President Benigno Aquino III said the family of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos should say sorry to the Filipino people for the atrocities committed during martial rule. Speaking at the presidential forum of the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP) on Tuesday, October 27, Aquino said that Filipinos would be open to forgiving the Marcos family for what former president Marcos did to the country during his tenure. “We are a forgiving people as a general rule. But they have statements that there’s nothing to apologize for,” said Aquino. Marcos’ son, senator Bongbong Marcos Jr, who is running for vice president, has repeatedly denied that president Marcos committed human rights abuses or amassed ill-gotten wealth while in power. In reaction to President Aquino’s statement, Senator Marcos said Aquino needs to “move on,” adding that the people have already forgotten martial law.

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Even as the official campaign season is still months away, the top 4 presidential contenders for the 2016 elections are wasting no time getting the word out on who they are. At a forum of the Philippine Business Conference and Expo on Tuesday, October 27, Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago, Vice President Jejomar Binay, former interior secretary Mar Roxas and Senator Grace Poe laid out their economic programs and positions on a range of business issues. On the issue of lowering income tax rates, Binay said he fully supports the measure. Santiago and Poe called for a reclassification of the tax brackets and better tax administration. Only Roxas cautioned against lowering income tax saying government programs could suffer. All candidates supported an increase in spending for infrastructure to 5% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). The candidates, however, differed in their views on economic liberalization and their own acknowledged weaknesses.

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The United States defied China Tuesday, October 27, by sending a warship close to artificial islands the rising Asian power is building in disputed waters, prompting Beijing to furiously denounce what it called a threat to its sovereignty. The USS Lassen, a guided missile destroyer, passed within 12 nautical miles – the normal limit of territorial waters around natural land – of at least one of the formations Beijing claims in the Spratly Islands. Washington’s long-awaited move was meant to assert the freedom of navigation in the South China Sea where China has declared sovereignty over many islands in the disputed sea. China’s foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang blasted the exercise, saying that the ship “illegally entered” the waters near the islands “without receiving permission from the Chinese government”. Philippine president Benigno Aquino III downplayed fears that the US move could heighten tension in the region.

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The poll-watch group, Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), says politicians are now buying votes wholesale instead of individually. PPCRV national chairperson Henrietta de Villa said on Monday, October 26 that votes are now being bought by whole barangays (towns) for P30,000 to P50,000. The PPCRV hopes to combat this rampant vote buying program though an education and reporting campaign that will encourage citizens to report cases of vote buying in their area. The poll-watch group also signed agreements with media groups – including Rappler – to help them gather and monitor citizen reports of vote buying, election violence, and cheating.

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At least 350 people are known to have died after a massive quake hit Afghanistan and Pakistan on Monday, October 26, with the toll expected to rise as rescuers reach remote mountainous areas. Officials from Pakistan and Afghanistan say more than 1,600 were injured. The Afghan toll includes 12 schoolgirls trampled to death in a stampede as they fled their classrooms. The epicenter of the quake was near Jurm in northeast Afghanistan, 250 kilometers (160 miles) from the capital Kabul and at a depth of 213.5 kilometers, the US Geological Survey said. Communication lines have been be severely damaged, hampering efforts to reach survivors and assess the full scale of the disaster.

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More than half of those who die in road accidents in the Philippines are motorcycle riders, according to a new road safety report of the World Health Organization (WHO). They make up at least 53% of reported road traffic fatalities in the country according to its 2015 Global Status Report on Road Safety. Pedestrians make up the second biggest chunk of road user deaths at 19%. The WHO estimates as many 10,000 people have died due to road accidents in the Philippines. The agency stressed the need for better road safety and law enforcement to minimize fatal road accidents. The WHO also highlighted the high social costs for victims and families of road accidents due to the specialized care needed to recuperate.

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It will take twenty years before Metro Manila will get a brand new airport, according to Philippine government officials on Tuesday, October 27. Socioeconomic Planing Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said that the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has determined that it will take two decades from feasibility study to actual operations. JICA is being commissioned by the Philippine government to explore possible locations for the New NAIA project. The Japanese agency is targeting to come up with a full feasibility study by early next year. The government is eyeing Sangley Point in Cavite or reclaimed land in Manila Bay as possible sites for the new airport.

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The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday, October 26, said that eating processed meat, such as sausages and bacon, can increase the risk of colon cancer. In a recently released report, the WHO said simply eating two slices of ham – equivalent to 50 grams – can increase the risk of cancer by 18%. However, the report says the risks are relatively small to begin with. The agency now classifies processed meat in the same category as smoking and asbestos for being “carcinogenic to humans.” But the agency was quick to stress that it did not mean meat was equally dangerous. Meat lovers around the world were shocked at the news. Meat producers, meanwhile, called the report biased and misleading.

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Around 700 Lumad arrived in Manila on Sunday, October 25, nearly a week after they set out from their communities in the southern Philippines. The caravan participants, who are called Manilakbayanis (heroes journey to Manila), want to highlight their call to stop human right violations in various Lumad communities. The indigenous peoples of Mindanao have allegedly been on the receiving end of a series of direct attacks, killings, arrests, harassments, zoning, and vilification in their own communities. The visiting Lumads are being hosted by the University of the Philippines Diliman community for a week. The #StopLumadKillings network is calling for donations of supplies for the caravan participants, including water, food, medicine, and clothes. Donations can be directly given at the campsite, located near the UP College of Human Kinetics.

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A group of sustainability advocates walked the entirety of EDSA on Sunday morning, October 25. #WalkEDSA, as the event was known, began at the SM Mall of Asia and ended at SM North EDSA, 5 hours and 30 minutes later. The 21.3-kilometer walk drew a large crowd of participants from a variety of professions – including medicine, architecture and outdoor recreation. It was organized by the Manila hub of the Global Shapers Community, a global network of sustainability advocates. After the walk, participants re-convened at Capitol Commons, Pasig for “Talk the Walk,” a discussion on the obstacles to Metro Manila becoming a more walkable network. The consensus among participants was that improving walkability is “a social justice issue.” Among the groups findings were that EDSA is walkable but sidewalks were a rarity.

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