November 11,2014 Edition

The Supreme Court may opt to vote on Tuesday, November 11, on the case filed by Senator Jinggoy Estrada claiming a violation of his constitutional right to due process by the Ombudsman As of last week, the numbers were said to be evenly split in the 15-man High Court. Estrada will need a minimum of 8 votes for a court victory. He, along with senators Juan Ponce Enrile and Ramon Revilla face plunder and graft charges over the multimillion-peso pork barrel scam.

Read the full story on Rappler.

Vice President Jejomar Binay celebrated his 72nd birthday on Tuesday, November 11, a few days after his wife Elenita celebrated hers on November 9. She turned 70. Binay also told reporters in an ambush interview he was backing out of the November 27 debate with Senator Antonio Trillanes IV where he was expected to refute corruption allegations against him. “Ayoko na,” he said. (I no longer want to.) On Monday, November 10, a thanksgiving Mass for the Binays was held at the Makati City Hall parking lot during which the officiating priest told the couple – currently in the middle of a crisis due to allegations of corruption – “See this as an opportunity to lift off.” Binay’s birthday wish was for the “political persecution” against his family to end.

Read the full story on Rappler.

A related story on Monday’s pre-birthday celebration is also on Rappler.

Prosecutors are asking the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan which is hearing the plunder and graft cases against Senator Jinggoy Estrada to direct him and his defense team to “refrain from further acts to delay” court proceedings. Estrada’s lawyers had previously asked the Sandiganbayan to revoke the immunity granted to principal witness Benhur Luy because he is among the “most guilty” in the pork barrel scam. The prosecution argued that Luy had never been named as a respondent and had never been put under the jurisdiction of the anti-graft court. Likewise, they said that determining immunity is a prerogative of the Ombudsman.

Read the full story on Rappler.

Elenita Binay, former Makati mayor and wife of Vice President Jejomar Binay, faces 7 cases in the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan – unlike her husband whose 5 cases have either been dismissed or withdrawn. Three of the cases covered repeated public bidding of office furniture and partitions for the new Makati City Hall building, while 4 involved exorbitant prices of Ospital ng Makati equipment. The cases have been revived by the Ombudsman and a whistleblower, Ernesto Aspillaga, also one of her former co-accused, has emerged.

Read the full story on Rappler.

Accused by the village council of killing her nephew who had died earlier, a woman was partially stripped naked and paraded for 10 minutes on a donkey through her village in northern India. Her face was blackened with coal dust and her hair cut, upon orders of a council of elders. She was meted the cruel punishment just on suspicion, police said. The unnamed woman is being cared for by her family members.

Read the full story on Rappler.

A year after Super Typhoon Yolanda destroyed large swathes of Tacloban City, Rehabilitation Secretary Panfilo Lacson criticized its mayor, Alfred Romualdez, for hijacking recovery efforts to further his political agenda. He said Romualdez lied when the mayor claimed Tacloban has not received any funds from the national government. He has also been behind anti-government protesters, providing them transportation and placards. Just the same, Lacson said, “We will not give up on Tacloban…But the local executives must do their share.”

Read the full story on Rappler.

South Korea has called off the search for bodies from the sunken Sewol ferry that capsized on April 16 with 325 high school students on board. 9 victims remain unaccounted for. Maritime Minister Lee Ju-Young said the situation in the ship has “become too difficult for search operations to continue.” His announcement came just before a court was to deliver a verdict and sentence in the murder trial of ferry captain Lee Jun-Seok who, along with senior crew members, has been charged with homicide.

Read the full story on Rappler.

Spread false information on an Ebola virus outbreak and face jail time. This was the warning issued by Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Monday, November 10, after the health department denied an online report posted by a certain “Gemma Sheridan” about Ebola cases in Quezon City. The Cybercrime Law punishes rumormongers and those who spread false information. De Lima said she has asked the justice department’s cybercrime office and the National Bureau of Investigation’s anti-cybercrime division to investigate.

Read the full story on Rappler.

Broadcast in more than 150 countries, the popular children’s television show, celebrated its 45th anniversary on Monday, November 10. According to a 2013 study, children who watch one of the international versions of the program average higher “learning outcomes” than kids who don’t. This means that Sesame Street, which has received more television Emmy Awards than any other show in history, has an impact “comparable to dedicated pre-school interventions – but only on a vastly larger scale,” makers of the show said. Sesame Street reaches 156 million kids worldwide.

Read the full story on Rappler.

“Like a Virgin” by Madonna is on the first album of Sister Cristina Sciuccia, the singing nun who won Italy’s version of The Voice. The 26-year-old nun from Sicily drew global attention when she sang non-traditional, non-religious songs like Alicia Keys’ “No One” and Bon Jovi’s “Living on a Prayer.” Defending her choice of Madonna’s song, Sciuccia said the song’s reference to being “touched for the very first time” was akin to her experience of finding God.

Read the full story on Rappler.