November 20, 2014 Edition

Acting Health Secretary Janette Garin transferred key officials in the health department barely a month after she assumed the position following the medical leave of Health Secretary Enrique Ona. One of those “fired” by Garin, Undersecretary Ted Herbosa said he  is considering filing a case against Garin. Four other members of the DOH Executive Committee have also been reportedly transferred from their original posts.

Read the full story on Rappler.

Businessman Antonio Tiu, accused of being a dummy for Vice President Jejomar Binay, has been asked by the Securities and Exchange Commission to explain the “incomplete disclosures” of some of his companies. Two of these companies are listed in the Philippine Stock Exchange. Tiu, through his company Sunchamp Real Estate Development Corporation, has claimed ownership of a 150-hectare estate in Rosario, Batangas. But whistleblowers in a Senate probe allege the property is actually owned by Binay.

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Confirming his plan to act through executive order, US President Barack Obama said he will lay out a plan on November 20 to fix the “broken” laws stranding millions of undocumented migrants in limbo. Reports say his order may protect up to 5 million of America’s estimated 11 million undocumented migrants from deportation. The White House has long wanted to pass a broad immigration reform package that would offer a path to citizenship for young migrants that grew up in the US. The Republican House of Representatives blocked it and failed to agree on its own alternative proposal.

Read the full story on Rappler.

More action is needed to rein in climate change in the coming years, a UN report said on November 19. The Emissions Gap report is the 5th yearly analysis that examines how countries are doing and lays out the path toward keeping the average rise in global temperature below 2° Celsius over the next century. The report said pollution is still rising despite world pledges to cut carbon emissions. “This report is telling us that we are pointing in the wrong direction – and time is running out for us to get back on track,” said Taryn Fransen, project director of the Open Climate Network at the World Resources Institute.

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His choice will be based on a consensus with supporters and allies. President Benigno Aquino III said he has started the process of selecting the candidate that he will be endorsing for president in the 2016 elections. “The consensus-building processes are being conducted,” Aquino told reporters, adding he’s open to talks with other political parties and coalition partners. It is widely perceived that Aquino’s choice for 2016 is his friend and close adviser, Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas.

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Uber is not yet registered with the Philippines’ Securities and Exchange Commission even if it has been operating in the country for 9 months, a House hearing showed. Lawmakers said Uber should already be paying taxes, but the absence of corporate license indicates it has not done so. Uber is in the hot seat over issues on licenses and government regulation. Transportation Secretary Jun Abaya however said the growing demand for Uber in the capital should prompt taxi companies to innovate and modernize.

Read the full story on Rappler.

Read the full story on Abaya’s statement on Rappler.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo’s move to cut subsidies for the country’s most widely used gasoline and diesel, raising pump prices by $0.165 per liter each and other actions put him squarely up against what has been called the Oil Mafia, a shadowy cabal close to some of the country’s most powerful political figures, according to Asia Sentinel. The mafia is said to include even members of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, Jokowi’s political party, as well as officials of Golkar and former President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s Democratic Party, Asia Sentinel added. Political sources describe the system as a funding mechanism for powerful political parties and a route to vast wealth.

Read the full story on Rappler.

Over 100 “talents” of network giant GMA-7 have filed a labor case against the country’s second biggest broadcast network for its refusal to consider them as regular employees despite years of service. Members of the newly-formed Talents Association of GMA said that some of them have, for at least 6 months, and others even for as long as 15 years, been rendering work to the media company, yet have not become regular employees. With the case now pending before the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC), it is just a matter of time before appeals are filed by either side. The NLRC is bound by law to decide on the case 30 days after it is submitted for resolution.

Read the full story on Rappler.

The NBC pulled the plug on a new sitcom of US comedian Bill Cosby as pressure mounted on him in the face of sexual assault allegations. Netflix already postponed a planned special. People magazine said the Netflix special was supposed to be a birthday celebration for Cosby, in which he would share stories from his childhood, first romantic relationships and parenthood. But the allegations of rape and sexual abuse made against him by several women in recent weeks are tarnishing the public image of the urbane actor, famous for his long TV career – especially his role as a doting father on the popular “Cosby Show” in the 1980s and 1990s.

Read the full story on Rappler.

Lim Eng Beng. Kiefer Ravena. Jeron Teng. LA Tenorio. Rappler profiles some of the best Filipino basketball players their schools have seen. Their on-court exploits live on in memory. To this day, they remember how it feels to pound down center court with a thousand voices screaming their names.

Read Glory Days and watch the video on Rappler.