Daily News Highlights – May 24, 2016 Edition

“That can be arranged immediately.” This is what President-elect Rodrigo Duterte said last night on his campaign promise to bury the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr in the heroes’ cemetery. He admitted the move may disgust people who don’t believe Marcos deserves to be treated as a hero because of human rights abuses, but said there are other reasons for the burial. “I will allow the burial of President Marcos sa Libingan ng mga Bayani not because he is a hero, but because he was a Filipino soldier, period.” he said. He repeated earlier statements that Marcos’ burial would initiate “healing” among the Filipino people. And what about the victims of human rights abuses? He said, “The compensation is there. You can claim the money.” 

Read more on Marcos Sr burial in heroes’ cemetery.

President-elect Rodrigo Duterte said he’s ready to grant pardon to Former President Gloria Arroyo saying, “All of those charged [with her] in connection with the sweepstakes expenditure on the intelligence fund are already free. It’s only Arroyo who remains under arrest.” Arroyo refused his offer to grant her pardon, saying this would require her to admit to the crime of plunder. Duterte said he then urged Arroyo to apply for bail. The former president is detained at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center for plunder.  She allegedly misused P366-million Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) intelligence funds from 2008 to 2010.

Read more on Duterte’s stance on Arroyo.

An Aquino and a Marcos clashed once again, this time on the Senate floor. Senator Bongbong Marcos delivered a privilege speech Monday questioning the credibility of the partial and unofficial results of the tight vice presidential race, which showed his rival, Camarines Sur Representative Leni Robredo, leading the tally. Senator Bam Aquino, Robredo’s campaign manager, questioned Marcos’ claims that a change in an election-related hash code may have affected the unofficial results reflected in the Commission on Elections’ Transparency Server causing Robredo’s numbers to rise and overtake Marcos. The poll body insisted it was merely a “cosmetic” tweak to correct a typographical error. Aquino said, “You’re saying it yourself that any accusation must be backed up with the proper data… Is there any data, or you’re merely calling for opening up for scrutiny?” Marcos responded, “This is not a fishing expedition.”

Read more on Bongbong vs Bam at the Senate.

Former Justice Secretary Leila de Lima will be the ‘overall consultant’ of vice presidential candidate Leni Robredo’s legal team before she assumes her post as Philippine Senator. De Lima was an election lawyer before joining government. Robredo’s legal team is preparing to defend her victory as reflected in the unofficial count as Congress prepares to canvass votes for the 2016 elections. Rival Bongbong Marcos accused the Robredo camp of cheating while Robredo’s lawyer Romulo Macalintal slammed the allegation saying Marcos does not have proof. 

Read more on de Lima now Robredo’s lawyer.

President Benigno Aquino III signed on Monday a law creating the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT). The present Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) will be restructured and renamed the Department of Transportation, and all its operating units dealing with communications will be transferred to the newly-created DICT. Senator Ralph Recto,the principal sponsor of the DICT bill, said it would create a lean bureaucracy with a “small but smart workforce” and spur the development of the country’s ICT sector.

Read more on the new Department of Information and Communications Technology.

Las Piñas representative Mark Villar, who was tapped by president-elect Rodrigo Duterte to run the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), vowed that he will not allow his family’s business empire to benefit from his position once he assumes the post. Villar is part of the family who owns the Philippines’ biggest homebuilder, P2.7-billion Vista Land, and shopping-center developer Starmalls Incorporated, which nets P347.24-million in the first quarter of the year. Villar said his family can divest and will not participate in the bidding of DPWH-implemented public-private partnership projects. 

Read more on Mark Villar’s potential conflicts of interest.

The Cebu provincial board approved on Monday, May 23, the resolution supporting a 10 pm curfew for minors, effective June 30, when the new set of elected officials start their term. The provincial board passed the local resolution supporting incoming President Rodrigo Duterte’s plan to impose the same restriction on minors nationwide. 

Read more on Cebu’s province-wide curfew for minors.

Religious leader Apollo Quiboloy said he will not use his longtime friendship with president-elect Rodrigo Duterte to interfere with “national interest.” His statement comes after his apparent concern over Duterte’s Cabinet appointments and his restricted access to the president-elect with whom he shares a “30-year friendship.” Quiboloy, the founder of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, said he wanted to correct “misunderstandings” that he would benefit from his friendship with Duterte in a way that harms the public good. Duterte has drawn criticism for accepting properties and cars from Quiboloy.

Read more on Quiboloy on his friendship with Duterte.

Acting Brazilian president Michel Temer’s government faced its first major crisis Monday when planning Minister Romero Juca said he would step aside starting Tuesday. This comes after a recording leaked in which Juca appears to discuss using the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff to derail a huge corruption probe. The scandal threatened Temer just 11 days after taking power from Rousseff, who was suspended from the presidency on May 12 by the Senate for the start of an impeachment trial on charges of breaking government accounting rules.

Read more on the Brazil interim government’s first major scandal.

The music is so familiar, the opening bars a beautiful reminder of an animated classic. But the look of Bill Condon’s upcoming live-action Beauty and the Beast is all new, bringing the beloved 1991 Disney film to life, and fans get a good look at it in the new teaser trailer, released Monday. British actress Emma Watson plays Belle, Sir Ian McKellen as Cogsworth, Emma Thompson as Mrs Potts, Ewan McGregor as Lumiere, Dan Stevens as the Beast, and Luke Evans as Gaston. Beauty and the Beast will hit theaters March 2017.

Watch the Beauty and the Beast teaser.