Daily News Highlights – October 27, 2015 Edition

In a rare one-on-one interview, Rappler’s Maria Ressa sits down with Davao City mayor Rodrigo Duterte. The reluctant presidential bet said that if he became President of the Philippines, he would work to make 3 things happen: stop corruption, stop criminality, and fix government. Duterte is a man of contradictions, starting with his insistence on maintaining the rule of law while at the same time being equally adamant about breaking the law to bring order. He is also a self-confessed leftist, but admits he is a dictator.

Read and watch more on Duterte’s contradictions.

Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago said she decided to run for president despite having stage 4 lung cancer to stop corruption in government. In a concert-like event, Santiago was feted like a rock star in a “meet and greet” with supporters at the University of the Philippines Bahay ng Alumni. She admitted that her doctors left it up to her to decide on her candidacy. The 70-year-old Santiago spoke for only about 5 minutes, far from the fiery, kilometric speeches she is known for at the Philippine Senate. The reading of her curriculum vitae was even longer. Santiago also had difficulty walking and standing, and immediately sat after her speech for photo ops on stage. Yet the legal expert continued to dismiss concerns about her health, and even took a swipe at Doctor Sylvia Claudio, who called on her to release her medical records.

Read and watch more on Miriam’s meet and greet.

Estranged political allies Senator Francis Escudero and Vice President Jejomar Binay met at a restaurant in Davao City on Sunday afternoon, upon the invitation of former Davao del Norte Representative Antonio “Tonyboy” Floirendo Jr, a common friend. But Escudero said food, not politics, was the highlight of his meeting with Binay. He also dismissed allegations that he is being disloyal to his presidential candidate, Senator Grace Poe. Binay also said there are no fights between him and Escudero, only political differences.

Read more on the Escudero-Binay meeting at Davao.

In a move sure to anger Beijing, the US Navy plans to send Tuesday, October 27, a destroyer close to artificial islands China is building in the South China Sea, a US official said.  Tensions have mounted since China transformed reefs in the area into small islands capable of supporting military facilities. It is a move that threatens freedom of navigation, the US says. China insists it has sovereign rights to nearly all of the South China Sea, even waters close to the coasts of other states. Satellite images of the islands show that China has reclaimed millions of square feet of land in the Spratlys, known as Nansha in Chinese. Imagery also shows China has built a host of facilities, including as many as three runways.

Read more on the US warship in the South China Sea.

By January 2016, the P100 bill will come in a different color to easily distinguish it from the similarly colored P1,000 banknotes. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. announced on Sunday, October 25, that the new P100 bill will come in mauve. This is BSP’s response to complaints saying that it is difficult to differentiate the P100 and P1,000 banknotes. Both bills look similar in terms of color.

Read more on the new P100 banknote color.

Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo is canceling his trip to San Francisco to attend to the worsening haze in his home country. On Monday, the Palace confirmed that Jokowi is cutting his trip short due to the complaints from the public on the impact of the haze on their health. In San Francisco, Jokowi was set to meet fund managers and Silicon Valley executives, including from Google and Apple’s Tim Cook to help attract investors to the country. In a statement, Jokowi said the meetings would be continued by his ministers. His agenda in Washington DC remains, before he flies back home to go directly to badly-hit Palangkaraya. 3 warships carrying medical teams, tents, cooking stoves and protective masks have also been deployed to the worst-affected regions in Kalimantan, as mass evacuations remain a possibility.

Read more on Indonesia’s haze problem.

North and South Korean families divided since the Korean War said a tearful final farewell Monday. After 3 emotionally fraught days seeking to redress more than 60 years of separation, the reunion ended on the most traumatic note of all – a goodbye that for most of the elderly participants marked the last time they will ever see each other. Around 1,000 relatives from both sides took part in the week-long event – a tiny fraction of the tens of thousands wait-listed for a reunion slot. Divided into two rounds, it was only the second gathering in five years for those torn apart by the 1950-53 Korean conflict. The two Koreas had agreed to the reunion as part of a deal brokered in August to ease tensions that had pushed them to the brink of armed conflict.

Read more on the emotional Korean family reunion.

An unmanned NASA spacecraft is about to make its deepest dive ever into the icy spray emanating from the underwater ocean on Saturn’s moon, Enceladus. The tiny moon orbiting the sixth planet from the sun stunned scientists when they discovered it had an icy plume in 2005. After years of observations, NASA announced earlier this year that Enceladus definitely has a subterranean ocean, widening the search for alien life in our solar system. While the Cassini probe’s flyby on Wednesday, October 28, will not be able to detect if there are life forms in the spray, scientists hope the close pass – within 30 miles (48 kilometers –  will give them new insight into the habitability of the extraterrestrial ocean.

Read more on the Enceladus flyby.

The Cleveland Cavaliers led by NBA superstar LeBron James may have lost the championship to the Golden State Warriors, but for this season Las Vegas oddsmakers have made the Cavaliers 5-2 favorites to claim the title. 53.6 percent of NBA general managers also think the Cavaliers will win the crown for the 2015-16 season. But Cavaliers coach David Blatt said all the predictions “don’t mean a whole lot.” 

Read more on predictions, forecasts for the Cavaliers.

New York’s largest police union has demanded a boycott of Oscar-winning director Quentin Tarantino films after he protested against the deaths of unarmed suspects at police hands. Patrick Lynch, president of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, says “It’s no surprise that someone who makes a living glorifying crime and violence is a cop-hater, too. Tarantino joined hundreds of people marching in New York on Saturday, campaigning against perceived police brutality and the deaths of unarmed suspects in custody. A database compiled by the Guardian newspaper says more than 930 people have been killed by police in the United States so far this year, of whom 436 were white, 226 black and 143 Latino.

Read more on Quentin Tarantino’s protest.