Daily News Highlights – May 19, 2015 Edition

Government agencies launched the most detailed and updated map of two major faults within Greater Metro Manila – East Valley Fault and West Valley Fault – in preparation for a possible 7.2-magnitude earthquake that may happen within our lifetime. It presents the most detailed map of the two faults so far, done in a scale of 1:5,000. Such detail allows users to see locations of roads and buildings. Phivolcs Director Renato Solidum Jr. said the map is critical given that the Valley Fault System is due for a big earthquake within the next 50 years. The West Valley Fault is known to generate big quakes every 400 to 600 years. The last major quake happened 357 years ago in 1658.

Read more on the quake map.

President Benigno Aquino III’s wealth increased to P68.31 million in 2014, higher by about P1.8 million than what he declared in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) the year before that. Contributing to the increase in Aquino’s wealth is a new residential lot in Antipolo City in his real assets. In a statement, Malacañang attributed the increase “to the President’s salary, interest income and a 1/5 share from property inherited from the Sumulong side of his family.” The Sumulongs are ancestors from Aquino’s maternal lineage.

Read more on Aquino’s wealth.

“It’s not the length of service that is the standard but the quality of service and honesty.” This was neophyte senator Grace Poe’s answer to Vice President Jejomar Binay’s statement that “experience and competence” should be the basis for electing leaders in the 2016 presidential polls. Poe admitted her inexperience, but also played up her strengths as an honest lawmaker. In a visit to Cagayan de Oro City, Binay said, “It would be risky to entrust the next government to those without experience and competence since it would perpetuate the problems besetting the country today.”

The senator is only nearing her second year as a legislator. Poe said instead of talking about leadership and 2016, Binay should just show honesty by responding to the various corruption allegations against him. 

Read more on Poe’s response to Binay.

Liberal Party (LP) vice chairman and Senate President Franklin Drilon said his party has not sat down to discuss the possibility of fielding an outsider as a presidential candidate. Drilon was asked about LP’s policy on non-members, after President Benigno Aquino III, who is LP chairman, said that he is in discussions with Senator Grace Poe on the 2016 elections. In the latest Pulse Asia survey, conducted March 2015, Poe ranked 2nd in the respondents’ choice for president, with a net rating of 14%, next to Binay’s 29%. Roxas was 7th with 4%. Drilon instead called on LP president-on-leave Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II to already declare his plans for 2016.

Read more on Drilon on LP bet.

In the first overseas leg of his so-called “listening tour,” Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte told thousands of Filipino workers in Hong Kong that should he run for president and win in 2016, there will be no room to fail. “If ever I run for president, I cannot afford to be a failure after my 6 years in office. So if it His will for me to run, then God help me.”  Duterte placed 3rd in the latest survey on possible presidential contenders preferred by voters. It was the first time his name was included in the polls. Known for his iron-fist approach to criminality, he added, “Do not ever rely on surveys. What we should look for is who can solve our country’s problems, particularly on illegal drugs and criminality.” 

Read more on Duterte on 2016.

For decades, the residents of Pag-asa Island have been generally oblivious to sporadic incidents elsewhere in the West Philippine Sea. They’ve regarded these tensions faraway as matters to be settled diplomatically. But they know times have changed. They watched China begin reclamation early this year in nearby Subi (Zamora Reef). Only 14 nautical miles away, the cranes are visible to the naked eye. Residents also speak of how light from Subi Reef twinkles at night. Pag-asa is a Filipino word which means hope, but its island namesake is the subject of restlessness between feuding sovereignties.

Read more on living in Pag-asa island.

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Corporation (PLDT) chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said the company is looking at 10 new investments after its stake in Berlin-based Rocket Internet AG and leading internet TV service provider iFlix. Pangilinan also hinted that the investments would come soon, given the pace of the digital economy. “The world of the internet does not wait for anybody,” he added. PLDT invested P19.6 billion ($442.9 million) for a 10% stake in Rocket Internet in August last year, which has since been diluted to 6.4% following Rocket Internet’s Initial Public Offering (IPO). Rocket’s most prominent brands include the leading Southeast Asian e-Commerce businesses Zalora and Lazada.

Read more on PLDT’s investments.

France’s foreign minister said the international community had no option but to combat climate change as there is “no alternative planet.” “We don’t have the right to fail,” Laurent Fabius said Monday during the opening of a 2-day gathering in Berlin of representatives from 35 countries. The informal talks pave the way for a global push to cut emissions during the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris in December. French President Francois Hollande has set out an ambitious goal for the Paris meeting – an agreement to limit the rise in global temperatures linked to greenhouse gas emissions to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) from the pre-industrial age. 

Read more on the French foreign minister on climate change.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship’s first trip to the country turned out to be successful. According to Kenneth Berger, UFC executive vice president and general manager in Asia, the maiden Philippine fight card drew 13,446 people, Saturday, May 16. Berger did not disclose the exact figures of the income that was generated in the live gate-reception.

Read more on UFC Manila.

Pop sensation Taylor Swift released the music video for her song “Bad Blood” last Sunday. While the song was inspired by a feud between Swift and another female artist, some of her best famous friends are co-starring with her in the “Bad Blood” music video. Swift plays a character called “Catastrophe.” In the video, she and Selena Gomez’s character Arsyn fight together – until Arsyn turns on Catastrophe and kicks her out the window. Many believe the subject of this song is Katy Perry, who once tweeted a cryptic message: “Watch out for the Regina George in sheep’s clothing.” There’s a personal element, too: Swift dated John Mayer, whom Perry also dated on and off.

Read more on Swift’s latest music video.