Here are today’s headlines – the latest news in the Philippines and around the world:
- BIR sues Alcantara, Hernandez, Mendoza for tax evasion over P1.6-B liability - Court acquits ex-Masbate rep Lanete of plunder, convicts Napoles et al. of graft - Marcos declares state of national calamity over Tino, nearing Uwan - Nvidia's Jensen Huang: 'China is going to win the AI race' – report - Groping of Mexico's president puts violence against women in spotlight
00:06The BIR files separate tax evasion complaints against former public works engineers Henry Alcantara, Bryce Hernandez, and JP Mendoza.
00:20Former Masbate Rep. Rizalina Sayachon Lanete is acquitted in one plunder case while Janet Lim Napoles is found guilty of seven counts of graft.
00:30President Marcos declares a state of national calamity over Typhoon Tino and in anticipation of potential Super Typhoon Uwan.
00:38NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang warns China will beat the United States in the artificial intelligence race.
00:44And, Mexican President Claudia Scheinbaum files a complaint against a man who groped her and tried to kiss her.
00:53The Bureau of Internal Revenue files separate tax evasion complaints against former public works engineers Henry Alcantara, Bryce Hernandez, and JP Mendoza.
01:02BIR Commissioner Romeo Lumagi Jr. says Alcantara's tax liability is P900 million, P600 million for Hernandez, and P180 million for Mendoza.
01:13BIR's investigation shows the three amassed significant income from kickbacks on flood control projects.
01:19The three allegedly laundered the money through casinos by exchanging cash for chips grossly disproportionate to their declared income.
01:43Or, yung mga reported na mga revenues nila at mga binayarang buis kaya naman na nagsampat tayo ng kaso ang total tax liabilities na nakita natin dito sa tatlong ito ay umaabot na mahigit na 1.6 billion pesos.
01:58Lumagi explains, tax liability is different from criminal liability.
02:02The three engineers will still face criminal complaints even if they pay their tax deficiencies.
02:07Former Masbate Rep. Rizalina Sayachon Lanete, her aide Jose Sumalpong, and Janet Lim Napoles are acquitted in one plunder case.
02:18The Sandigan Bayan rules, the prosecution's evidence showed only P30.7 million pesos in alleged payouts from Lanete's congressional pork barrel.
02:27It's far short of the P50 million peso mark that defines plunder under Philippine law.
02:32The court says the plunder case failed to meet the burden of proof over the supposed P112.2 million peso misuse of Lanete's Priority Development Assistance Fund from 2007 to 2009.
02:44Lanete is also cleared of 11 counts of graft, with the court noting that evidence did not establish her personal participation beyond selecting private foundations linked to Napoles.
02:55However, Napoles was convicted of seven counts of graft.
02:59She will serve up to 56 years in prison and repay the government P107.34 million pesos.
03:06The court also finds these individuals guilty of graft.
03:13President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declares a state of national calamity following extensive devastation caused by Typhoon Tino and in anticipation of potential Super Typhoon I.
03:22We will declare a national calamity because there will be almost 10 regions, 10-12 regions that will be affected.
03:35Ino, the Philippines' deadliest tropical cyclone this year so far, left the Philippine area of responsibility past midnight on Thursday, November 6.
03:44Meanwhile, the tropical depression outside Par strengthened into a tropical storm and was given the international name Fung Wong.
03:51It will be given the local name Uwan once it enters SPAR, which is expected late Friday evening or early Saturday morning.
03:58We are continuing our relief and support for those who were hit by Typhoon Tino, but we are also doing everything that we can para ma-anticipate at makapaghanda tayo ng mabuti dito naman sa parating na Typhoon I.
04:16Pagasa maintains, while there is still high uncertainty in the forecast, there is an increasing chance of landfall in northern or central Luzon by Monday, November 10.
04:27NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang warns China will beat the United States in the artificial intelligence race.
04:33In a statement posted on X, Huang says,
04:40China's access to advanced AI chips, particularly those produced by NVIDIA, remains a flashpoint in its tech rivalry with the U.S.
04:52This as both nations vie for supremacy in cutting-edge computing and artificial intelligence.
04:57U.S. President Donald Trump says NVIDIA's most advanced Blackwell chips should be reserved exclusively for American customers.
05:04In an NVIDIA conference last month, Huang said,
05:07We want the world to be built on American tech stack, but we also need to be in China to win their developers.
05:13A policy that causes America to lose half of the world's AI developers is not beneficial in the long term. It hurts us more.
05:20Mexican President Claudia Scheinbaum files a complaint against a man who groped her and tried to kiss her as she walked between meetings in the capital city.
05:30Scheinbaum says, quote,
05:31If this happens to the president, where does that leave all the young women in our country? No man has the right to abuse women's personal space.
05:38Video of the incident quickly spread across the internet before being taken down.
05:42The incident underscores the insecurity women face in a country steep in machismo and gender-based violence.
05:48It has also raised questions about Scheinbaum's security detail.
05:52Scheinbaum travels with minimal security and makes herself available to the public.
05:56She also blasts Mexican newspaper Reforma for publishing images of the man groping her, saying she considers it a re-victimization.
06:05And that's today's wrap. I'm JC Gutinga. Thank you for watching. Click the link below for the full story.
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