Here are today’s headlines – the latest news in the Philippines and around the world:
- Juan Ponce Enrile dies at 101 - ‘Let courts do their work’: Marcos sidesteps questions on Zaldy Co passport, guilt - ‘Shitposter’ Kiko Barzaga now faces inciting to sedition, rebellion complaints - Marcos godson Romeo Lumagui out as BIR chief - K-pop group NewJeans to return to label ADOR, Yonhap reports
00:06Juan Ponce Enrile, one of the country's most enduring and controversial political figures, dies at 101.
00:19President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. avoids questions on whether Zaldico could turn state witness.
00:25Cavite Congressman Kiko Barzaga faces grave criminal complaints likely connected to his fiery remarks against the authorities.
00:33President Marcos' godson Romeo Jun Lumagi Jr. is no longer the BIR commissioner.
00:39And K-pop girl group New Jeans is set to resume working with record label Ador despite allegations of mistreatment.
00:48Former Senator, Defense Chief, and Martial Law Architect Juan Ponce Enrile has died at age 101.
00:54He was, until his death, the chief presidential legal counsel of the Marcos Jr. administration.
01:00Enrile's daughter Katrina announced his demise on her Facebook page.
01:04She says Enrile died on Thursday, November 13 at 4.21pm at home surrounded by family.
01:11Born on Valentine's Day in 1924, Enrile has lived through nearly all Philippine presidencies except that of the first Emilio Aguinaldo.
01:18Enrile entered the government under the Marcos Sr. administration, eventually becoming defense minister and chief implementer of martial law under the dictatorship.
01:28He became a politician in the succeeding decades, outlasting and outliving many of his contemporaries.
01:33It has earned him a reputation as a consummate political survivor.
01:37In 2014, Enrile was charged with plunder and graft in connection with the pork barrel corruption scam.
01:43He was then briefly placed under hospital arrest, but was cleared of all charges by the Sandigan Bayan just last October.
01:52President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. sidesteps questions about the possibility of Zaldi Ko turning state witness.
01:58This, even as he named Ko as among those most likely to face criminal and administrative cases related to anomalous flood control projects.
02:07That option is always there, except for them who are the most guilty.
02:12He adds, when asked if he personally thought that Ko is the most guilty.
02:17I don't want, and then yung pag sinabi ko, yung sasagutin kita, sasabihin nyo pre-judge.
02:22Let the courts do their work.
02:24Let the judges do their work.
02:26Marcos gave a warning to personalities linked to the multi-billion peso infrastructure scandal.
02:32Bago magpasko, marami dito sa napangalanan dito, ay palagay ko nasa, ano na, matatapos na yung kaso nila, buo na yung kaso.
02:42Makukulong na sila.
02:44Wala silang Merry Christmas.
02:46Before Christmas, makukulong na sila.
02:48Pavite 4th District Representative Kiko Barzaga faces grave criminal complaints before the Quezon City Prosecutor's Office.
02:57It is likely due to his shitposting or his fiery remarks against authorities.
03:02An image of the subpina Barzaga posted on his Facebook page shows the complaints were filed by the Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group.
03:10The complaints are inciting to sedition and rebellion, as Barzaga confirmed on his Facebook page.
03:17Barzaga has drawn attention online for his frequent shitposting, pitting himself against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and other officials.
03:24He also wrote pro-Duterte narratives and became popular among Duterte supporters.
03:28It is unclear which of Barzaga's specific acts had led to the complaints.
03:34He was recently delisted as an Army Reservist due to posts the armed forces deemed to be insinuating sedition.
03:41He is also facing an earlier ethics complaint at the House of Representatives.
03:46President Marcos' godson, Romeo Jun Lumagi Jr., is no longer the commissioner of the Bureau of Internal Revenue.
03:53Malacanang confirmed this on Wednesday evening, November 12.
03:56Finance Undersecretary Charlito Mendoza will replace Lumagi.
04:01Mendoza once headed the department's Revenue Operations Group.
04:05Lumagi's abrupt exit was a surprise to many.
04:07Under him, the BIR reportedly exceeded its collection target for 2024.
04:12It was the first time in over two decades that the agency met its collection target, excluding 2020, the height of the pandemic.
04:19A day before his replacement was announced, Lumagi ordered a major personnel overhaul across the agency's regional offices.
04:25On November 6, he led the filing of tax evasion complaints against former DPWH engineers Henry Alcantara, Bryce Hernandez, and JP Mendoza over an alleged tax liability of 1.6 billion pesos.
04:39Hours before news of his replacement broke, Lumagi shared a post by a social media personality and lawyer praising the BIR for conducting lifestyle checks on public officials.
04:48Lumagi says in a statement on Thursday, he is confident in handing over the BIR to Mendoza in a much better state.
04:57All five members of the K-pop girl group New Jeans plan to resume working with their record label Ador.
05:04South Korea's Yonhap News Outlet reports this Wednesday, November 12, citing members Hany, Minji, and Danielle.
05:10New Jeans has been on hiatus for months amid a legal battle with Ador.
05:14The label initially said that the other members Haerin and Haein would return to the K-pop music scene.
05:20It was not immediately clear then whether the other three were returning too.
05:24A South Korean court in March issued an injunction stopping the group from pursuing independent projects.
05:30This was after New Jeans began their legal battle with the label over alleged mistreatment.
05:34The court upheld Ador's request to remain the group's manager and to prohibit all five members from engaging in commercial activities without the label's consent.
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