Daily News Highlights – April 11, 2016 Edition

All the Vice Presidential candidates were present in the only official Vice Presidential debate held Sunday, April 11 at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila. The debate focused on issues of corruption, poverty, political dynasties, human rights, traffic and other urban issues, internet connectivity, foreign policy and on the VP post being considered a “spare tire. In YES or NO questions, all the candidates said they did not engage in corrupt activities. Asked if they support death penalty for the corrupt, only Cayetano said yes. Asked if they belong to a political dynasty, 3 candidates: Cayetano, Escudero, and Marcos said YES while Honasan, Robredo and Trillanes said NO. All candidates said they will support an anti-dynasty bill. Honasan pointed out, however, that there is no clear definition of the word dynasty. Asked if they will support Same-Sex Marriage, all said NO. Robredo, however, said she supports same-sex unions. All the candidates said they will hold telcos accountable for slow internet. 

Check out the VP debate highlights here 

The VP debate on Sunday, April 10, did not start well for Bongbong Marcos, whose opening speech was temporarily interrupted by a small group of protesters from the from the Youth Alliance Against the Return of the Marcoses (Youth Alarm). It did not end there. Fellow vice presidential candidate Alan Peter Cayetano relentlessly went after the son of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos for his family’s corruption record and abuses during the martial law years. At one point, vice presidential bets Sonny Trillanes and Leni Robredo also joined in calling out Marcos for his family’s alleged hidden wealth. 

Read: Cayetano, Marcos clash in debate 

Alan Peter Cayetano took Rounds 1 to 7, but netizens picked Leni Robredo as overall winner and applaud her closing line on Rappler’s online polls during the vice presidential debate. Cayetano was in fighting form throughout the debate, repeatedly attacking his fellow senator and party mate, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, and the regime of Marcos’ father, the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos. Rappler editors surmised that Robredo’s overtaking of Cayetano may have been due to her strong closing statement, which ended with, “Sa amin pong anim (Among the 6 of us), may the best woman win!”

Read: Online polls: Cayetano sweeps rounds, but Robredo is overall winner 

At least 260 people were hurt Sunday, April 10, when police fired tear gas at migrants as they tried to break through the Greek-Macedonia border, where over 11,000 people are stranded, a charity said. It was the latest violence to erupt at the flashpoint Idomeni crossing, where huge numbers of migrants and refugees have been camped out since mid-February after Balkan states closed their borders, cutting off access to northern Europe. According to a Greek police source, hundreds of migrants had gathered by the fence to demand the border be opened. When they tried to force the barrier, Macedonian police began firing tear gas. 

Read: Hundreds hurt as police tear gas migrants on Greek border

Just like in his previous fights, fans of Filipino boxing champ Manny Pacquiao around the world expressed their reactions real time on social media for the duration of his bout with Timothy Bradley, Jr. Every jab, blow and fall from the two fighters sent waves of reactions on Twitter and Facebook, putting #PacBradley on top of the worldwide Twitter trends. After Pacquiao was pronounced winner of the match, netizens were profuse in sending the champ their congratulations. Many expressed sadness over the announcement of his possible retirement. But while some netizens acknowledge his prowess inside the ring, many weren’t too happy about him joining the senatorial race. One fan tweeted, “Stay in the ring, stay out of politics.”

Read more: Netizens: Congratulations, Manny, but…

All sides in Yemen’s year-long war pledged to honor a UN-brokered ceasefire which took effect at midnight Sunday, April 10, adding to cautious optimism ahead of new talks to reach a lasting peace deal. This is not the first. Three earlier attempts at ceasefires collapsed after a Saudi-led coalition in March last year began air strikes to support the Hadi government. The coalition intervened after Zaidi Shiite Huthis overran the capital Sanaa in September 2014 and later advanced to other regions. In a contrast to earlier attempts, however, some Huthi leaders met with loyalist troops on a joint committee to make sure both sides comply with the truce, coalition spokesman Brigadier General Ahmed al-Assiri told Agence France-Presse. Fighting over the past year has killed thousands, displaced 2.4 million, and drawn in Yemen’s neighbors.  

Read more: Warring sides pledge support as Yemen truce begins

Global warming could make the planet far hotter than currently projected because today’s scientific models do not correctly account for the influence of clouds, researchers said this week. Current models overestimate the ability of clouds to reflect back sunlight, and counteract warming in Earth’s atmosphere, researchers said at Yale University and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory said in a study published in the journal Science. Researchers said their findings add to previous studies that have suggested clouds may make warming worse, rather than lessen it.

Read more: Earth could become hotter than thought, study warns

From a grand parade of delegates to the historic lighting of the friendship urn, Albay certainly put on a show for the 2016 Palarong Pambansa opening ceremony on Sunday, April 10. The Albay Sports and Tourism Complex inside the Bicol University Main Campus lit up with the bright colors of more than 14,000 student-athletes from 18 regions. A lengthy fireworks display also brightened up the night sky. 

Winners for the MTV Movie Awards 2016 have been announced, a day before the the show airs on TV on April 10, Sunday (April 11, Monday in Manila). The show has been taped beforehand. Star Wars: The Force Awakens won big this year, bringing home the Movie of the Year award, and Breakthrough Performance and Best Villain awards for Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver, respectively. Leonardo DiCaprio, who was a big winner this awards season, also took home Best Male Performance, while Charlize Theron won Best Female Performance.

Check out the full list of  MTV Movie Awards winners

Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach will soon join Manny Pacquiao, Gloria Diaz, Margie Moran, and Megan Young as the latest ‘living legend’ to have her own stamp. The Philippine Postal Corporation (PHLPost) announced that it will be coming out with a limited number of stamps featuring an image of Pia’s winning moment. According to the press release published on Thursday, April 7, the postal stamps will be released once they have been approved by the Miss Universe Organization and Binibining Pilipinas Charities Incorporated. 

Read more: PHLPost to issue Pia Wurtzbach stamps