May 9, 2014 Edition

Southeast Asian leaders head into a historic summit in Myanmar this weekend dogged by a flare-up of high-seas tensions with China that will test the region’s ability to stand together against a mighty economic partner. The tensions threaten to cloud Myanmar’s hopes of using Sunday’s (May 11) Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as a coming-out celebration, as it emerges from decades of military rule with a new emphasis on economic liberalization. Myanmar is hosting an ASEAN summit for the first time, showcasing its remote capital Naypyidaw under the slogan “Moving Forward in Unity to a Peaceful and Prosperous Community.” It is expected to steer a cautious route through disputes with China, a longtime ally.

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China and Vietnam, which fought a brief border war in 1979, have been locked in a long dispute over their contested waters. On May 8, they traded accusations against each other over the disputed Paracel Islands, with Beijing claiming that Hanoi’s ships had rammed Chinese vessels 171 times since May 3. This is in contrast to Vietnam’s claim that its own patrol vessels were repeatedly rammed by Chinese ships protecting a deep-water drilling rig near the area. Tensions between the communist neighbors have risen sharply since Beijing unilaterally announced last week that it would move the drilling rig into disputed waters.

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Accusing the Philippines of committing a “premeditated provocative act” in detaining 11 Chinese fishermen caught poaching in Philippine waters, China warned of a “further” erosion of bilateral ties over the incident. The Chinese Embassy in Manila alleged that Philippine authorities seized the Chinese fishing boat to deliberately elevate tensions in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea). China insisted that the arrest was a “severe” violation of its sovereignty and maritime rights over Nansha Islands and their adjacent waters. The Chinese Embassy reiterated China’s call for immediate the release of the boat and its crew, and to “guarantee the crew’s safety and their property.”

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Malacañang on May 9 announced that President Benigno Aquino III has accepted the resignation of Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) chair Margarita Juico. Palace Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr said Juico’s resignation would take effect “upon formal written acceptance by the President in accordance with established procedures.” Juico is a longtime ally and friend of the Aquino family. She also served under the administration of the late President Corazon C. Aquino. Malacañang has not disclosed the reasons for her resignation, but sources said a key Liberal Party official who was defeated in the last 2013 elections was reportedly promised the PCSO post.

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The Office of the Ombudsman said it found no evidence to implicate former president and incumbent Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in the P728-million fertilizer scam. In a resolution released May 8, the Ombudsman said the complainants, which include several anti-Arroyo groups, failed to present documentary or testimonial evidence that would prove Arroyo’s involvement in the scheme. The fertilizer scam, which was investigated by the Senate, involved P728 million in Department of Agriculture funds under the Ginintuang Masaganing Ani misused by legislators in collusion with their partners—private suppliers and foundations that were recipients of the funds. It was believed the fund was used to finance the political allies of Arroyo for the May 2004 polls, which she won.

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World powers, including the United States and China, have joined in the search for the more than 200 schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram Islamists who have also killed hundreds in Nigeria’s northeast this week. The US and France are sending specialist teams to Nigeria, while London has agreed to deploy “satellite imaging capabilities.” China promised to supply “any useful information acquired by its satellites and intelligence services” to Nigeria. The police offered $300,000 (215,000 euros) for information leading to the rescue of the girls. Nigeria’s response to the kidnappings has been widely criticized, including by activists and parents of the hostages who say the military’s search operation has been inept so far.

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Rehabilitation czar Panfilo ‘Ping’ Lacson has his own list of lawmakers allegedly implicated by pork barrel queen Janet Lim Napoles in her affidavit. Now he says he’s willing to share that list with the Department of Justice (DOJ), which has a copy of the affidavit and is leading the probe into the Philippines’ biggest corruption scandal in recent history. Lacson, a former chief of the National Police, said he’s considering turning over to the DOJ all the documents in his possession in relation to the scam. Napoles submitted to DOJ a list of the lawmakers she transacted with and an affidavit to detail what she knows about the scam. What followed is a media frenzy. The list has been the subject of speculation among lawmakers and political observers.

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The proportion of the global population who lack access to safer drinking water has fallen drastically over the past two decades, but progress has all too often sidelined the poor, the UN said May 8. In a report, the World Health Organization and UNICEF said 89% of the globe’s population had access to improved water supplies at the end of 2012, up 13% on two decades ago. At least 748 million people – roughly half of them in Sub-Saharan Africa and most of the rest in Asia – still used unimproved water sources. The bulk of the them lived in rural areas, the study said.

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Thousands of miles from Wall Street, where Alibaba Group has filed for a multi-billion-dollar IPO, Chinese farmers are swapping tractors for luxury cars after making fortunes through the Internet giant. The group, which dominates China’s e-commerce market, combines aspects of eBay, Amazon, PayPal and other Western tech darlings, and according to analysts, an investor frenzy could drive its value as high as $200 billion when it goes public in the US later this year. One of Alibaba’s main assets, the sprawling e-commerce site Taobao – or “search for treasure” – enables Chinese businessmen to offer their locally made products to millions of potential Chinese customers. Taobao villages often produce their goods – ranging from T-shirts to wicker baskets – in small-scale workshops, meaning farmers who would previously have flocked to Chinese cities in search of better incomes can instead stay put and connect with buyers online.

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It’s the final stretch. On Day 6 of Palarong Pambansa on May 9, the games enter the semifinals of team sports and we inch closer to finding out who will come out on top in the country’s biggest sporting event. It’s not a surprise to see university coaches and scouts storm the 2014 Palarong Pambansa to look for the best athletes to add to their squads. According to these coaches, having a Palaro stint under an athlete’s belt is a huge advantage from other student players since competing in the largest sporting event in the archipelago gives them an experience that comes very handy when they advance to the college ranks.

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