2014 Year In Review: TOP 10 News Stories

There was no shortage of big news from the Philippines in 2014. From the unravelling of the so-called Hacienda Binay to the discovery of luxury prison cells in Muntinlupa, from the jailing of senators to the ominous murder of a transgender, news from back home continued to grip the overseas community’s attention. There were, however, some bright spots in the grim landscape, such as with the peace pact with the MILF and the crafting of the Bangsamoro law, and the unlikely rise of a Filipino sports hero on ice. In chronological order, Dahong Pilipino takes a look back at the top stories of 2014:

1.  Filipino figure skater competes in 2014 Winter Olympics – A rarity in Philippine sports, Michael Martinez held the nation’s attention during the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics. He was the first figure skater from Southeast Asia to compete at the prestigious winter games. Although he didn’t win a medal, he dodged early elimination and remained competitive in his events, earning accolades from his home country and proving that athletes from tropical countries, given the right training and government support, can hold their own in a winter sporting event.

2.  MILF Peace Pact – In a landmark peace pact signed with the Aquino government, the 10,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) ended their decades-old rebellion which had claimed tens of thousands of lives and held back development in the resource-rich region of Muslim Mindanao. Under the Bangsamoro law being crafted in Congress pursuant to the agreement, an autonomous Muslim area in Mindanao will be set up early in 2015, and the MILF is expected to fully disarm and field candidates in an election for a regional parliament in May 2016.

3.  Security Pact between the US and PH – US President Barack Obama visited Manila in April 2014, the last stop in his fifth Asian trip. The high point of Obama’s visit to the Philippines, said to be the US’ oldest ally in the Asia-Pacific region, was a new military pact granting increased U.S. presence to bolster the country’s maritime security. This was not aimed at countering China’s growing military might, according to US government sources. Obama said the goal “is to make sure that international rules and norms are respected, and that includes the area of maritime disputes.”

4. Senators’ Arrests  – The year 2014 will be remembered for the arrest and detention of three highly popular incumbent senators for plunder of pork barrel funds—a first in the country’s history.  Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Ramon Revilla Jr. and Jinggoy Estrada were indicted and are detained, likely with no bail available, for the alleged misuse of the Congressional development assistance funds in a scheme supposedly masterminded by businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles.

5. SC upholds RH law; defies Church – The Supreme Court in the Philippines, in defiance of the Catholic Church, upheld a birth control law which requires public health centres to distribute free condoms and contraceptives. RH law was passed in December 2012, but the high court stopped its implementation after church groups questioned its constitutional validity.  In July 2014, the court almost entirely sustained its constitutionality. President Benigno Aquino defied years of church pressure by passing the bill.  He said the law will help the poor, who often cannot afford birth control.

6. Purisima mansions – Embattled Philippine National Police Chief Alan Purisima, a friend of President Aquino, was suspended recently for his alleged involvement in an anomalous courier service contract for gun licenses. Purisima has denied involvement in the contract, saying that it was executed more than a year before his appointment as police chief. Purisima has been accused of illegally amassing wealth, including the Nueva Ecija properties which he had not declared on his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN). He has also denied that his controversial rest house on a sprawling five-hectare property in San Leonardo, Nueva Ecija was a “mansion” and invited media to visit and examine the place.

7.  Hacienda Binay  – Former Makati Vice Mayor Ernesto Mercado shocked the nation during a Senate inquiry on the allegedly overpriced Makati City Hall, revealing not only telling details of the building costs, but also images and videos of an opulent 350-hectare farm lot in Batangas allegedly owned by the Vice President.  The property, which has since been nicknamed “Hacienda Binay” by the media, includes an air-conditioned piggery, a garden labyrinth patterned after the Kew Garden of London, a horse ranch, imported orchid farms and man-made lagoons. Binay’s spokesperson, Joey Salgado, has denied that the Binays own the property, claiming the vice president only leased a portion of the property and had divested his interest in it before being elected.

8.  Plunder charges against VP and son –  Vice President Jejomar Binay and his son Makati City Mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay, Jr. are facing another plunder charge, this time for their supposed involvement in the allegedly overpriced construction of the Makati Science High School building.  Lawyer Renato Bondal filed the case before the Office of the Ombudsman.   Already pending before the anti-graft office is the plunder complaint involving the similarly overpriced P1.2-billion Makati City Hall building. The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee is conducting its own probe into the new allegations.

9.  Jennifer Laude killed by US Marine – Scott Pemberton, an enlisted man in the US Marines, has been charged for the murder of Filipino transgender Jeffrey “Jennifer” Laude, who was found dead inside the bathroom of an Olongapo City motel last October.  While prosecutors and defense lawyers argue over the evidence and which side should have custody of Pemberton pending trial, the case reignited the debate on whether  the Visiting Forces Agreement between the Philippines and the United States, which allows the temporary stationing of US military personnel in the country, should now be abrogated.

10. Luxury prison cells  – Another shocking news was the discovery of outrageously luxurious prison cells housing convicted drug lords in the Muntinlupa New Bilibid Prison, the National Penitentiary. A jacuzzi, strip bars, recording studio, Internet, theaters, sex dolls, shabu, high-powered firearms were among the luxuries being enjoyed by the cell occupants, nicknamed “VIPs,” or “very important prisoners.” It is apparent that the convicts continued their drug trade at the New Bilibid Prison’s top maximum security compound. Justice Secretary Leila de Lima immediately ordered the inmates’ transfer and the dismantling of their “five-star prison” cells.