How’s Tuesday, Rappler readers?
The latest Pulse Asia survey shows that while there is widespread support for the government’s war on drugs, a big portion of the population also believes extrajudicial killings are happening in its conduct. Will public perception soon change, now that a different government entity is in charge of the war?
It’s the second day of the nationwide transport strike in protest of the jeepney modernization program being proposed by the government. Classes and government work are still suspended; however, the cities of Cebu and Davao are not joining the second day of strikes.
Meanwhile, despite the deaths of the terrorist leaders in Marawi, the government has not yet discussed lifting martial law in Mindanao. But the bigger question remains: with the end of the crisis in sight, how soon will Marawi get back on its feet?
These stories, and more, are in today’s wRap.
Although a majority of Filipinos support President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs, majority also believe that “extrajudicial killings… are happening in the implementation of the campaign against illegal drugs,” according to a September 2017 survey by Pulse Asia.
The second day of the nationwide transport strike against the government’s planned jeepney modernization program on Tuesday, October 17, will be scaled down, as fewer participants are expected in areas outside Metro Manila.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Monday, October 16, said the government had not discussed lifting martial law in Mindanao even as the military declared confidence that the war in Marawi would be over soon. Troops are hunting down remaining fighters in the battle area. Lorenzana said they would assess the implementation of martial law after the fighting in Marawi is over.
Filipinos will be granted visa-free entry to Taiwan on a trial basis beginning November 1, 2017 until July 31, 2018. In a statement on Monday, October 16, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in the Philippines announced that the visa-free entry will be applicable to Filipinos whose visits will not exceed 14 days.
Ireland was hit by what officials called an “unprecedented storm” on Monday, October 16, that left 3 people dead, more than 300,000 customers without power and shut down schools as well as government offices. Ophelia, the largest hurricane ever recorded so far east in the Atlantic Ocean and the furthest north since 1939, was downgraded to a storm before it hit the Irish coast but nonetheless wrought havoc.
The traditional, the unusual, and the whimsical all found a stage at the ManilArt 2017 this weekend. Idyllic scenes on canvas, luminous paint, moving sculptures, giant marble eggs, carved ostrich eggs, LED display art, and more could be found at the exhibit of over 30 galleries around the Philippines, including a Singaporean gallery.
The safe house in Basak Malutlut is a silent witness to the first exchange of gunfire that triggered the war in Marawi City.
Top photo: Huge waves strike the harbor wall and lighthouse at Porthcawl, South Wales, on October 16, 2017 as Storm Ophelia hits the UK and Ireland. Geoff Caddick/AFP
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