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2 months ago | 
rappler.com | Inday Espina-Varona
MANILA, Philippines – San Carlos Diocese Bishop Gerardo Alminaza has apologized for letting two priests accused of sexual abuse of children celebrate Mass in public. Alminaza gave his apology in an interview with Rappler after a public statement said Father Conrad Ursua Mantac and Father Aron Buenacosa are on administrative leave. The two are among the 84 priests in the Philippines database of US-based watchdog bishop-accountability.org.
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2 months ago | 
rappler.com | Inday Espina-Varona
European and North American diplomats have favorably compared the son and namesake of the late Martial Law dictator to former president Rodrigo Duterte, whose fake drug war killed tens of thousands of Filipinos. But these partners of the Philippine government and many civil society organizations here should study the survey of the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) and Center for People’s Development and Governance (CPDG) on the rise of terror financing cases in the country.
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Jan 13, 2025 | 
rappler.com | Inday Espina-Varona
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Dec 10, 2024 | 
rappler.com | Miriam Grace Go |Inday Espina-Varona
First things first: The number of views and likes on the official YouTube channel of The Voice USA does not always translate to actual votes. If we go by social media metrics alone, Filipino contestant Sofronio Vasquez would be the runaway winner. His six-digit views and thousands of likes are several times that of his closest rival among the other four top contenders — that would be teenager Shye, fellow team member under swing/standards star Michael Bublé.
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Oct 24, 2024 | 
rappler.com | Miriam Grace Go |Inday Espina-Varona
Legislators at the House quad committee’s October 22 hearing on extrajudicial killings were probing the assassination of mayor Antonio Halili of Tanauan, Batangas, when questions about Police Captain Kenneth Paul Albotra’s career track broadened the crime landscape all the way to the Central Visayas (Region VII) provinces of Cebu and Negros Oriental.
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Oct 8, 2024 | 
rappler.com | Inday Espina-Varona
How many of the Philippines’ 85.6 million Roman Catholics are rejoicing over Pope Francis’ appointment of Kalookan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David as cardinal-elect? The Philippines has four cardinals among the 235 representing 1.375 billion Roman Catholics worldwide. Currently, only Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle and Cardinal Jose Advincula qualify as cardinal electors, those below 80 years old, who meet in conclave once the Holy See is declared vacant to choose a new Pope.
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Oct 1, 2024 | 
rappler.com | Miriam Grace Go |Inday Espina-Varona
Then-president Rodrigo Duterte’s 2019 appointment of favored cop Royina Garma as Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) general manager cemented a key flank in the takeover of crime cartels. This underworld capture, for decades contained in Duterte’s home city of Davao, surged nationwide after 2016 as he hammered the country’s democratic institutions from all sides.
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Sep 14, 2024 | 
rappler.com | Mia González |Inday Espina-Varona
The Anti-Money Laundering Council’s (AMLC) appeal for new legislation to strengthen the crackdown on money launderers ignores the elephant at the center of current legislative investigations. At the September 5 Senate hearing into Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs), AMLC Investigation and Enforcement Department Deputy Director Adrian Arpon said lifting the predicate-offense requirement for freeze order applications would hasten investigation and forfeiture proceedings.
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Sep 7, 2024 | 
rappler.com | Miriam Grace Go |Inday Espina-Varona
“Drug money is the source of POGO money.”Sta. Rosa Representative Dan Fernandez on September 4 gave this blunt summary of the tangled skeins of offshore gaming hubs that Philippine lawmakers have been trying to unravel. Four years of legislative probes into offshore gaming hubs have spawned surreal narratives: Vast complexes rise on rural farmlands as hordes of foreign nationals swamp the capital’s gated villages and condominiums.
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Aug 28, 2024 | 
rappler.com | Miriam Grace Go |Inday Espina-Varona
Police Lieutenant Colonel Jovie Espenido hasn’t changed much since he burst into the spotlight in 2016 shortly after then-president Rodrigo Duterte assumed office. Eight years after Espenido started his star turn in Duterte’s “drug war,” he still peppers discussions about law and order with Bible verses. He still talks about himself in the third person. His flair for drama, which made him a perfect wingman for Duterte, remains strong.
