Daily News Highlights – April 14, 2015 Edition

Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr said Monday the Senate will likely delete two provisions in the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) due to questions over their constitutionality. Marcos says the Senate committee on local government, which he chairs, will delete provisions providing for autonomous branches of constitutional bodies in the Bangsamoro, including the Commission on Audit, Civil Service Commission, the Commission on Elections, and the Ombudsman. The “question of the police” body in the Bangsamoro will also be scrutinized.  Cagayan de Oro 2nd District Representative Rufus Rodriguez also claims these two provisions are among the 8 BBL provisions that the House of Representatives is set to delete. The BBL implements the peace accord between the government and rebel group Moro Islamic Liberation Front. The panels of both sides maintain that the provisions in question are constitutional.

Read more on Marcos on BBL.

Shape up and solve the flight delays. Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) General Manager Jose Angel Honrado told representatives of flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) and budget airline Cebu Pacific in a meeting Friday to solve the perennial problem. The representatives were shown the daily logs with the recorded flight delays. Honrado says the delays were not necessarily caused by air traffic congestion but airline companies falling short of meeting their flight schedules. Honrado said prolonged aircraft servicing on the ground and the late arrival of aircraft from its point of origin are causing the delays.

Read more on airline delays.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) urged the Indonesian government not to execute Mary Jane Veloso, a 30-year-old Filipino on Indonesia’s death row. The CBCP also appealed for prayers for Veloso, whom her lawyers said is wrongly accused of attempting to smuggle 2.6 kilograms of heroin into Indonesia. Balanga Bishop Ruperto Santos said in a statement on behalf of the CBCP, “We storm heavens with prayers that she be saved from this tragic fate. We join the appeal to the Indonesian authorities to spare her the death penalty.” Like Pope Francis, the CBCP consistently rejects the death penalty.

Read more on Mary Jane and the CBCP.

The Court of Appeals’ (CA) 6th division on Monday, April 13, denied Senator Antonio Trillanes IV’s claims that two of its members received bribes in exchange for a resolution favoring Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay. Trillanes said CA justices Jose Reyes Jr and Francisco Acosta allegedly got a total of P50 million ($1.12 million) to issue a temporary restraining order and a writ of preliminary injunction stopping the Ombudsman’s preventive suspension against Binay. Trillanes also said that the Binays paid off the CA justices through lawyer F. Arthur “Pancho” Villaraza. In a statement, Reyes, chairman of the appellate court’s 6th division, denied receiving any amount to rule in favor of Binay.

Read more on Trillanes vs justices.

Hillary Clinton went on a road trip from New York to Iowa on board a mini-van nicknamed Scooby. She tweeted a picture of herself meeting a family at a Pennsylvania gas station, “Road trip! Loaded the van & set off for IA. Met a great family when we stopped this afternoon. Many more to come. -H.” The trip into the US heartland Monday comes after launching her bid to become the first woman to win the White House. Her pledge: champion “everyday Americans.” The move reveals early efforts to put behind her the jet-set image of a former first lady, secretary of state and global charity director. Clinton’s formal entry unleashed her formidable fundraising machine and social media operation. Clinton leads against her GOP rivals in nearly all polls.

Read more on Hillary’s election machinery.

A telecom industry group challenged US “open Internet” regulations barring broadband providers from separating online traffic into slow and fast lanes, hours after official publication of the order. The US Federal Communications Commission published its “net neutrality” order in the federal register Monday, making the hotly contested rules effective June 12. USTelecom, a trade group that includes major broadband providers such as AT&T and Verizon, announced it had filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking to block implementation of the plan. The new challenge means the case goes back to federal court. Backers of “net neutrality” include online services like Netflix, Twitter and Yelp while big Internet service providers like AT&T and Verizon were vehemently against it. Dubbed the “open internet”, broadband was reclassified by the FCC as a “public utility” under a 1934 telecom law. Backers of the new rule say it is needed to prevent big broadband firms from locking out new services which cannot or will not pay for “fast lane” service. But critics say it amounts to old-style regulation that lacks relevance in the digital era.

Read more on ”open Internet”.

A court in Jordan ordered 6 men jailed for waving the Islamic State group’s flag and singing jihadist slogans at a wedding. The state security court sentenced 2 defendants to five years in prison while the other 4 were sentenced in absentia to 15 years, after they failed to show up for trial. The defendants were arrested shortly after the wedding in September in the northern city of Irbid. The indictment said the defendants had adopted an extremist ideology and had distributed propaganda at religious centres in Irbid, which is close to the Syrian border. Jordan last year joined the US-led coalition carrying out air strikes against IS positions in Syria and Iraq.

Read more on Jordan’s war vs terror.

Heading to Las Vegas for Floyd Mayweather vs Manny Pacquiao but can’t afford a ticket to the fight? Expect to pay a steep fee if you’re watching on closed circuit. Bob Arum tells ESPN that the fight will be aired live in Las Vegas for a ticket price of $150. The fight on May 2 will be blacked out from non-MGM Resorts International hotels in Las Vegas. The only places to watch it on The Strip will be the MGM Grand, Monte Carlo, Bellagio, and Mirage. Tickets for a seat in the arena that night, which are priced at face value between $1,500 and $7,500, are expected to go on sale this week. Fox5 also reports that floor seats could go for over $50,000 on the secondary market.

Read more on Mayweather-Pacquiao fight.

Who knocked out more opponents in a row, Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather Jr? How did Mayweather fare against southpaws? What is Pacquiao’s record against unbeaten fighters? These questions and more are answered in this infographic from Rappler. Examine the numbers behind the careers of Pacquiao and Mayweather before they meet on May 2, May 3 in the Philippines, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Read more on Mayweather-Pacquiao statistics.

Rusty Quintana was a street kid who grew up outside the grand gates of Xavier University, near the historic Plaza Divisoria in Cagayan de Oro City. He led a difficult childhood, including an early addiction to drugs and a run-in with the law. After two years of rehabilitation, Quintana met Rhyan Casino, who introduced him to the arts. Soon after, Quintana was admitted to Xavier University on scholarship, graduating in 2015.

Read more on Rudy’s story.