ICC probe, Binay apologizes, mysterious skeleton in Greece | The wRap

Today on Rappler.

• A former Iloilo official admits he has no evidence to prove his charge the Iloilo Convention Center is overpriced.
• Vice President Binay apologizes for backing out of the debate with Senator Trillanes.
• A mysterious skeleton from the time of Alexander the Great is found in Greece. 

‘NO EVIDENCE’ OF ICC OVERPRICE
Let’s go to a story close to the hearts of the people of Iloilo.
Former Iloilo official Manuel Mejorada admits he has no evidence to prove that the Iloilo Convention Center is overpriced.
But he adds, the project presented –what he called– “opportunities for corruption.”
Mejorada earlier filed plunder complaints against Senate President Frank Drilon and other officials.
But when asked to present evidence before a Senate investigation, Mejorada says he has nothing to show because he doesn’t have subpoena powers to demand the documents that will prove his charges.
Senate President Frank Drilon denies Mejorada’s claims.
He says the government actually saved money since the 1.74 hectare lot was donated by Megaworld to the government.

FRANKLIN DRILON, SENATE PRESIDENT: I vehemently deny the accusation that I caused the ICC Project to be overpriced. The ICC Project is not overpriced. On the contrary, because of my initiative, the government, through the DOT acquired for free through a donation, a 17,371 square-meter prime property, worth at least 521 million pesos, for the ICC site.

The ICC will be the venue of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Senior Ministers’ Meeting in 2015.

OBAMA VOWS STRONGER PARTNERSHIP WITH ASEAN
At the 25th ASEAN Summit in Myanmar, US President Barack Obama promises to strengthen American partnership with member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN.
Obama praises ASEAN for its “rapid growth” and says a “strong relationship between ASEAN and the United States is crucial.”
President Benigno Aquino and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also discussed their separate territorial disputes with China, but Aquino says it was only “in passing.”

VP BINAY SAYS SORRY TO KBP FOR DEBATE BACKOUT
Vice President Jejomar Binay apologizes to broadcasters’ group KBP for backing out of a debate he asked the group to organize.
Binay says, “I know you have prepared for this. You have prepared your members if there would be such a thing.”
His spokesperson, Governor Jonvic Remulla, earlier said Binay would rather -quote- “focus on getting his job done, than get caught in verbal tussles.”

SKELETON FOUND IN ALEXANDER-ERA TOMB IN GREECE
Archaeologists find a skeleton in a mysterious tomb in northern Greece from the time of Alexander the Great.
The question is: Whose skeleton is it?
The Greek culture ministry says the richly-decorated tomb may have belonged to a powerful person.
There’s speculation the skeleton could be that of Alexander’s wife Roxana, his mother Olympias, or one of his generals.

PROMOTING HERITAGE THROUGH CULTURAL IDENTITY
Iloilo is home to decades-old churches and Spanish-era houses, but a group of citizens passionate about heritage want to do more to promote the province’s cultural treasures.
To do that, heritage advocate Eugene Jamerlan says the campaign for cultural appreciation begins with instilling a sense of pride among locals.

EUGENE JAMERLAN, ILOILO CITY CULTURAL HERITAGE CONSERVATION COUNCIL MEMBER: When people ask me about Iloilo, it’s, ‘Who are you?’ It’s really your identity. What do you tell people? And when we started doing this 10 years ago, we had to start with ourselves. We had to dig up and look at our family histories.

– Rappler.com

Production Staff