PERUVIAN forensic anthropologist Jose Pablo Baraybar on Wednesday briefed the Foreign Overseas Correspondents Association of the Philippines on his initial findings on the Nov. 23 Maguindanao massacre which left 57 people, including 30 journalists, dead. VERA Files writer Tessa Jamandre shares her video of the briefing and the full text of Baraybar's initial observations.
JOINING the already crowded presidential derby at the last minute, Sen. Richard “Dick” Gordon is banking on his image as an action man to win votes and implement genuine changes in 2010.
The former mayor of Olongapo City, founding chair and administrator of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority and chair of the Philippine National Red Cross, who is known to rule with an iron fist, boasts of his long and impressive track record as a local chief executive prior to being a legislator. But a nephew, who is also running for president, has warned about a Dick Gordon presidency.
In a one-on-one interview with Probe Profiles’ host Cheche Lazaro, Gordon discusses his leadership principles and explains his perceived dictatorial tendencies. He outlines his vision and plans for the country in the following interview:
DAVAO CITY.--The Ampatuans, Mangudadatus, Midtimbangs, Sinsuats, Masturas, Sangkis comprise the majority among Maguindanao’s 879 candidates running for 374 posts: two congressional representatives to Congress, one governor, one vice-governor, 10 provincial board members, 36 mayors, 36 vice mayors and 288 municipal board members or councilors.
The Ampatuans lead the list of candidates with 50 carrying the same surname, at least 23 of them directly related to the patriarch, Datu Andal Ampatuan, Sr., and 18 with Ampatuan as middle name, according to records of the Commission on Elections.
Among the Ampatuans running are the patriarch, Datu Andal Ampatuan, Sr., the three-term governor of Maguindanao who resigned in January 2009 and returned as OIC governor in late 2009 (he was OIC governor when the November 23 massacre in Ampatuan town happened).
THE Commission on Elections held a test run Saturday of the automated voting system to be used in the May elections.
Voters in select precincts in the cities of Quezon, Taguig, Baguio, Cebu and Davao took part in the mock elections.
But instead of the names of actual candidates, voters chose among a list of national heroes.
VERA Files' Mario Ignacio was at the New Era Elementary School in Tandang Sora, Quezon City and witnessed the conduct of the mock polls. He captured images that will give votes a taste of what to expect when they go out to vote on May 10, 2010.
FOR someone who had undergone much sorrow and pain, Corazon Aquino laughed easily and well.
People unaccustomed to hearing the former president laugh would quickly turn around to look for the source of the guffaw and be surprised at the woman who was known to be demure and self-effacing. But she was given to hearty laughter, especially when faced with the ridiculous or simply anything hilarious. On one of those occasions, she was sorely misunderstood.
I was one of the reporters covering Malacanang in the last half of Mrs. Aquino's six-year term as president. I was working for the daily newspaper Malaya. It was a time when the Philippines became, for some reason, a frequent disaster zone. One calamity kept happening after another--typhoons kept hitting the country and a volcano that lay dormant for 600 years suddenly erupted and put a large area of Luzon under cover of darkness and a thick layer of lahar. Countries and international organizations that rushed eagerly to help the country at the beginning of Mrs. Aquino's presidency began complaining and said they were suffering from what their representatives called "donor fatigue."
One day, while waiting at the gazebo for Cabinet officials to come out of the Guest House which served as the President's office, the ground literally started shaking beneath our feet. Water from the Pasig River began splashing onto the Palace grounds. To keep from falling down, reporters had to hold on to one another for support. Then came the frightening realization: Earthquake!
