Hello, Rappler readers!
A protest that brought together a largely anti-Marcos crowd of about 15,000 at the People Power Monument on EDSA also commemorated the November 30 birth date of hero Andres Bonifacio. Online, however, a different kind of movement was discovered: “Oplan Cyber Tokhang” that threatens to hack accounts that spread false information online and which are critical of the Duterte administration.
Elsewhere, the pilot of a charter plane that crashed in the Colombian mountains reported total electrical failure and loss of fuel. The plane crash killed 71 people, including a Brazilian football team that was almost wiped out.
Be up to speed with the news. Here’s what you shouldn’t miss:
An estimated crowd of 15,000, most of them millennials, gathered at the People Power Monument on EDSA on November 30 to hold President Rodrigo Duterte accountable for granting dictator Ferdinand Marcos a hero’s burial. Protesters chanted, “Show me how democracy looks like! This is what democracy looks like!” The protest, which coincided with the commemoration of the birth date of Filipino hero Andres Bonifacio, is the second after the November 25 rally at the Luneta which was attended by about 8,000.
Government’s “Oplan TokHang”, an important component of the war against drugs, had migrated online in the form of “Oplan Cyber Tokhang”. A Newsbreak investigative story found that the term was coined by netizens who called themselves “Duterte Cyber Warriors”. Their purpose is to attack those “spreading false information” online and engaging in hacking and social engineering. The group’s page was taken down by Facebook evening of Tuesday, November 29.
Some residents of Marawi City doubt claims of an ambush along the main highway of Barangay Emie Punud on Tuesday, November 29. The supposed ambush wounded 9 soldiers belonging mostly to the Presidential Security Group, who arrived ahead of President Rodrigo Duterte. The skepticism and sentiment was “painful” to hear, the military said, especially amid government operations against the Maute terrorist group in the area. On Wednesday, the military said it had taken control of the abandoned municipal hall of Butig town in Lanao del Sur where the Maute terror group raised the black flag of the Islamic State last week. Duterte had also warned terrorists against forcing him to declare war.
The pilot of a plane that crashed in mountains in Colombia radioed the control tower to report he had run out of fuel and had total electrical failure. Pilot Miguel Quiroga’s voice was recorded minutes before the charter flight crashed outside the city of Medellin. The crash killed 71 people, including most of Brazilian football club Chapecoense and 20 journalists covering South America’s second largest club tournament.
Senator Leila de Lima filed before the Supreme Court a motion for reconsideration on Tuesday, November 29, opposing the hasty and secret burial of former president Ferdinand Marcos. She criticized the guidelines of the Armed Forces of the Philippines which served as basis for Marcos’ hero’s burial. She said the regulations were “incomplete, whimsical, and capricious.”
Couldn’t join the EDSA rally. So the Ateneo Blue Babble Battalion staged their own protest against the Marcos burial during the UAAP Final Four halftime. They took off their jackets to reveal black shirts that spelled out “Not A Hero” on their backs as the Ateneo crowd rose and roared in support. The Blue Eagles went on to defeat the FEU Tamaraws 69-68 to advance to the finals where it faces long-time rival DLSU Green Archers.
There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.