Daily News Highlights – June 3, 2016 Edition

President-elect Rodrigo Duterte cursed the United Nations (UN) for failing to solve conflict in the Middle East and not helping “black people” in Africa. He slammed the prospect of being threatened with suits based on various UN conventions. “You’re a son of a bitch, UN. You can’t even solve the killings there in the Middle East,” he said in Filipino. Founded in 1945, the UN is an international organization of 193 member states that seek to achieve peace and security, friendly relations, and find solutions to global problems. 

Read more about Duterte’s tirade on Rappler.

Saying that most slain journalists are corrupt, President-elect Rodrigo Duterte said the “vultures of journalism” are not his problem. He was also vague about what he would do to address the alarming rate of media killings in the Philippines. He said, “What can I do? You are there, there is always a risk…” Duterte classified Filipino journalists into 3 – crusaders, mouth pieces, and “low-life” journalists who dig up dirt and demand money in exchange for keeping their mouths shut. More honest media, he said, is the best solution to the media killings.

Read more on the allegations about corrupt media on Rappler.

After nearly 30 years in exile, Jose Maria Sison, leader of the Communist Party of the Philippines, may be coming to Manila as early as next month to participate in peace talks. Speaking to reporters at a news conference via Skype, Sison, also a consultant of the rebels’ negotiating group, the National Democratic Front, said he wants to visit “in July or August to hold serious talks with President Duterte.” The 77-year-old Sison also said Philippine government and rebel emissaries were set to meet in Norway from mid-June to lay the groundwork for formal peace talks.

Read more about Sison’s homecoming on Rappler.

President-elect Rodrigo Duterte named 4 new additions to his Cabinet, including longtime executive assistant, Christopher “Bong” Go, whom he appointed head of the Presidential Management Staff. During a press conference Thursday night, Duterte also said disaster risk expert Ed del Rosario, who used to be executive director of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, will be his undersecretary for civil veterans under the defense department. Former police general Ed Galvante will head the Land Transportation Office, while television news anchor Martin Andanar will head the Presidential Communications Operations Office.

Read more about the new Duterte appointees on Rappler.

The Louvre museum will close on Friday, June 3, to evacuate artworks in its underground reserves as the River Seine began to burst its banks. The Seine swelled to more than 5 meters above usual levels Thursday, prompting management to close its galleries entirely. Radical action was decided after days of torrential rain hit Paris. The most visited museum in the world is home to the Mona Lisa and priceless Egyptian artefacts.

Read more about the Louvre’s flood protection measures on Rappler.

President-elect Rodrigo Duterte insisted Thursday night, June 2, that his whistling at a female reporter during a press conference is protected by his right to freedom of expression. Yet Davao City’s own Women Development Code, which he himself signed in 1994, defined whistling as an act of sexual harassment. Duterte said for whistling to be sexual harassment, there has to be “sexual undertones” and that stopping someone from whistling is “intruding into constitutional grounds.” Referring to the incident involving GMA-7 reporter Mariz Umali, Duterte said he whistled because he was “exasperated by the question.”

Read more about Duterte’s defense of whistling on Rappler.

A related story on the Davao City ordinance is also on Rappler.

Jojo Sayson, a Filipino physical therapist, consultant and co-investigator at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Human Research Program at the University of California sent off to space “Astronaut Bob”. A miniature figurine with replicas of the flags of the US, France, and the Philippines, Astronaut Bob was sent off as part of a High Altitude Balloon Space Mission which targets sending the figurine to a height of 100,000 feet and aims to successfully recover the package too.

Read more about the goal of the mission on Rappler.

Surrender, reform, or be booted out. This was the message of incoming police chief Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa to police involved in drug-related crimes. Dela Rosa estimated that around 1% of the 160,000-strong police force is involved in drug crimes. He said he has to clean the police force and remove anyone who needs to be taken out. His first order of business will be to hand to the director of personnel a list of police he wants removed – from the directorate to the regional directors.

Read more about Dela Rosa’s plans on Rappler.

The National Bureau of Investigation confirmed they found traces of two synthetic drugs similar in effect to the illegal drug ecstasy, in the remains of a victim who attended the Closeup Forever Summer open-air concert. NBI medico legal division assistant chief Dr Wilfredo Tierra said that according to the toxicology report the victim who was unnamed had MDMA methylene homolog and methylenedioxy cathinone, a stimulant found in the khat plant. “Mood-altering” synthetic substances, these stimulants are not yet part of the prohibited substances list in the country.

Read more about the autopsy findings on Rappler.

Prince died from an accidental overdose of painkillers, autopsy results disclosed on Thursday, June 2. A medical examiner said the 57-year-old’s April 21 death was caused by self-administration of fentanyl, a powerful opiod used to treat severe pain. A synthetic opiate, fentanyl is more powerful than morphine and is used to treat people with chronic pain. It is available only by prescription.

Read more about Prince’s death on Rappler.