September 26, 2013 Edition

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) on Thursday, September 26, filed tax evasion charges against Janet Lim Napoles and her husband Jaime. Napoles’ total liability stands at P44.68M, while Jaime’s liability is worth P16.43M, BIR Commissioner Kim Henares said in a press briefing on Thursday. Henares said that the charges are based on the failure of the couple to file proper income taxes. The agency reached this conclusion on the basis of properties and investments under their names, which are not reflected in the income they declared —or did not declare — in the years they were purchased.

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In an hour-long privilege speech by Senator Jinggoy Estrada, Estrada dragged Senate President Franklin Drilon, House Majority Leader Neptali “Boyet” Gonzales II, and Commission on Audit (COA) Chairman Grace Pulido Tan into the pork barrel controversy, decrying what he called was the selective “trial by publicity” against opposition senators. Estrada explained, without addressing the allegations levied against him, that he and his colleagues have already been judged in the public’s mind.

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Watch the livestream of his privilege speech.
Read the full speech on Rappler.

Sen Jinggoy Estrada is reportedly building a new, multi-million-peso house in one of the country’s high-end subdivisions. According to a source with direct knowledge of Estrada’s expenses, in 2012, the senator bought a 3,000-square meter lot in Wack-Wack subdivision in Mandaluyong. Subdivision residents who were interviewed by Rappler said it was “common knowledge” among them that the house — estimated to cost P120 million — is owned by Estrada. Construction was ongoing on the L-shaped lot when Rappler visited the property in the second week of September. This was stopped by last week.

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The world’s major powers made important progress Wednesday, September 25 on key points of a UN Security Council resolution on destroying Syria’s chemical weapons, envoys said. But more talks between US and Russian negotiators will be needed before there is a suggestion of sanctions against President Bashar al-Assad over his chemical arsenal, officials from the two sides said. One UN diplomat said there was agreement on the “main points” of a draft resolution, noting the 15-member council could vote on a resolution that would allow for a new vote on sanctions under Chapter VII of the UN Charter if Assad fails to honor a Russian-US disarmament plan. Without denying the account, a senior State Department official cautioned to Agence France-Presse: “We’re making progress but we’re not done yet.”

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Desperate villagers in southwest Pakistan clawed through the wreckage of their ruined homes September 25, Wednesday, a day after a huge earthquake struck, killing more than 270 people and creating a new island off the coast. The 7.7-magnitude quake hit on Tuesday afternoon in Baluchistan province’s remote Awaran district–a dirt-poor expanse of land that is roughly the size of Wales. At least 271 people have been confirmed dead and more than 440 injured, according to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority and the Baluchistan government’s earthquake response control room.

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National Bureau of Investigation operatives returned to the place where 25-year-old advertising executive Kae Davantes was killed. On Wednesday, September 25, they brought with them 19-year-old suspect Samuel Decimo who had earlier confessed to stabbing Davantes. He promised the NBI he would help in their investigation. At the crime scene, they retraced and reenacted the crime that happened on September 7. Davantes was abducted, robbed, and stabbed. Her body was later found in Silang, Cavite. While 3 suspects have been arrested by the police, two remain at large.

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By 2014, Asia will have the world’s largest number of millionaires, a report from the Royal Bank of Canada’s wealth management unit said. Published on Wednesday, September 25, the report said the wealth of the region’s millionaires will grow by an annual average of 9.8% and reach nearly US$16 trillion in 2015. This is due to strong growth and high saving rates. In 2012, Hong Kong’s number of millionaires was highest in Asia, rising by 35.7% year-on-year, with their wealth growing by 37.2%. Japan, meanwhile, had the slowest growth in its millionaire population, recording a 4.4% increase compared to 2011.

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Plagiarist Mark Joseph Solis was criticized by more groups, including the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) and the University of the Philippines National College of Public Administration (NCPAG), where he is enrolled as a graduate student. In a statement released on Wednesday, September 25, the CCP said Solis violated the rights of photographer Gregory John Smith by claiming Smith’s photo as his own. Solis submitted a photograph of a child who he claimed was from Zamboanga — but who was actually from Brazil — and won in the Chilean embassy’s Calidad Humana Project “Smiles for the World” competition. The prize has been revoked. The NCPAG said it has formed a fact-finding committee to probe the case and recommend possible sanctions against Solis.

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A related story is also on Rappler.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday, September 25, that the 30 Greenpeace activists apprehended by authorities broke the law in their protest against Arctic oil exploration. The activists are in detention centers after they were taken from their Dutch-flagged vessel following their protest in the Barents Sea this September. Putin told an international Arctic forum in Salekhard “they are not pirates.” Piracy would have carried a maximum punishment of 15 years in prison. Greenpeace international executive director Kumi Naidoo welcomed Putin’s statement that the activists “acted purely out of concern for the Arctic environment.”

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Among the Chinese’s Top 20 tourist destinations, the Philippines’ famous Boracay beaches rank No. 16, behind Bali, Chiang Mai, and Phuket, among others. TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel website, released its list of Chinese preferred tourist destinations outside the mainland. TripAdvisor managing director Lily Cheng said the new generation of Chinese outbound travellers are “savvy, sophisticated” and “deliberately seeking out websites that have an established international presence to find more deals and more content.” In 2012, China was the Philippines’ 3rd largest contributor in tourist arrivals, accounting for 48.58% of total arrivals. Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez is targeting 10 million tourists by 2016.

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