Category Archives: Philippines

Some wipeout: Hawaii big wave surfer’s board floats 8,000km to Philippines

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More than two years after disappearing in a huge swell at Waimea Bay, Doug Falter’s board was found near the remote island of Sarangani

When big wave surfer Doug Falter lost his board in a wipeout in Hawaii, his best hope was for a local fisherman to pick it up. He never imagined it would be found more than 8,000km (5,000 miles) away in the southern Philippines.

But more than two years after watching his pale blue custom-shaped board disappear in the huge swell of Waimea Bay, Falter was alerted via social media that it had been found near the remote island of Sarangani.

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Duterte pardons US marine jailed for killing transgender woman Jennifer Laude – video

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The Philippine president pardoned a US marine on Monday in a surprise move that will free him from imprisonment for the 2014 killing of a transgender Filipino woman. Rodrigo Duterte said he had decided to pardon L/Cpl Joseph Scott Pemberton because the marine was not treated fairly after opponents blocked his early release for good conduct in detention. The case had led to calls from some in the Philippines to end the US military presence in the country, a former US colony with which Washington has a mutual defence treaty

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Philippines pardons US Marine for killing transgender woman

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President’s move to free Joseph Scott Pemberton condemned as ‘shameless mockery of justice’

The Philippine president has pardoned a US Marine in a surprise move that will free him from imprisonment for the 2014 killing of a transgender Filipino woman that sparked anger in the former American colony.

Teodoro Locsin Jr, the Philippine foreign secretary, tweeted that Rodrigo Duterte had “granted an absolute pardon” to L/Cpl Joseph Scott Pemberton “to do justice”, but did not elaborate. Duterte was to deliver televised remarks on Monday night where he would discuss Pemberton’s case, a presidential spokesman, Harry Roque, said.

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Revealed: the final call home made by captain of cattle ship that sank off Japan

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Dante Addug called his partner as water entered the Gulf Livestock 1 cargo ship but family has not heard from him since

The last time the captain of the Gulf Livestock 1 spoke to his partner, Typhoon Maysak was battering the ship and water was already flowing in. It was 8.30pm on Tuesday.

“He informed her that water had entered the ship. The last thing he said was he will go to the bridge to check the situation,” Maya Addug-Sanchez, the captain’s sister, told the Guardian. Addug’s family hasn’t heard from him since.

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Japan coastguard says second person found from capsized cattle ship has died

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Rescuers search for more than 40 crew from ship carrying 6,000 cattle that went down en route from New Zealand to China

A second survivor from a cargo ship carrying 6,000 cattle that capsized off southwest Japan has died after being pulled from the water unconscious on Friday.

The Japanese coast guard said the man had been unresponsive when he was found about 120 km (75 miles) north-northwest of Amami Oshima island and transferred to a hospital.

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‘Bombs can’t kill viruses’: Hawaii faces backlash as international war games approach

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As coronavirus case numbers soar, the state prepares to host Rimpac, the world’s largest international maritime military exercise

In a year when the coronavirus has caused multinational war games to be conducted virtually or canceled, the world’s largest international maritime military exercise begins in Hawaii next week.

The Rim of the Pacific (Rimpac) war games, which run through the end of August, come as Hawaii struggles to contain community spread of the coronavirus amid what has become the highest reproduction rate in the country.

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Coronavirus global report: ‘response fatigue’ fears as Mexico hits 9,000 daily cases

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Many countries that believed they were past the worst are grappling with new outbreaks, says WHO

Mexico has recorded more than 9,000 daily coronavirus cases for the first time, as the country overtook the UK with the world’s third-highest number of deaths from the pandemic after the US and Brazil.

The surging numbers were reported as the World Health Organization warned of “response fatigue” and a resurgence of cases in several countries that have lifted lockdowns.

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Global report: Philippines ‘losing battle’ as WHO records biggest jump in Covid-19 cases

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Filipino medics plead for lockdown as health system teeters; US suffers deadliest month; South Korea arrest sect leader

U-turns and chaos: a terrible week for Boris Johnson
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Senior doctors in the Philippines have pleaded with the government to impose a strict lockdown in the capital Manila or risk losing the battle to contain the spread of coronavirus.

As the World Health Organization recorded the highest daily number of new cases so far during the pandemic, the medics said the Philippines’ fragile health system needed a “time out” to avert collapse.

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Record 212 land and environment activists killed last year

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Global Witness campaigners warn of risk of further killings during Covid-19 lockdowns

A record number of people were killed last year for defending their land and environment, according to research that highlights the routine murder of activists who oppose extractive industries driving the climate crisis and the destruction of nature.

More than four defenders were killed every week in 2019, according to an annual death toll compiled by the independent watchdog Global Witness, amid growing evidence of opportunistic killings during the Covid-19 lockdown in which activists were left as “sitting ducks” in their own homes.

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Maria Ressa and the increasing attacks on the free press in the Philippines

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One of the most prominent journalists in the Philippines has been convicted of ‘cyberlibel’ in a court process condemned by human rights groups. Journalist Carmela Fonbuena in Manila describes the chilling effect the verdict has had on free expression

Maria Ressa is one of the most prominent journalists in the Philippines with decades of experience as a print and TV reporter. She is also the executive editor of Rappler, an online news site.

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‘War on drugs’ blamed for deaths of at least 122 children in Philippines

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Activists claim young people are deliberately targeted and call for UN to investigate human rights record of Duterte regime

At least 122 children, including a one-year-old, have been killed during President Rodrigo Duterte’s “war on drugs” in the Philippines, according to a report that concluded some children have been deliberately shot at and targeted as proxies.

The study, by the World Organisation Against Torture, adds to growing calls for the UN human rights council to establish an independent investigation into abuses committed under Duterte. Rights groups estimate that tens of thousands of people may have died as a result of unlawful killings during anti-drug operations launched after his election in 2016.

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German payments firm Wirecard says missing €1.9bn may not exist

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Company thought money was in two Asian banks but search hits dead end in Philippines

Wirecard has said that €1.9bn (£1.7bn) in funds missing from its bank accounts may not exist, as the accounting scandal at the German payments company deepens.

The firm processes tens of billions of euros in credit and debit transactions each year and is a former darling of Germany’s tech sector. It had previously said it believed the money was held in escrow accounts at two Asian banks.

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Maria Ressa’s conviction matters to everyone who care about democracy | Peter Greste

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The media - in the Philippines and elsewhere - forces those in power to answer for the consequences of their policies. We can’t stand by while it is assaulted

By almost any measure, the conviction of Maria Ressa and her former colleague, researcher-writer Reynaldo Santos Jr, will have serious implications for democracy in the Philippines.

On Monday morning, a court in Manila found the pair guilty of ‘cyber libel’, for a story published in 2012 on the news website Rappler.com that Ressa founded and now leads. The judge released them on bail pending an appeal, but if they lose, they could spend up to seven years in prison.

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Maria Ressa: Rappler editor found guilty of cyber libel charges in Philippines

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Case against editor of influential news website - who faces up to six years in prison - condemned as ‘a sinister action’

One of the Philippines’ most prominent journalists, Maria Ressa, is facing up to six years in prison after she was found guilty on Monday of “cyber libel” charges, a verdict condemned as setting “an extraordinarily damaging precedent” for press freedoms in the region.

The verdict was issued by Judge Rainelda Estacio-Montesa in a Manila court, where just a limited number of attendees were permitted as part of coronavirus prevention measures. Rappler, one of the country’s most influential news websites, its editor, Ressa, and former researcher and writer Reynaldo Santos Jr were accused of cyber libel in 2017.

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Trial of journalists to deliver ‘existential moment’ in Philippines

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Editor of news website Rappler could face prison if convicted under ‘cyber libel’ law

A verdict will be issued on Monday following the controversial trial of one of the Philippines’ most prominent journalists, in a case widely condemned as an attack on press freedom under Rodrigo Duterte.

A court in Manila will issue a verdict on Rappler, one of the country’s most influential news websites, its editor, Maria Ressa, and former researcher and writer Reynaldo Santos Jr on Monday. Ressa, who was arrested last year on charges of “cyber libel” for a story published by Rappler in 2012, has described the allegations as baseless.

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Philippines police may have killed tens of thousands with ‘near impunity’ in drug war – UN

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Campaign of encouragement by high-level officials may have been seen by police as ‘permission to kill’, says damning report

Tens of thousands of people may have been killed in the war on drugs since mid-2016 in the Philippines, amid “near impunity” for police and incitement to violence by top officials, the United Nations said on Thursday.

The drugs crackdown, launched by President Rodrigo Duterte after winning election on a platform of crushing crime, has been marked by police orders and high-level rhetoric that may have been interpreted as “permission to kill”, it said.

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Global report: South Korea postpones school reopening due to new outbreak

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Country reverses easing plans; Philippines residents to enjoy free movement as daily infections pass 500; Mumbai’s hospital close to collapse

South Korea has postponed the planned reopening of more than 800 schools as it battles a renewed outbreak of the coronavirus, with cases now at their highest level for almost two months.

The country’s easing of lockdown measures has gone into reverse, with museums, parks and art galleries closed again on Friday for two weeks. Kindergarten pupils, and some primary and secondary school students were due back from Wednesday, in the last phase of school reopenings.

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Manila lockdown diary: ‘I went into labour but had to walk to the clinic to give birth’

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Poverty, hunger and the threat of being shot by police make life under strict lockdown harder for one expectant mother

Millions of people in the Philippine capital, Manila, have spent more than two months under lockdown. The densely populated city, once notorious for its heaving traffic, has been transformed into a ghost town. Residents who do not perform essential work have been asked to stay at home and are barred from leaving their neighbourhoods. Rights groups have warned over the brutal manner in which the restrictions have been enforced. In one instance, curfew violators were put in dog cages, while others have been forced to sit in the midday sun as punishment. President Rodrigo Duterte has told police they can shoot anyone deemed to be causing trouble during the lockdown.

Last week, the government announced an extension of the lockdown until 31 May, making it one of the strictest and longest quarantines in the world.

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‘Shoot them dead’: extreme Covid-19 lockdown policing around the world – video report

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As coronavirus lockdowns have been expanded globally, billions of people have found that they are now faced with unprecedented restrictions. We look at some of the extreme strategies governments are using to police their citizens – from teargas and death threats to beatings and chemicals

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Teargas, beatings and bleach: the most extreme Covid-19 lockdown controls around the world

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Violence and humiliation used to police coronavirus curfews around globe, often affecting the poorest and more vulnerable

As coronavirus lockdowns have been expanded globally, billions of people have found that they are now faced with unprecedented restrictions. Police across the world have been given licence to control behaviour in a way that would normally be extreme even for an authoritarian state.

Related: ‘We can’t go back to normal’: how will coronavirus change the world?

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