Corruption slows Philippines’ economic growth to 4-year low | The wRap - video Dailymotion

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Here are today’s headlines – the latest news in the Philippines and around the world:   - Corruption woes drag Philippines' economic growth to 4-year low in Q3 2025 - Accepting Asia's highest honor, Father Flavie calls for drug war truth commission - Marcos orders complaint filed vs distillery over molasses spill in Tañon Strait  - Meta is earning a fortune on a deluge of fraudulent ads, internal documents show - Angelina Jolie visits Ukraine's frontline city Kherson   https://www.rappler.com/video/daily-wrap/november-7-2025/

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00:00Today on Rappler

00:06The Philippine economy grew by just 4% amid the flood control corruption scandal.

00:17Catholic priest Flavie Villanueva receives Asia's highest honor, the 2025 Ramon Magsaysay Award.

00:23President Marcos orders the DENR to bring the Baez Distillery to court over the molasses spill in Tanyun Strait.

00:30Confidential documents probed by Reuters reveal Meta earns about $7 billion from scam ads each year.

00:37And Hollywood actor Angelina Jolie visits one of Ukraine's most dangerous frontline cities, Kershon.

00:44The Philippine Statistics Authority reports the economy grew just 4% in the third quarter of 2025.

00:51This as the flood control corruption scandal dampened investor and consumer confidence.

00:56The latest gross domestic product or GDP growth is slower than the second quarter's 5.5% growth rate.

01:03This places the country's average economic growth for the year so far at just 5%,

01:07below the Marcos administration's goal of 5.5% to 6.5% for 2025.

01:13This marks the economy's lowest growth rate since the first quarter of 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

01:19Infrastructure spending fell to a 14-year low of negative 26.2% growth amid ongoing probes into anomalous flood control projects.

01:28Economy Planning and Development Secretary Arsenio Balisacan admits,

01:32to meet the government's target growth range, the economy will have to grow by around 6.8% in the fourth quarter.

01:39He adds, quote,

01:40Catholic priest Flavie Villanueva is one of three recipients of the 2025 Ramon Magsaysay Awards,

01:54considered Asia's premier prize and highest honor.

01:58In his Ramon Magsaysay lecture on Thursday, November 6,

02:01he calls the Duterte presidency the bloodiest years in Philippine history.

02:04The streets where once we once walked to serve food and offer baths have been turned into streets of blood baths.

02:18The very people we had embraced began to disappear.

02:22And silence would have been complicity.

02:27And the Catholic Church was not exempted.

02:31Villanueva also echoes calls for the creation of a drug war truth commission.

02:35Who were the ones who killed?

02:38Who participated in the killing?

02:41Who are the people with blood in their hands?

02:43He also shares he is cooperating with investigators of the International Criminal Court

02:48as he continues his advocacy to help drug war victims find justice.

02:52The priesthood for me is not a pedestal.

02:56It is a place of kneeling beside others in need and wounded.

03:04Together with forensic doctor Raquel Fortun,

03:06Villanueva led the exhumation of victims of extrajudicial killings

03:09who sustained bullet wounds not declared in their death certificates.

03:12The priest continues to spearhead Project Paghilom,

03:16which took in victims of the drug war and offered them counseling,

03:19legal assistance, and livelihood and education.

03:24President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. orders the Environment Department

03:27to probe the wastewater spill in the Tanyun Strait and bring the Baez Distillery to court.

03:31A distillery in Negros Oriental, owned by the Gokong Ways Universal Robina Corporation,

03:36was the source of the molasses spill last October 26.

03:38Vicente Los Bañez, director of the Environmental Management Bureau

03:42in the Negros Island region, says their legal team

03:45is now preparing two sets of charges against URC.

03:48Los Bañez describes the incident as serious for the environment

03:51and livelihoods in Baez and Manhuyod in Negros Oriental.

03:55He adds repairs on the damaged tailing pond is only at 70%.

03:59Typhoon Tino, which impacted many areas in the Negros Island region,

04:03spared Baez City.

04:04That also prevented the molasses spill from getting worse.

04:07Meanwhile, URC says it has employed workers

04:10to repair the damaged walls of the tailing pond.

04:14Internal documents show platform giant Meta

04:17is earning a fortune and a deluge of fraudulent ads.

04:20Confidential documents probed by Reuters reveal

04:23Meta has made efforts to quantify the scale of abuse on its platforms,

04:26but hesitated to act on that abuse

04:28where it could have interfered with Meta's business interests.

04:31The internal documents have not been reported on until now.

04:34They show that Meta would earn about 10% of its overall annual revenue from fraudulent ads.

04:39On average, the company shows its users an estimated 15 billion scam advertisements every day

04:44and earns about $7 billion from this category of scam ads each year.

04:49The documents further note users who click on scam ads are likely to see more of them

04:53because of Meta's ad personalization system.

04:56One fraud examiner says Meta's acceptance of revenue from fraudulent sources highlights the lack

05:01of regulatory oversight.

05:02In a statement, Meta says their internal estimate of 10% revenue from scams was rough and overly inclusive.

05:09It adds it aggressively fights fraud and scams.

05:13Hollywood actor-director Angelina Jolie visits one of Ukraine's most dangerous frontline cities,

05:18Kherzon, and the neighboring region of Mykolaiv.

05:21Photos show Jolie in a flak jacket in a basement meeting children in a windowless room.

05:25In a statement released by the Legacy of War Foundation Thursday, November 6, Jolie says,

05:31quote,

05:31At a time when governments around the world are turning their backs on the protection of civilians,

05:36their strength and their support for each other is humbling.

05:39The group says she toured medical and educational facilities relocated underground to escape constant

05:44Russian attacks.

05:45Kherzon was occupied by Russian forces from March 2022 until they withdrew eight months later

05:50across the Dnepro River.

05:52It used to be home to nearly 300,000 people and is the biggest city within range of Russia's

05:57frontline weapons.

05:59A UN inquiry in October found Russia has been chasing down civilians who live near the frontline

06:04with drones, forcing thousands of them to flee.

06:07Russia denies intentionally targeting civilians.

06:09And that's today's wrap.

06:13I'm Julian Sereneo.

06:15Click the link below for the full story.

06:18For more updates, download the Rappler Communities app.

Corruption slows Philippines’ economic growth to 4-year low | The wRap

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