duterte affirmed his trust in Lopez, a long-time advocate for the environment who began her term as secretary by auditing mining firms. “She’s okay. She’s very strict, I like that. She’s not corrupt, I like that. And she cannot be corrupted, I also like that.”
The Philippine government will pour in $23 billion into tourism over the next 6 years. Finance Undersecretary Karen Singson said the effects of the government’s new 6-year National Tourism Development Plan (NTDP) will be felt immediately in road networks.
Donald Trump held talks Monday with David Petraeus, one of America’s most celebrated generals who resigned from the CIA in disgrace. The president-elect’s search for a secretary of state has reportedly sparked infighting in the Trump camp with candidates that included Tennessee Republican senator Bob Corker and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney. Petraeus said Trump “showed a great grasp of a variety of the challenges that are out there.” Trump himself tweeted, “Just met with General Petraeus–was very impressed!” Petraeus earlier said he would serve if asked.
Cubans say goodbye to Fidel Castro
Hundreds of thousands of Cubans flocked to Havana’s iconic Revolution Square in a tearful and nostalgic tribute to Fidel Castro, Monday, launching a week-long farewell to the divisive Cold War icon.
– Rappler.com
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