Here are today’s headlines – the latest news in the Philippines and around the world:
- Bersamin, Pangandaman resign; Recto appointed executive secretary - Amal Clooney calls on Philippines to decriminalize libel - Oleksandra Matviichuk: 'Ordinary people' lead the fight for freedom in Ukraine - Risa Hontiveros: 'Confront corruption everywhere you see it' - Iglesia ni Cristo holds three-day rally for justice and peace
00:06Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin and Budget Secretary Amina Pangandaman resign.
00:18International human rights lawyer Amal Clooney urges the Philippines to decriminalize libel.
00:232022 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Oleksandra Matvichuk praises ordinary Ukrainians for their courage in the face of Russia's invasion.
00:32Senator Risa Ontiveros calls on Filipinos to remain strong, committed, and united in the fight against corruption.
00:38And the Iglesia Ni Cristo holds a three-day rally at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila.
00:43Malacanang announces in a last-minute press conference, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin and Budget Secretary Amina Pangandaman resigned.
00:54Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro says President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. accepted the resignation of the two officials.
01:01Both officials respectfully offered and tendered their resignations out of delicadeza after their departments were mentioned in allegations related to the flood control anomaly currently under investigation and in recognition of the responsibility to allow the administration to address the matter appropriately.
01:23Finance Secretary Ralph Recto will replace Bersamin as Executive Secretary.
01:27Friedrich Gohl, Presidential Assistant for Investment and Economic Affairs, will succeed Recto at the Department of Finance.
01:34Roberto Bernardo, a former Undersecretary at the Public Works Department, alleged that Bersamin benefited from anomalous flood control projects.
01:42Recto is Marcos' third Executive Secretary after Bersamin and Vic Rodriguez.
01:49International human rights lawyer Amal Clooney calls on the Philippine government to decriminalize libel.
01:55This, as she spoke at Rappler's Social Goods Summit on Sunday, November 16.
01:59I had productive discussions with officials and I expressed my support for the proposal to decriminalize libel in line with international law and also in line with the warning of the Philippine Supreme Court that civil sanctions, the Philippines' own Supreme Court has said that civil sanctions for defamation are more consistent with the Philippines' democratic values.
02:21And that imprisonment, the constitutionality of imprisonment and criminalization is, quote, doubtful.
02:28She was referring to a 2021 Supreme Court decision that acquitted broadcaster and now-senator Rafi Tulfo of libel, which Philippine justices said was to protect a vigilant press.
02:39Clooney also announces that she will soon be launching a project in which Filipino journalists and women can have easier access to legal aid.
02:47I have hope because more than one in three Filipinos today is under 25 and young people have shown they are unafraid to denounce what is wrong because Maria and her colleagues continue to report the truth and hold the line for all journalists despite the threats.
03:04The Philippines is one of the remaining countries in the world which still treats libel as a crime punishable with jail time.
03:102022 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Ukrainian human rights lawyer Oleksandra Matvichek says ordinary Ukrainians have shown extraordinary courage and solidarity.
03:22This as they emerged as key actors amid the devastation caused by Russia's invasion.
03:28In her speech during Rappler's Social Goods Summit, Matvichek highlights the power of ordinary people in the face of such destruction.
03:35We get used to thinking through the categories of states and inter-states organization, but ordinary people have a much greater impact that they can even imagine.
03:48She also notes that her team witnessed how international organizations evacuated when Russia launched its invasion in February 2022.
03:56It was the ordinary citizens who helped people survive artillery fire, evacuate from destroyed cities and deliver humanitarian aid.
04:05I know from my own experience, when you can't rely on the legal instruments, when you can't rely on the UN system of peace and security, you can still rely on people.
04:18Matvichek received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022.
04:22She stresses the importance of human dignity in the face of brutal aggression, citing the case of Ukrainian scientist Ihor Kozlovsky.
04:29He spent 700 days in Russian captivity.
04:32He was abducted, illegally detained, kept in unhuman conditions.
04:37He was tortured so severely that he had to learn how to walk again.
04:43All his experience, it's not a reason for him to treat himself as victim.
04:48Because the basis of our existence is dignity, not victimhood.
04:54Never tolerate corruption and inequality.
05:00Confront corruption wherever we see it.
05:04Because we cannot allow our government to go on like this.
05:09Senator Risa Ontiveros urges Filipinos to stay strong, committed, and united in the fight against corruption during her address at the Social Goods Summit 2025.
05:18Ontiveros calls on the public to be relentless in demanding better from their leaders and to immerse themselves and stand with societies most marginalized.
05:27The Philippines doesn't belong to any political dynasty.
05:31It does not belong to warlords, nor to oligarchs, nor to the loudest trolls.
05:39This country is ours.
05:42Ontiveros notes how corruption has become a pervasive and long-standing problem in the Philippines at the expense of ordinary Filipinos.
05:50She cites a recent Social Weather Station survey which found that half of Filipino families consider themselves poor,
05:56while another survey in June found that more than 16% experienced involuntary hunger.
06:01These numbers are revealing an undeniable truth.
06:07Our politics is so broken that it has actually become comfortable with inequality.
06:15We all have a duty to be informed, to speak out, and to help, yes, to help those in need.
06:24Vice President Sara Duterte in a Facebook post says,
06:29Public anger is justified following widespread corruption in the government.
06:33Kaisa ako ng milyong-milyong Pilipinong na dismaya at nandidiri sa pamahalaang lulong sa insikuridad at walang kabusugang kasakiman.
06:45Ang karapatan nating magsalita at magpahayag ang sandigan ng demokrasya.
06:50This, as the Iglesia Ni Cristo holds a three-day rally for justice and peace from November 16-18 at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila.
06:58INC Minister of the Gospel Bienvenido Santiago Jr. on Sunday delivered a speech rejecting calls for extra-legal means
07:05in addressing the flood corruption scandal under the Marcos Jr. administration.
07:09Senator Rodante Marcoleta also spoke at the event where he revived his push for contractors Curly and Sara Diskaya to become state witnesses.
07:17The Manila Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office estimated the crowd on the first day peaked at around 650,000 attendees.
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