#ThewRap: Videos to watch this week, June 12-18, 2017

Good day, Rappler readers:

After 5 days of being away from the public eye, President Rodrigo Duterte made his first public appearance on Saturday afternoon, June 17. Speculations on the state of his health buzzed during his absence, but Duterte dismissed all that as “immaterial.” 

While the President was away from the public eye, the Supreme Court held oral arguments on petitions to nullify the declaration of Martial Law in Mindanao. Somewhere in Marawi, the Rappler team met a young boy trained by the Maute group to be one of their soldiers. The Department of Tourism got flak for allegedly launching a campaign uncannily similar to a South African tourism ad.

In other news, tragedy struck London once again as a massive fire ripped through a 27-storey apartment block. And gaming giants Ubisoft, Bandai-Namco, Sony, Bethesda, Nintendo and Microsoft went full-force at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2017 in Los Angeles.

These stories, and more, are in today’s wRap!

Duterte makes 1st public appearance in 5 days

This was supposed to be Duterte’s first Independence Day as president

LISTEN: SC oral arguments on Mindanao martial law

Listen to the arguments heard by the Supreme Court on consolidated petitions to nullify martial law in Mindanao

I met a former Maute soldier. He’s a child.

EXCLUSIVE: Rappler talks to a former Maute Group child soldier. Cayamora and Farhana Maute promise his parents he will study Koran, but they turn him into a fighter instead

DOT cuts ties with McCann after ad controversy

After initially standing by its allegedly plagiarized ad, the Department of Tourism now says it expects a public apology from advertising agency McCann Worldgroup Philippines

Night of horror in London as blaze traps tower dwellers

Shaken survivors of a blaze that ravaged a west London tower block told Wednesday, June 14, of seeing people trapped or jump to their doom as flames raced towards the building’s upper floors and smoke filled the corridors.

WATCH: E3 2017 opens! Here’s what’s inside

Held at the Los Angeles Convention Center, gaming giants Ubisoft, Bandai-Namco, Sony, Bethesda, Nintendo and Microsoft to name some, put up huge, attention-grabbing booths with a level of production design that’s really impressive – especially for anyone who’s seeing E3 for the first time. – Rappler.com