First there were additional security guards, CCTV cameras, and a portable toilet blocking the main gate.

Now, even electricity has been cut off in 36 Tandang Sora, where Angel and Lottie Manalo, the estranged siblings of Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) executive minister Eduardo Manalo, have been holed up months since they were expelled from the influential church. 

The Manalo siblings have claimed harassment by top church officials since Angel and their mother Tenny appeared in a YouTube video last July to ask for help, claiming that their lives were in danger.

The power cut, they said, is the latest in a series of moves that aim to force the siblings out of the Quezon City compound. 

Rappler obtained a photo of the notice of disconnection from Manila Electric Company (Meralco) addressed to the Iglesia ni Cristo, with address at 0001 New Tagumpay, New Era, Quezon City.

According to the notice, Meralco would cut off electricity on September 29, 2015, due to unpaid bills amounting to P1,388,950.59.

But it wasn't until December 1 when the power in 36 Tandang Sora was completely cut off. A check with Meralco, however, revealed that it was not the power company that cut off power. No disconnection of the main meter has been made, Rappler was told.

According to insiders, the bill ballooned to P1.38 million because it had not been paid since September, and because the bill likely covered other areas inside the church's central compound.

Expelled INC minister Isaias Samson Jr said the Manalo residence's electricity line is connected to the central office, but there is also a submeter located near a large generator that could supply electricity to 36 Tandang Sora.

It was installed during the time of the late executive minister Eraño Manalo.

Samson, however, claimed that the INC central office surrounded it with a fence to prevent residents from using it.

"They once in a while cut off the submeter line. [On December 1], the line was completely cut off," he said.

According to an insider, a guard from the INC Central Office simply handed the bill to the house helper, and told the Manalos to pay the amount due. 

But the residents of the compound are questioning this, since the bill was specifically made out in the name of the Iglesia ni Cristo – not to 36 Tandang Sora.

They also pointed out that it is only their residence that had the electricity line cut off. The guardhouse stationed in front of the main gate, they said, still has power.

Ownership question

The question now is: who should pay the bill? The issue is further complicated because of competing claims over the Tandang Sora property.

The INC is asserting that the property is theirs, presenting 9 different land titles and the testimony of a surveyor to prove ownership during proceedings on the INC's petition for injunction filed before a Quezon City court.

Earlier, INC lawyer Serafin Cuevas Jr said that the Manalo siblings were allowed to stay at the compound as a "privilege," because they are family members of Eraño Manalo.

In the past, the siblings also never had to pay the electric bills because of the same privilege. 

Lottie Manalo-Hemedez, however, is questioning ownership claims to 36 Tandang Sora. Her camp claims that she and her late husband, Edward Hemedez, own the land title to the property.

They are also contesting a supposed deed of sale drawn up in April this year that transferred the property to the INC.

The document bore the signatures of the Hemedez couple, but Samson said this could not have been signed by Lottie's husband because he died two years earlier.

Hemedez was supposed to testify before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 222 last November 23, but her testimony was rescheduled after the INC camp moved to defer proceedings.

Meanwhile, her camp continues to decry harassment from the church, saying that a portable toilet continues to block the main entrance of the gate. Guards were also seen monitoring motorists passing through the area and taking photos. – Katerina Francisco and Chay Hofileña/Rappler.com

Editor's Note: This article was first published by Newsbreak Magazine in 2007. The writers, interns then at Newsbreak, have since become prominent reporters – Paterno Esmaquel II is now with Rappler, while Ryan Chua now works for CCTV News in Beijing. Figures in this story have been updated by Rappler researcher Jodesz Gavilan. Unfortunately, the scourge of human trafficking continues to this day.

MANILA, Philippines – Eighteen-year-old Julie (not her real name) was working in a beerhouse in her hometown of Cebu when an opportunity difficult to ignore presented itself.

Alicia Tongco, who introduced herself as an owner of a talent management agency in Manila, offered to make her an actress and to become her manager. It was an opportunity she couldn’t pass up.

Ignoring her parents’ admonition not to leave, she left for Manila with Tongco in November 2003. Tita Bing, as Tongco was fondly called by her “talents”, allowed Julie to live in her house for free along with other women.

Everything seemed all right, until Julie was peddled to customers hungry for sex. She was sold 9 times to different men.

600 kilometers away from home, Julie worked not as a movie star as Tita Bing had promised, but as a sex slave.

Hers is a story common in the Philippines and throughout the world. Julie is just one of about 400,000 women trafficked within the Philippines annually, according to the US State Department’s Human Rights Report.

All over the world, over 10 million Filipino men, women, and children are subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor, according to research done by the US government in 2014.

But while Julie’s story is now part of reported cases and statistics on human trafficking, many people, mostly women and children, suffer in silence, their stories unknown and hidden in this underground global business that generates about $32 billion (P1.5 trillion)* a year. Many trafficked persons are not as lucky as Julie, whose traffickers were convicted in 2005.

Away from home, trafficked persons end up in brothels, sweatshops, farms, or in any other place they were made to believe was paradise.

What is human trafficking?

Although one case may differ from another, most human trafficking cases follow the same pattern, according to a report of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC): (1) people are abducted or recruited in a country of origin; (2) transferred through transit regions; and then (3) exploited in a destination country.

The UNODC cites 3 elements that constitute human trafficking:

• the criminal act of recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or receipt of persons within or across national borders
• by means of: threat or use of force, coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of power or vulnerability, or giving payments or benefits to a person in control of the victim
• for the purpose of exploitation, which includes, at a minimum, exploiting the prostitution of others, other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, slavery or similar practices, and the removal of organs

“At least one element from each of these three groups is required before the definition applies,” the UNODC report stated.

That Tongco tricked Julie to believe she would be a movie star and that she transported her from Cebu to Manila, where she was exploited as a prostitute, qualifies Julie’s story as a human trafficking case. With or without the victim’s consent, any case similar to this would still be classified as human trafficking, because no person would ever agree to be exploited in the first place.

Unlike human smuggling, human trafficking involves coercion and subsequent exploitation once the victim is brought to another city or province within the country, or to a foreign land. Trafficked persons are usually forced to engage in prostitution, illegal labor, begging, pornography, sex tourism, organ sale, and other jobs where they are exploited and taken advantage of.

Next only to the trafficking of drugs and guns, trafficking in persons is now the world’s third most profitable organized crime. Hundreds of thousands of people, mostly from Asia, are trafficked every year.

As a major source of migrant workers all over the world (it has 7 million migrant workers worldwide, according to the International Labor Organization), the Philippines is no stranger to human trafficking, “a lucrative underground economy” inside the country, said the Visayan Forum Foundation.

The UNODC, in fact, ranks the Philippines as “high” in terms of incidence of human trafficking. According to a 2013 Trafficking in Persons report, the usual destinations for trafficked persons from the Philippines are Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Japan, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Kuwait, to name a few.

How it’s done

Ferdinand Lavin, former chief of the Anti-Trafficking Division of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), said that prospective recruits are usually promised decent jobs in urban areas within the country or abroad, where job opportunities are commonly perceived to be abundant.

“If these people were recruited in the Visayas or Mindanao, they have to be transported to the urban centers, because the urban centers are the places for exploitation,” he said.

Recruiters usually scout for potential recruits in local communities, aided by headhunters who know the community and its residents well enough. These headhunters help recruiters convince parents to allow their children to leave. Often, the recruiters give parents cash, making it even more tempting for them to send their children to work.

To facilitate transit, a recruit’s personal documents, such as his or her birth certificate, are faked. Once in transit, they are not allowed to talk to anyone outside the group and to handle their legal or travel papers.

Upon reaching their destination, the recruits are told that their transportation expenses, along with other incurred expenses, would be deducted from their salary. Having huge debts to pay, they then begin to work, not as sales ladies or caregivers or any other job promised them, but as prostitutes, laborers on bondage, or even beggars, according to a primer of TUCP (Trade Union Congress of the Phillippines).

Taking action

Widespread as it is, human trafficking is a global menace that world leaders have been wanting to stop.

A significant milestone is the United Nations Convention against Transnational Crime, adopted by the UN General Assembly during its Millennium Meeting in November 2000.

The convention and its two supplementing protocols, opened for signature in December of the same year, was described by the UNODC report as “the first serious attempt by the international community to answer the global challenge of transnational organized crime with a global response in the form of international law.”

In the Philippines, as a response to the convention, Congress passed the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003, or Republic Act (RA) 9208. It was also part of the country’s commitments as a signatory to the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women, and to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

RA 9208 set up policies to eliminate trafficking in persons, especially of women and children. It also established the necessary mechanisms to curb the problem, and imposed penalties of as much as P5 million and life imprisonment.

In line with this, the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) was also formed to address human trafficking in the country. It consists of 6 government agencies and 3 non-government organizations, and is chaired by the justice secretary.

The IACAT is tasked, among others, to: formulate policies and programs aimed at preventing human trafficking; assist victims in the filing of cases; train personnel who will directly address cases of trafficking; and engage in information and education campaigns with local governments.

Despite these, however, many still fall prey to trafficking due to poverty, lack of job opportunities, conflict in Muslim Mindanao, and the inability of young children to continue going to school, according to a fact sheet prepared by the Visayan Forum.

The Visayan Forum adds that as criminal organizations continue to grow and expand, there still are problems such as the ease of obtaining fake documents and the lack of cooperation from neighboring countries.

Along with 85 countries, the Philippines belongs to Tier 2 of the US State Department’s 2015 Trafficking in Persons Report, which means that it does not fully comply with the minimum requirements of the agency’s Trafficking Victims Protection Act but is making significant efforts to do so.

These requirements include vigorous investigation and prosecution of trafficking cases, severe punishment for traffickers, and persistent efforts to purge other forms of trafficking, among others. 

From 2003 to 2015, data from IACAT show that 246 individuals – including Tongco and her husband – have been convicted of human trafficking in the country. (READ: Human trafficking convictions: How has government fared?)

The 2015 report cites improvements in Philippine efforts to combat trafficking by providing anti-trafficking training to authorities especially those assigned in disaster-stricken regions. However, it also pointed out the "limited" services to victims as there is no formal policy to safeguard those who testify against traffickers.

“Although officials offered victim-witness protection against reprisals through a protection, security, and benefit program, the program failed to fully cover victims’ needs, and the lengthy approval process discouraged victims from applying for assistance,” the report said. – with a report from Jodesz Gavilan/Rappler.com

*$1 = P47

Two things make people excited for Christmas: parties and the 13th month pay.

And this year's holiday is sure extra merry, as workers are able to take home a month's worth of salary – tax free – after the President signed Republic Act 10653 or the 13th month pay law.

Enacted on February 12, 2015, the measure raises to P82,000 the amount of bonus that's exempted from taxes, from the previous 30,000.

A member of the House of Representatives, however, believes that passing the 13th month pay law is a "tactical mistake" on Congress' part. The source says this in the context of tax reform debates. (READ: DOLE to employers: Give 13th month pay by Dec 24)

If the congressman is to be believed, there was a race between the 13th month pay measure and the proposal for lower income taxes to reach the President's desk. Had the 13th month pay bill not reached the Office of the President for signature, then lowering income tax rates would have had a chance by year's end.

Another House source told Rappler that the other representative urged counterparts in the Senate to hold the bill on the 13th month pay exemption to give way to the measure on lowering income taxes.

The lawmaker told colleagues that should the "executive" approve the tax exemption on bonuses, they would not be able to get a "favor" on other measures reducing income tax.

Show off Senate?

Accusing the Senate of showing off, the source said senators dismissed the congressman's advice and pushed for the 13th month pay exemption when it saw that the measure was taking strides in the House of Representatives.

Senator Juan Edgardo Angara, chairman of the Senate ways and means committee, said "it's tough to say" whether shelving the 13th month pay bill would have resulted in an easier passage of the income tax reform bill.

"Nauna talaga 'yung 13th month (13th month pay really did come first), so the way things work in the Constitution, the House has to pass it first. On the part of the Senate, we took what the House passed," Angara told Rappler in a chance interview.

"We are still waiting on the income tax reform [bill]. We'll see if there is a change of heart somewhere."  

Malacañang earlier rejected the proposal to reduce income tax rates, calling income taxes the "lifeblood of the economy." According to the Department of Finance, reducing income tax would also lead to a P30-billion ($641.49 million) revenue loss. 

While the 13th month pay bill reached the Senate on September 30, 2014, and was eventually be enacted, there are 10 bills on reducing income tax that have been pending before the House committee on ways and means since 2014. (EXPLAINER: Is income tax reform dead?) – Rappler.com

(Inside Track is Rappler's intelligencer on people, events, places and everything of public interest. It's a take-off from Newsbreak's Inside Track section. Contributions are most welcome. Just send bits of information to investigative@rappler.com)

Lottie Manalo-Hemedez, estranged sister of Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) executive minister Eduardo Manalo, almost didn't make it to court on Wednesday, December 16. 

She was set to appear that day before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court (QC RTC) because she is challenging the INC’s ownership claims over No. 36 Tandang Sora Avenue, Quezon City. 

Since Lottie is fighting the 101-year-old church, fences 6 to 9 meters high have been put up around the compound where she and brother Felix Nathaniel “Angel” Manalo are currently staying, blocking access to their respective houses. (READ: INC's Angel Manalo to brother Eduardo: Don't fence us in)

Lottie was still able to face QC RTC Branch 222 Presiding Judge Edgar Damacio Santos on Wednesdsay, however. Her lawyer Trixie Cruz-Angeles just had to sneak in some people and a ladder to get Lottie out of the compound. (READ: Court to INC: Remove blockade, restore power at Tandang Sora)

The photo above, a copy of which was obtained by Rappler, shows Lottie scaling the wall with the help of a ladder. Her female house helper was on hand to help.

This is the latest of a series of harassment incidents which Lottie and Angel have been accusing the INC of. 

The two were expelled from the church after Angel and their mother Tenny appeared in a YouTube video claiming their lives were in danger. (INFOGRAPHIC: The Manalos of the Iglesia ni Cristo)

This initiated the worst crisis the Iglesia faced in years, with former ministers alleging abductions and corruption within the church.

Angel and Lottie are paying the price: first, the INC asked the court to ban deliveries and visitors from entering the compound. Then additional security guards, CCTV cameras, and a portalet were put up to block the Manalo siblings’ driveway.

Electricity was cut off, too. And on Tuesday, a day before Lottie was set to appear in court, workers fenced their houses and blocked access to their supply of diesel powering their back-up generator. 

{source}<div id="fb-root"></div><script>(function(d, s, id) {  var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];  if (d.getElementById(id)) return;  js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;  js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3";  fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));</script><div class="fb-video" data-allowfullscreen="1" data-href="/antonio.ebangelista.77/videos/vb.100010638880308/147043842326911/?type=3"><div class="fb-xfbml-parse-ignore"><blockquote cite="https://www.facebook.com/antonio.ebangelista.77/videos/147043842326911/"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/antonio.ebangelista.77/videos/147043842326911/"></a><p>THE DAY THEY SUCCEEDED IN DESTROYING THE MEMORY AND LEGACY OF BRO. ERAÑO G. MANALO AND HIS FAMILY. THEY ARE JUST HEARTLESS. RANSACKED THE SACRED PLACE OF TATAY ERDY...</p>Posted by <a href="#" role="button">Antonio Ramirez Ebangelista</a> on Tuesday, December 15, 2015</blockquote></div></div>{/source}

Rappler also obtained a copy of photos showing men entering the home of Manalo family patriarch Eraño “Erdy” Manalo and his wife on Tuesday night.

According to insiders, these are all attempts to force Lottie and Angel out of the compound.

What must the patriarch be feeling? – Mara Cepeda/Rappler.com

(Inside Track is Rappler's intelligencer on people, events, places and everything of public interest. It's a take-off from Newsbreak's Inside Track section. Contributions are most welcome. Just send bits of information to investigative@rappler.com)

MANILA, Philippines – From cases against presidential candidates to issues surrounding vote-counting machines, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) is set to face a wide range of problems in 2016.

The most senior member of the Commission on Elections (Comelec), Commissioner Christian Lim, sits down with Rappler's Paterno Esmaquel on Friday, December 18, to discuss these challenges.

Lim, for one, talks about the petitions before the Comelec to bar Senator Grace Poe and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte from running for president.

Lim is the presiding commissioner of the Comelec First Division, which is handling cases involving both candidates.

In his interview with Rappler, the Comelec commissioner also gives us a peek into other parts of his life.

A lawyer for more than a decade, Lim says he once belonged to the Bantay Balota (Ballot Watch) group for then presidential candidate Benigno Aquino III and his running mate, Manuel Roxas II.

Despite his previous affiliation with Aquino and Roxas, Lim vows impartiality and says his record speaks for itself. 

Listen to our full interview with Lim in this Rappler podcast. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Behind any presidential candidate is a known bailiwick that can be counted on to deliver the votes.

These places can be where the candidate's family traces its roots, an “adopted” hometown, or an area which the candidate or family members used to govern.

For Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, it is Davao.

Aside from being Davao City mayor for almost 7 terms, Duterte has held several positions including vice mayor for two terms and First District representative for one term. His children – Paolo and Sara Duterte Carpio – are also visible in the local government scene.

But there have been claims that the entire Mindanao, not just Davao, backs Duterte’s candidacy. (READ: Rody Duterte: Unorthodox game changer)

How true is this? 

There are a total of 27 provinces scattered across 6 regions in Mindanao: Region IX (Zamboanga Peninsula), Region X (Northern Mindanao), Region XI (Davao Region), Region XII (SOCCSKSARGEN), CARAGA, and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). 

Can Mindanao voters propel Duterte to the presidency? Here is some information about the region's voters:

1. Mindanao voters make up 23% of the Philippine voting population.

As of the October 2013 barangay elections, there were 12,341,224 registered voters in Mindanao. This is 23% of the total 53,664,120 voters in the Philippines.

Regions in Mindanao rank in the lower half of all regions in the country based on the number of registered voters.

Region XI, meanwhile, has the most number of voters in Mindanao – 2,778,719 – based on data from the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

Interestingly, the most vote-rich region in Mindanao also has the lowest poverty incidence. The Philippine Statistics Authority reported in 2012 that Region XI had a 25% poverty incidence.

ARMM, a Mindanao region with 1,557,865 voters, is one of the poorest regions in the country with a 48.7%-poverty incidence. Two provinces in this region, Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur, were identified as election watch list areas (EWA) by the Philippine National Police.

A huge chunk of the voters – a total of 1,549,723 – are in Davao del Sur, a province under Region XI. Zamboanga del Norte in Region IX is second with 1,020,659 voters.

The top 5 vote-rich Mindanao provinces are: 

 2. Voting population is more active in national than barangay elections.

In the 2013 barangay elections, the voter turnout in Mindanao was 70.69%, equivalent to 8,723,706 voters.

The regions, meanwhile, had a varied turnout with CARAGA leading at 78.3%.

Except for CARAGA, Mindanao regions are in the lower half ranks based on the voter turnout among all Philippine regions. ARMM, with a 62.39% voter turnout, placed 2^nd to the last.

If you compare the two elections in 2013, Comelec data show that there are more people in Mindanao who voted in the national and local elections (NLE) than in the barangay elections

A total of 9,180,308 actually voted out of the number of registered voters in Mindanao regions – 76.51% of 11,999,081.

3. In past elections, Mindanao supported mostly administration and LP candidates, except those vying for president and vice president.

As in previous elections, in 2013, coalitions were formed among some political parties, which shared common senatorial slates.

The administration’s senatorial slate, called Team PNoy, fielded candidates mainly from the Liberal Party (LP) and the Nacionalista Party (NP) in 2013.

In Mindanao, 8 of the 12 senators who garnered the most number of votes were from Team PNoy. The other 3 were from the opposition United Nationalist Alliance (UNA). 

UNA candidate Nancy Binay, daughter of Vice President Jejomar Binay, placed second in Mindanao with 3,510,303 votes, next to topnotcher Grace Poe’s 3,818,043.

This seeming administration bias can also be seen in provincial government positions in Mindanao even if there are no political alliances at the local level.

Out of 302 elected positions, administration candidates took 125 slots or 41%.

NP and the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) had 46 and 48 elected members, respectively.

But in 2010, LP presidential and vice presidential candidates did not win in Mindanao.

Puwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP)’s Joseph Estrada won against LP’s Benigno Aquino III by more than 300,000 votes in Mindanao. Aquino enjoyed a 1.3 million lead against Senator Manny Villar of NP.

Then Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay, who ran for vice president in 2010 under the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Laban (PDP-Laban), won in Mindanao, edging out LP's Mar Roxas by almost 500,000 votes.

Like his running mate, Roxas also enjoyed a 1.3 million lead over NPC candidate Senator Loren Legarda.

Will the LP finally win a majority of the votes in Mindanao in 2016? Or will PDP-Laban once again show its power in Mindanao, this time through Duterte?  

4. Mindanao is for Duterte based on pre-election surveys in 2015.

Results of pre-election surveys done throughout 2015 suggest that Mindanao is pro-Duterte. Such results, however, are not enough to dislodge Poe as the current front-runner among presidential aspirants, based on voters' preference polls.

The results of surveys conducted by Pulse Asia Research Incorporated in the last 3 quarters of the year showed Duterte slipping to 29% in the third quarter survey conducted in September, from 37% in the second quarter.

The same can be said about Binay, whose voters' preference fell to 17% in the third quarter survey.

Poe slowly climbed the charts to 20% from 11% in the first quarter. Meanwhile,  Roxas obtained a 15% voters' preference – a jump from the previous quarter’s 8%. (READ: Poe leads poll; Roxas takes Visayas; Duterte, Mindanao)

The Mindanao results of the Social Weather Stations (SWS) surveys in 2015 indicate that those in favor of Duterte have increased.

Duterte topped an SWS survey commissioned by a Davao businessman, conducted in late November. In Mindanao, he was preferred by 37% of voters in November, from 34% in the first quarter. Poe, Binay, Roxas, and Miriam Defensor-Santiago all obtained less than 20% in Mindanao.

His popularity cannot be denied as some LP allies have abandoned the ruling party to support the "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" for Mindanao to be represented through Duterte. (READ: LP allies in Mindanao jump ship to support Duterte)

However, those who remained with the administration standard-bearer said that Mindanao is "hungry for development, not entertainment" and that their support for Roxas remains firm. (READ: Mar or Rody? Mindanao not hungry for entertainment, say LP allies)

With at least 5 months before the May 2016 elections, and various issues clouding the race to the presidency, the atmosphere and sentiment of Mindanao voters could still change. But would they? – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – A Filipina was crowned Miss Universe again after more than 4 decades of special awards and podium finishes.

Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach won the title on Sunday, December 20, (December 21, Monday, in Manila) after pageant host Steve Harvey first announced Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez as winner. (READ: Mix-up seen 'round the universe: Host Steve Harvey announces wrong winner)

Wurtzbach’s win, nonetheless, is well-deserved after a long journey – including 3 attempts at the Binibining Pilipinas title. (READ:  PH's Pia Wurtzbach wins Miss Universe 2015)

She joins the roster of beauty queens around the world. The Miss Universe 2015 title for the Philippines, meanwhile, further cements the country’s spot in international pageants. (READ: MAP: PH and the world in Big 4 beauty pageants)

But just how rich is the history of Miss Universe? Here are some interesting facts:  

1. Colombia waited 58 years before winning another Miss Universe crown.

Colombia first won the Miss Universe title in 1958, when the international beauty pageant was on its 7th year only. After 58 years, it won the title again in 2014.

The Philippines, on the other hand, had to wait for 42 years after the 1973 win of Margarita "Margie" Moran. The country first won the crown through Gloria Diaz in 1969. (READ: Margie Moran-Floirendo on Miss Universe and Janine Tugonon)

2. The United States (US) won the most number of Miss Universe titles since the pageant’s creation in 1952.

With 8 wins, the US leads the tally of countries with the most number of Miss Universe titles.

The country – where the pageant originated – first held the crown in 1954 and lately in 2012 with Olivia Culpo. It has also won a title in every decade since the 1950s – except during the 1970s and 2000s.

The US is followed by Venezuela with 7 titles, Puerto Rico with 5, and the Philippines with 3.

Meanwhile, counties like the US, Venezuela, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Philippines, Brazil, Ukraine, France, and Australia are considered the latest “powerhouses” based on the number of podium finishes and wins in recent years.

Philippine representatives have been part of the top 10 candidates every year since 2010.

3. At 26, Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach is one of the 3 oldest Miss Universe title-holders.

The latest official rules of the Miss Universe pageant say that candidates should be between 18 and 26 years old.

Based on the data available, most of the Miss Universe beauty queens were crowned at the age of 18.  

Wurtzbach is one of the oldest title winners in the history of the international pageant.

She joins Brooke Lee of the US and Wendy Fitzwilliam of Trinidad & Tobago, who were both 26 when they won the Miss Universe crown in 1997 and 1998, respectively.

The youngest, meanwhile, is first-ever Miss Universe Armi Kuusela of Finland who won the title in 1952 at 17 years old. She married Filipino businessman Virgilio Hilario in 1953 after a short courtship.

4. Azerbaijan is the latest country to debut at the Miss Universe pageant.

Azerbaijan first joined the international beauty pageant in 2013, making it the youngest member.

However, a lot of countries have also debuted in the Miss Universe pageant in recent years, including Gabon and Lithuana in 2012, Kosovo in 2008, Tanzania in 2007, and Kazakhstan in 2006, among others.

The Philippines, meanwhile, joined the inaugural pageant in 1952 with Teresita Sanchez as representative. She was crowned Miss Philippines in April 1952 by then Manila Mayor Arsenio Lacson.

5. The first Miss Universe to be dethroned was Miss Russia in 2002.

Russia won its first Miss Universe title through Oxana Fedorova in 2002. Her reign, however, lasted for only 4 months after she was dethroned for “failing to fulfill her duties,” the organizers said.

Miss Russia was dethroned supposedly because she was pregnant and even married but she said she wanted to concentrate on her law studies at the time.

First runner-up Justine Pasek of Panama replaced Fedorova and was crowned Miss Universe 2002.

In 2011, Miss Universe Leila Lopes from Angola was accused of producing false documents to allow her to join the local pageant Miss Angola UK. The accusations remained unproven and she continued her reign. – Rappler.com

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MANILA, Philippines – In 2015, Mary Jane Veloso became the face of 1.8 million overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), the unrelenting problem of drug trafficking, and ultimately, the effects of poverty.

Like most OFWs, Veloso accepted a job offer abroad to provide for her poor family in Nueva Ecija. What she earned during a 10-month stint in Dubai where she was allegedly abused wasn’t enough to even send her son to school. (READ: Mary Jane Veloso a drug smuggler? Look at our home, parents say)

Instead of Malaysia as promised, she ended up in Indonesia. Upon her arrival in her new destination, Indonesian authorities found 2.6 kilograms of heroin hidden tucked in the lining of her suitcase allegedly provided by her recruiter. (READ: The story of Mary Jane Veloso, in her own words)

Indonesia has some of the strictest anti-drug laws as drug-related offenses are penalized with the death penalty. In October 2010 – just 6 months since her arrest – the single mother of two was sentenced to death.

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As of May 2015, 92 OFWs convicted for murder and drug-related charges remain on death row and at least 3,800 remain incarcerated. Yet there are still about 1.34 million undocumented Filipino migrant workers spread out mostly in the Middle East and Asia.

Veloso’s lawyers have argued she was not able to defend herself well during the trial.

But beyond the technicalities, Veloso insists she is innocent and that she became an involuntary drug mule victimized by Maria Cristina Sergio – her neighbor. Sergio, the live-in partner of a close family friend, was supposed to be the key to a better life for her family but events took an unexpected twist.

Cristina Sergio: Double life, lies, secrets
Part 1 | Part 2

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Saving Mary Jane’s life

The plight of Veloso drew a lot of attention in the Philippines and around the world – an online petition pleading for her life is among the most signed on the change.org site, #SaveMaryJane trended on social media, and mobilizations and vigils on the ground were organized.

The events surrounding the trial and conviction raised questions about the government’s role in helping Veloso from the very start.

Government officials maintained they had been on the case ever since – starting with a clemency appeal in 2011 from President Benigno Aquino III.

But in 2014, newly-elected President Joko Widodo announced he was rejecting all clemency requests due to Indonesia’s illegal drug situation. He rejected a batch of appeals in January 2015 – including Veloso’s.

The camp representing Veloso immediately filed a judicial or case review. However, on March 25, the Indonesian Supreme Court rejected the request.

On April 24, a “stronger” second appeal was filed as the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) recommended the filing of charges against 3 people, including Sergio.

She was a victim of human trafficking, they argued, but it was not accepted by the court.

But on April 29, Veloso – who then already accepted her fate– was spared from death as 8 other drug trafficking convicts were executed.

Uncertain future

The 11th-hour reprieve was a product of various efforts from several stakeholders, including the government and civil society groups. (TIMELINE: The day Mary Jane was spared)

For government, Aquino requested another opportunity be given to Veloso to “shed light on the activities of the trafficking syndicate that victimized her.”

The reprieve, he said, would allow her to testify against her alleged traffickers, who, according to government investigators, were part of an international drug ring that operates in and out of the country.

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According to a May 2015 resolution by the Department of Justice, Sergio and her live-in partner, Julius Lacanilao, acted as drug mules of a Western African drug syndicate as early as 2010.

The trial of the accused, who are facing charges of human trafficking, illegal recruitment and estafa, started in November 11. The arraignment for human trafficking, however, was deferred due to a motion for reconsideration filed by the defense.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian government said that the death penalty is not at the top of the country’s list. According to Attorney General HM Prasetyo, the country will focus on economic development. (READ: Indonesia: Death penalty no longer a priority)

The way the Philippine government handled – and will continue handling – the case of Veloso mirrors its commitment to the welfare of Filipinos who seek greener pastures abroad.

The Department of Foreign Affairs has vowed to closely monitor cases on death row and is extending help to incarcerated Filipinos and their families.

Veloso, however, will welcome another year on death row. Her homecoming remains uncertain. – Rappler.com

Photo credits: Header and carousel images: Bimo Satrio/EPA. Cristina Sergio: Ben Nabong/Rappler.

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MANILA, Philippines – Elected officials are expected to tell the truth and nothing but the truth. The things they say and claim, however earth-shattering or inconsequential they may be, will always be subject to public scrutiny and fact-checking.

In 2015, the honesty of two senators seeking posts in the 2016 elections was put to the test. We got information their claims about their educational attainment were doubtful so we checked them out.

Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr had claimed to have studied abroad during the presidency of his father and namesake, Ferdinand Marcos.

In his resumé, Marcos said he obtained a bachelor of arts degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Oxford University (1975-1978) in the United Kingdom, then a master’s degree in business administration (MBA) from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania (1979-1981) in the United States.

Rappler's fact-checking revealed that his claims were not totally accurate. (READ: EXCLUSIVE: Did Bongbong Marcos lie about Oxford, Wharton?)

Marcos did study in Oxford, but his name does not appear on the school's roll of students who successfully earned degrees in 1978, as well as on the 1977-78 university calendar, which contains the names of all students sitting for final exams in each subject.

Travails of verifying alumni records of public officials
Read more

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Meanwhile, at Wharton, Rappler's informed sources said that Marcos enrolled for the MBA program, but never graduated. The university's comprehensive alumni database supported that claim.

Shortly after the report's publication, Marcos responded by saying that his educational records at Oxford and Wharton are "accurate."

"I earned a diploma in political science at St Edmund Hall, Oxford University in England in 1978," he said. But we noted that a “diploma” is different from a bachelor's degree.

As for his Wharton stay, Marcos admitted he was "unable to complete" the masteral course he enrolled for because he was elected Ilocos Norte vice governor.

Admission and correction

Another senator whose academic credentials were checked by Rappler in 2015 was Ralph Recto.

His profile on the Senate website initially stated that he earned two master’s degrees – in Public Administration from the University of the Philippines Diliman in 1991, and another in Strategic Business Economics from the University of Asia and the Pacific in 1994.

Recto wasn't able to complete either. (READ: EXCLUSIVE: No master’s degrees for Ralph Recto)

In addition, Rappler discovered that what he claimed as his Bachelor of Science degree in Commerce obtained from the De La Salle University (DLSU) was inaccurate.

The senator admitted the errors, recalling that the last time he checked his bio-data was possibly when he was a congressman (1992-2001). Recto also said he was unable to submit a thesis to earn both degrees. He likewise corrected his undergraduate degree, saying he graduated from the College of St Benilde (CSB), which is a part of DLSU, in 1989, with a degree in BS Commerce.

Both Marcos and Recto have since updated their profiles on the Senate website to reflect more accurate credentials.

Marcos is running for vice president in the 2016 polls, while Recto is gunning for a fresh 6-year term as senator.

Roxas: Wharton graduate or not?

Later in the year, the accuracy of a 2016 presidential candidate's college degree was likewise questioned by one of his opponents in the race to the presidency.

In response to a statement made by former Interior and Local Government secretary Manuel "Mar" Roxas II that Davao City's track record in peace and order is a "myth", the city's long-time mayor, Rodrigo Duterte, fired back with a counter-claim.

“You claim to have graduated from Wharton School of Economics. That is a myth. You did not graduate [from] Wharton, Mr Roxas."
– Rodrigo Duterte in a radio show in Davao City on December 13

Duterte accused Roxas of lying about earning a degree from the prestigious Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) in the United States. In his official website, Roxas said he graduated from Wharton with a Bachelor of Science in Economics degree in 1979.

"Wala doon sa listahan na ikaw naka-kumpleto ng 4 years or 5 years for a degree. Tanungin mo ang Wharton. Maybe um-enrol ka ng 3 months course, correspondence [course]. I would believe that,” Duterte added.

(Your name is not on the list of those who studied for 4 or 5 years for a degree. Ask Wharton. Maybe you enrolled in a 3-month course, a correspondence [course]. I would believe that.)

He later insisted that Roxas can only claim to be a UPenn graduate, and not a Wharton graduate.

But an independent check by Rappler, even before the Duterte-Roxas word war began, revealed that Roxas was indeed awarded a BS Economics degree by Wharton. (READ: Wharton a 'myth?' Facts on Mar Roxas and his economics degree)

Unconvinced, some netizens pointed out that Roxas was a Wharton "undergraduate" as stated on the certification that Rappler obtained. They claimed it means Roxas did not graduate, but others are saying otherwise. What exactly does the term "undergraduate" mean?

The Wharton School later confirmed that Roxas is among their alumni.

Amid the ensuing verbal tussle – as well as a "slap bet", a fistfight, a gun duel, and a debate– former president Fidel V. Ramos offered some advice to the 2016 bets, including Roxas and Duterte.

"Act like a Philippine president who must be competitive nationally; meaning, you'll be compared to other Philippine presidents. But beyond that, the Philippine president must be world-class," Ramos said.

"Slapping, fighting, killing each other will not solve the problem." – Rappler.com

Photo credits: Marcos: Cesar Tomambo/Senate PRIB; Roxas: courtesy of NCRPO/PIO; Recto (header image): Alex Nuevaespaña/Senate PRIB; Recto (carousel): Jansen Romero/Rappler.

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MANILA, Philippines – The year 2015 witnessed significant developments in the investigation and court trial of the pork barrel scandal case – the country's biggest corruption issue in recent history.

The much-awaited third batch of charges against those implicated in the misuse of their Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or pork barrel was finally filed in August.

Among those charged were presidential bet and Senator Gregorio Honasan (also the running mate of Vice President Jejomar Binay) and former Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) chief and current administration ally Joel Villanueva.

The filing of charges comes two years after the first two batches of charges were filed back in 2013, just months after the scam was exposed. It was a highly-anticipated filing, brought by the ever-changing deadline set by the Department of Justice (DOJ).

In a podcast interview, Levi Baligod – the former lawyer of star witness Benhur Luy in the serious illegal detention case filed against businesswoman Janet Napoles – said government's slow action on the case mirrors the ambivalence of the President toward the PDAF investigation.

In defense, then Justice undersecretary Jose Justiniano – who had been deputized by the Ombudsman to act as special prosecutor in the PDAF cases – explained that it was the implicated lawmakers themselves who were to blame for the delay.

Napoles update

Despite the slow progress, one positive development for 2015 included the guilty verdict on Napoles in April on the illegal detention case involving Luy. A Makati Regional Trial Court sentenced Napoles – who surrendered to authorities in August 2013 – to reclusion perpetua or a jail term of up to 40 years.

The decision came just a month after Napoles' daughter Jeane was reported to have returned to the country. Napoles earlier denied her daughter had returned home.

An investigative report showed Jeane photographed with family members in a children's party on October 10, 2014. The party was a celebration of the birthday of her cousin Ellie, youngest daughter of Reynald “Jojo” Lim. 

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Back in the US, where Jeane reportedly lived a luxurious life, the US justice department moved in July to seize Napoles assets– including a unit at the ritzy Ritz-Carlton in Los Angeles estimated to be worth P80 million, a motel near Disneyland, and a Porsche Boxter purchased for the young Napoles.

In, out of detention

The early part of the year saw an improvement in the ongoing plunder cases with the imprisonment of two more individuals implicated in the case: Masbate Governor Rizalina Seachon-Lanete on February 18, and former Association of Philippine Electric Cooperatives (APEC) party-list representative Edgar Valdez on February 25.

They followed the detention of 3 senators – Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr, Jinggoy Estrada, and Juan Ponce Enrile, all arrested and imprisoned a year before.

But one of them – Enrile – managed to gain temporary liberty. The 91-year-old senator, who had been under hospital arrest for more than a year, was allowed in August by the Supreme Court to post bail. (READ: Enrile free for now)

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The decision was controversial, with some pointing out the senator was granted bail even before the trial on the merits of the plunder case itself started. The Supreme Court, however, apparently considered two mitigating factors for its decision – Enrile’s old age and his voluntary surrender.

The vote in the High court was 8-4 in favor, with the ponente himself – Associate Justice Lucas Bersamin – reportedly changing his mind several times. (INSIDE TRACK: Behind the SC decision on Enrile's bail)

2016 polls

In a podcast interview, Baligod said government "became wobbly in pursuing the cases against legislators...because of the approaching 2016 elections."

We found out that out of the more than 100 legislators mentioned in the Commisison on Audit report that looked into the release of PDAF to questionable NGOs from 2007 to 2009, 86 are running for various positions in the 2016 elections.

At least 10 of them were identified in complaints submitted to the Office of the Ombudsman – including Honasan, senatorial candidate Villanueva, and the detained Seachon-Lanete who’s running for reelection in Masbate.

The complaints, however, were never an issue for their candidacies– except for Seachon-Lanete – since no formal charges had been filed against them.

When asked about scenarios regarding this long-running issue, Justiniano said conviction is unlikely under the present administration.

Given the slow movement of proceedings, the country may really have to wait for the next set of elected public officials to conclude this case. – Rappler.com 

Photo credits: Enrile: Ayee Macaraig/Rappler; Napoles: LeAnne Jazul/Rappler.

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MANILA, Philippines – The odds were stacked mostly against Vice President Jejomar Binay in 2015, as more evidence of his alleged corrupt practices – along with that of his family and allies – was unearthed this year.

For one, the investigation on the overpriced Makati City parking building – first revealed in 2013 and made basis for the plunder case filed against Binay – continued, with more details exposed.

Will all these make a dent in his bid for the presidency in 2016? That's what many are watching and wondering about, although his camp has been boasting that his core of supporters has remained solid despite all the mud thrown at him. His track record of many years as chief executive of the financial district speaks for itself and this has made him resilient amid all the accusations, they say.

The December 4-11 survey of Pulse Asia on presidential preferences showed Binay at the top spot with 33%, representing an increase of 14 percentage points compared to the September survey. Will this hold through May 2016?

This year, there were new allegations hurled against Binay aired mostly in the long-drawn Senate investigations described as politically motivated. Among these are the following:

• The overpriced fixtures in the comfort rooms of the parking building. Rappler compared the retail prices of the toilet fixtures with the prices listed in documents provided by the Makati city government, and found major discrepancies.

• The bidding process for the construction of the parking building raised red flags, and cast some doubt on the integrity of the process.

The Senate came out in May with a partial report that recommended to the Ombudsman the filing of plunder charges against Binay, his son, and co-conspirators over the overpriced parking building.

In a podcast interview, former vice mayor Ernesto Mercado – Binay’s principal accuser – said he expects an indictment of all those involved in the overpriced transactions, with indicted city officials possibly facing administrative or criminal cases.

Dummies

The alleged dummies of Binay were also not spared from the ongoing investigation on other graft issues.

In May, the Court of Appeals (CA) issued a freeze order on 242 bank accounts and investments of Binay, his family, and his alleged dummies. This was the result of a probe by the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC).

In November, the AMLC once again sought a freeze order for 139 bank accounts and 19 real properties. The document revealed more names of alleged Binay dummies, with most of them related by blood.

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Among those in both freeze orders are bank accounts under the name of Erlinda Chong. We found her to have been used by Binay in purchasing a billion-peso-worth commercial strip in Barangay Comembo in Makati for a much lower price. (READ: How a Binay dummy got a P1B Makati property)

A complaint was already filed in 1999 before the Ombudsman, which decided that the property should not have been sold to Chong. But a review of a separate graft panel reversed the decision. (READ: A Mormon church, Binay dummies, and a land scam)

In August, a review of Makati's service contracts ordered under the leadership of Makati Mayor Kid Peña revealed that the alleged Binay dummies cornered the bulk of Makati's IT, janitorial, and security services by running the same companies that won bids in a span of almost a decade.

Surveys, ratings

The findings against Binay did some harm to his presidential bid. While he began the year as front-runner in the presidential surveys, his ranking suddenly dropped during the mid-year surveys because of the issues raised against him.

This decline in survey scores remains inconclusive, however, based on the Benigno Aquino III-Manny Villar experience in the 2010 elections. True enough, by December, Binay's numbers were up again.

Despite all the negative issues raised against him, Binay has been doing better in performance and satisfaction ratings compared to President Benigno Aquino III.

In the end, will he emerge victorious in 2016? – Rappler.com 

Header and carousel images from Office of the Vice President

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MANILA, Philippines – The Iglesia ni Cristo has always been perceived as a secretive, exclusive, and closed church that somehow managed to wield influence in political circles.

It is believed to vote as a bloc, with higher-ups dictating to its members what should be written on ballots during elections. In exchange, it got members of the church appointed to high places like the Department of Justice, Bureau of Customs, the Philippine National Police, National Bureau of Investigation, and Land Transportation Office, among several others.

Over a hundred years old, no one ever imagined it was in the throes of dissension, with no less than members of the family entangled in a bitter quarrel they tried to hide for years.

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<p class="caption" style="margin-right: 10px">ONE FAMILY. The Iglesia's Manalo family with then executive minister Eraño Manalo, second from left on the front row. To his right is Bro Felix Nathaniel "Angel" Manalo. Behind Angel is elder brother and current executive minister Eduardo and wife Baby Lynn Ventura Manalo. Beside Eraño is wife Cristina "Tenny" Villanueva Manalo. Behind her is daughter Lolita "Lottie" Manalo Hemedez. Behind her is younger brother Marco Eraño. To his right is Eduard Rodil Hemedez, Lottie's husband who has passed away. Right-most on the front row is Liberty Manalo Albert and sister Erlinda Manalo Alcantara. Behind them are husbands Albert Albert (right most, back row) and Romualdo Alcantara. Photo from Lottie Hemedez</p>
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The discord finally erupted in public in July 2015 when the younger sibling of Iglesia executive minister Eduardo Manalo, Felix Nathaniel "Angel" Manalo, and his mother Cristina "Tenny" Villanueva-Manalo appeared in a video on YouTube, appealing for help and saying their lives were in danger.

The Iglesia is facing what is perhaps its worst crisis in recent memory, a crisis whose resolution is still nowhere in sight.

With close to 2.3 million followers, according to the National Statistics Office, the Iglesia is perceived to be a potent force that influences Philippine life. But how solid is that influence?

After the video of Angel and Tenny Manalo, which Rappler first reported about, things were never the same for the church. Allegations of corruption and extravagant lifestyles of the church leadership – including the executive minister Eduardo Manalo – were unheard of before. These surfaced for the first time and were confirmed by expelled ministers.

How true were reports about use by members of the Sanggunian of a multi-million-dollar, luxurious Airbus? How true were abductions of expelled ministers reported in the blog of chief critic Antonio Ebangelista, an adopted pseudonym of still unidentified Iglesia “rebels” who called themselves "defenders"?

Accusations of corruption by former minister Isaias Samson Jr and other “rebel” members of the Iglesia rocked the very foundations of the church. How could a church expected to be a model of simplicity be associated with corruption, abuses and irregularities supposedly committed by its leadership?

Photos and airplane logs of trips made by the Airbus, as well as a press conference held by expelled minister Lowell Menorca II, who narrated his ordeal, served to confirm the allegations.

The exposés came to a head, resulting in a show of force by faithful and defiant members of the church who marched to EDSA. Heeding the call of their leaders, some members of the Iglesia moved to the historic thoroughfare from the justice department, headquarters of then justice secretary Leila de Lima.

The rally on EDSA was proof of two things: the considerable following of the INC leadership as seen in the number of followers who trooped to EDSA; and the unpreparedness of government and politicians to deal with this type of mobilization. (READ: INSIDE STORY: The end of the Iglesia ni Cristo protest)

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The rally surfaced the simmering conflict between church and state as represented by the Iglesia and the Aquino government. Administration insiders said no deals were struck with the Iglesia hierarchy, which asked for the removal of De Lima and the dropping of the serious illegal detention case filed by Samson against current leaders of the church.

While insiders insisted there were no secret agreements made that prompted the Iglesia brethren to move out of EDSA by the 5th day, subsequent events months later lend themselves to an interpretation that would seem to indicate otherwise.

That De Lima was running for senator and would have to leave the justice department anyway was perhaps a convenience for the administration.

In November, just about 3 months after Samson filed an illegal detention case, the case was dismissed for lack of probable cause. “Was it coincidental?” some observers asked.

Five months after the first explosion within the Iglesia, rivalry reached a higher level as the younger siblings of executive minister Eduardo Manalo – Felix Nathaniel “Angel” Manalo and Lottie Manalo-Hemedez – were harassed in the very compound where they live. The unimaginable happened – physical barriers were put up and electricity was cut off.

The siblings also claimed that the house of their father, former executive minister Eraño Manalo, was being ransacked by unidentified men. Photos of them who reportedly entered the compound via the backdoor were shared with Rappler as proof.

Just days before Christmas, the Manalo household is far from peaceful, still seething and perhaps waiting for another eruption. – Rappler.com

Video by Adrian Portugal

Corruption, accountability, truth-telling, transparency, and events behind-the-scenes. These were the running themes of major stories that called public attention to burning issues this year.

These are Newsbreak's Top 5 stories that made an impact in 2015.

{source}

Jejomar Binay's greatest challenge

Will Vice President Jejomar Binay survive allegations of corruption and go on to win the presidential elections in 2016? Read more

PDAF: Slow-moving corruption issue

What are the chances of a conviction happening under the Aquino administration? Very slim to nil. Read more

Fact-check: Politicians' academic degrees

Rappler's initial fact-check of academic credentials of politicians running for public office reveals some surprises. Read more

 

Saving Mary Jane, the face of OFWs

Symbolic of millions of Filipinos working as OFWs, Mary Jane Veloso narrowly escapes a death sentence in Indonesia. Read more

Photo credits: (header image) Veloso: Suryo Wibowo/AFP; Marcos: Cesar Tomambo/Senate PRIB; Recto: Rappler photo; Roxas: courtesy of NCRPO/PIO; Manalo: from Youtube video; Binay: Alecs Ongcal/Rappler; Enrile: Rappler photo; Napoles: Ben Nabong/Rappler. (thumbnails) INC: Video by Adrian Portugal; Binay: Rappler photo; Enrile: Ayee Macaraig/Rappler; Napoles: LeAnne Jazul/Rappler; Recto: Jansen Romero/Rappler; Marcos: Cesar Tomambo/Senate PRIB; Roxas: courtesy of NCRPO/PIO; Veloso: Bimo Satrio/EPA.

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MANILA, Philippines – The latest pre-election survey results from Pulse Asia show Vice President Jejomar Binay as the top presidential aspirant for 2016.

According to the survey conducted December 4-11, Binay’s numbers rose by 14 percentage points to 33% – a significant jump from the last survey’s 19%.

The presidential candidate enjoyed a 10-percentage-point lead over Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and a 12-percentage-point lead over Senator Grace Poe. Both, however, practically shared the second spot, given the survey's margin of error. (READ: Binay the man to beat in Pulse Asia survey)

The results also showed an increase in the number of people who preferred Binay in the major island groups. He even topped the survey in the National Capital Region (NCR), Luzon, and the Visayas – unlike the previous September survey where he did not emerge a preferred candidate in any of the country's major island groups. 

The poll covered 1,800 registered voters nationwide with an error margin of ±2% and a 95% confidence level. 

What did Binay do between the two survey periods of December 4-11 and September 8-14? Rappler followed the Binay trail:

Click or hover over the number to read about Binay's visit in the area. Note that the events are labeled in chronological order.

1. National Capital Region

On October 13, Binay visited Hardin ng Pag-asa in Mandaluyong City.

A day before, on October 12, he filed his certificate of candidacy (COC) for president at the Commission on Elections with Senator Gringo Honasan. (READ: 1st nat'l tandem to file: Binay-Honasan) 

On November 11, Binay celebrated his 73rd birthday with residents of Barangay 60 in Pasay City.

On December 11, he spoke at the Galing Pook forum at the Ateneo De Manila University and talked about countryside development. (READ: Binay wants mega infrastructure projects for each region)

2. Luzon

On September 15, Binay was at the University of the Philippines-Los Baños for the “Forum on Governance, Transparency and Social Transformation." 

The event went viral as he was questioned by students about allegations of graft and corruption, among others. (READ: Students roast Binay at UPLB forum: 'Wala namang ganyanan')

On September 23, Binay attended the Family Day celebration at the Bacoor Coliseum in Cavite.

From October 20 to 22, he went to Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, and Isabela to "provide relief and assistance" to those affected by Typhoon Lando. He pledged to replace crops lost by farmers during the typhoon with hybrid rice seedlings in Isabela, his hometown. (READ: Binay in hometown after typhoon: Alternative aid to farmers needed)

The province of Nueva Ecija was the hardest hit with 2,935 houses destroyed. Total damage in all affected provinces was estimated at P6 billion ($126 million)*.

From November 12 to 16, the presidential aspirant visited municipalities in La Union affected by Typhoon Lando. He also pledged to help the farmers who lost their crops.  

He likewise rallied for salary increases for teachers when he spoke at the centennial celebration of San Alberto Magno Academy and even highlighted the progress of the province when it comes to battling poverty and hunger. 

On November 21, Binay visited Batangas and met with 19 local government officials where he discussed the possibility of revisiting the Local Government Code. If elected president, he pledged to review the possibility of increasing the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) share of 3rd to 5th class municipalities.

On December 4, Binay attended the wifi system launch of Cavite State University-Rosario Campus where he promised nationwide wireless Internet connection once elected. 

On December 5, he spoke at the 3rd anniversary of the Kababaihan ng Maynila at the Folk Arts Theater.

On December 5 and 6, Binay had a "gathering of friends" at the Dimasalang Park in Antipolo City together with his UNA slate. He even visited the famous Hinulugang Taktak. 

3. Visayas

Binay gained the most in the Visayas, the latest Pulse Asia survey showed, as his numbers increased by 18 percentage points.

From November 5 to 8, Binay was the most visible presidential aspirant during the 2nd anniversary of Super Typhoon Yolanda (international name Haiyan) in the Visayas.

He visited areas in the provinces of Leyte and Southern Leyte where he met with residents, sectoral groups, and LGU officials. (READ: Binay, opposition lead Typhoon Yolanda commemoration)

According to the Office of the Vice President (OVP), Binay also went to the Visayas State University and turned over wheelchairs and medical equipment to the Office of Senior Citizens’ Affairs of Abuyog, Leyte.

On December 8, Binay went to Negros Oriental to meet with university students, LGU officials, and representatives of sectoral groups. 

4. Mindanao

On October 4, Binay launched the United Nationalist Alliance in Cagayan de Oro. He also promised to help the completion of ongoing projects in the province and region. (READ: Binay vows int'l airport in CDO, solution to Mindanao power woes)

On October 25, Binay attended the 8th Alpha Phi Omega Mindanao Alumni Fellowship and the opening of the National Scout Jamboree in Tagum City, Davao.

From November 27 to 28, meanwhile, he was in Sarangani and General Santos City.

Aside from attending the Boy Scouts of the Philippines' Provincial Jamboree and the Overseas Filipino Workers' Family Day, he also met with LGU officials and sectoral groups, including tribal chieftains, farmers, fisherfolk, and vendors in local public markets in the province.

Binay has been known for focusing on places outside the Philippine capital, running a low-key, under-the-radar campaign. What he has been doing is no different from what he did in 2010.

With less than 5 months before the 2016 elections, can other presidential aspirants catch up? – Data visualization by Alyssa Arizabal and Michael Bueza/Rappler.com

Sources: Office of the Vice President, various news reports

*$1=P47

(READ: Part 1: The annulment business)

MANILA, Philippines – How long does it take to get annulled? Irene Bianca Distura, deputy director of the national committee on legal aid of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, gives us a basic timeline of the steps involved in filing a petition for declaration of nullity of marriage.

Considering that psychological incapacity is the most used basis for this case, we are using it here as our example.

This timeline merely serves as guide to the basic steps in filing such a petition. The time frames estimated here will vary based on the court’s case load and the facts and circumstances of each case.

For example, cases where custody of children and separation of properties are involved often take longer. Also, if the petition is contested by the respondent, the case will inevitably take even more time.

– Rappler.com

(READ: Part 1: The annulment business)

MANILA, Philippines – How do I leave thee? Let us count the ways.

For most  Filipinos, divorce is not an option if marital bonds turn sour. But there are ways to untie the matrimonial knot and cut yourself loose.

This explainer can help guide you through the legalese of The Family Code which lists various grounds for terminating marriages.

1. Declaration of nullity:

What it is: Applies to a marriage that is void or invalid from the beginning because of conditions that were presentbefore the marriage was solemnized or because certain requirements of marriage were lacking.

According to the statistics provided by the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), the most common ground for declaration of nullity is psychological incapacity, which is often cited as the Philippine version of “irreconcilable differences”. 

2. Annulment 

Not to be confused with Declaration of Nullity, in an annulment, the marriage is considered valid until declared void. However, there are certain conditions to annul and legally cancel the marriage.

3. Legal separation

Legal separation is a mere separation of bed and board; a couple may legally live separately, but the marital bond remains intact. Neither party can re-marry.

Legal separation must be filed within one year from the date the respondent became aware of the causes for legal separation and within 5 years from the time of the occurrence of the cause. 

A “cooling off period” of 6 months is mandatory to give the parties a chance at reconciliation. From date of filing, the court will wait 6 months before starting the trial proceedings. 

What legal separation does not do:

Apart from not allowing either party to re-marry, if the wife used the legal surname of her husband during the time of the marriage, she cannot revert to her maiden name because the marital bond is still considered valid.

4. Divorce for Muslims

Under the Code of Muslim Personal Laws, Filipino Muslims are allowed to divorce provided that both parties or the male is Muslim and the marriage was solemnized in accordance with Muslim law. 

5. Church annulments 

A Church annulment is decided on by the Church Matrimonial Tribunal comprised of canon lawyers (priests who are educated in the laws of the Church). In comparison, a civil annulment is decided by a presiding judge in a trial court.

A Church annulment does not replace or substitute a civil annulment. 

Civil courts do not recognize Church annulments on matters regarding property rights, family relations and custody of children. However, securing a Church annulment allows the parties to re-marry in Catholic Church rites. – Rappler.com

This infographic is meant only to serve as a guide. For complete details on dissolution of marriage in the Philippines, please check the Family Code of the Philippines.

Sources:

• The Family Code of the Philippines

• Marriage and Unmarried Cohabitation: The Rights of Husbands, Wives and Lovers by Elizabeth Aguiling-Pangalangan

MANILA, Philippines – Thinking of filing for an annulment? Jeanie Pulido, an annulment lawyer, gives a rundown of the costs involved.

Depending on the arrangement between the lawyer and client, the costs of annulment may be “packaged” to cover various requirements.

Lawyer’s professional fees may differ for annulment cases that are contested and are thus, expected to take a longer time frame to settle. Here's a guide: 

	Filing fee Basic fee paid to court to file case. Fee applies to cases w/o property or custody issues. If no properties to be divided, percentage of estimated value of total conjugal property will be added to filing fee. Where custody of children is involved, filing fee is P5,250.
	Transcript of stenographer’s notes Minutes of court hearings.
	Sheriff’s transportation costs Delivery of court summons to respondent. There should be at least 3 attempts to personally serve summons to respondent.
	Publication Announcement of annulment in newspaper or tabloid is required only if petitioner cannot locate spouse.
	Pleadings Preparation and submission of pleadings to court.
	Photocopying Photocopying of affidavits and petitions for distribution to fiscal, Office of the Solicitor General, and respondent’s lawyers. About 10 copies of each document is required.
	Psychologist's fees Conduct of psychological test and interview. Preparation of psychological report.
	Psychologist’s appearance fee Fee paid for psychologist to appear and testify in court. If court hearing is cancelled or re-scheduled on the day itself, appearance fee will still be paid.
	Lawyer's fees Professional fees for handling annulment from filing to release of decision.
	TOTAL: P184,250-P299,250

– Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – “It’s cheaper to hire a hit man than get an annulment!”

It's often said as a joke, a desperate and frustrated response to the cost and grueling process of getting an annulment.

But Cayetano (not his real name) agrees with the statement.

“Oo, mas madali ang humanap kaysa yung magfile ka ng annulment, ilang taon? Maraming pera ang magagamit mo samantalang kung maghahanap ka ng  tirador – P50,000 tapos na. Hindi ka pa maghihintay nang matagal…kaya mas madali humanap ng tirador. Ipapapatay na lang. Wala ka nang iisipin, hihintayin mo lang kung kelan mangyayari.”

(Yes, it is easier to look (for a hit man) than file an annulment – how many years will that take? It will cost a lot of money, while with just P50,000, it’s done. You don’t have to wait for a long time. That’s why it’s easier to hire a hit man. Just have him killed. You won’t have to worry about a thing, you just have to wait for it to happen.)

Cayetano is a hit man, a gun-for-hire, an assassin. And in the only country in the world without divorce, he is sometimes seen as the only way out of a bad marriage. A judge has a gavel, Cayetano has a gun and it will only take P50,000 for him to pull the trigger.

We found Cayetano through his "handler" who acts as a go-between for the client and the contractor. The tactics and operations he describes in this interview were confirmed by security contacts and other people in the business. He spoke to us on condition of anonymity and requested that we morph his voice.

Most of his contracts are business-related, usually about eliminating the competition. He has had only a handful of requests to do in spouses.

Nonetheless, Cayetano knows first-hand that some couples have chosen to take their vow of “till death do us part” to a gruesome conclusion. – Rappler.com

This story is part of the series, “The annulment business”, on annulment mills and annulment scams. Reporting for this project was supported with a grant from the Journalism for Nation Building Foundation.

MANILA, Philippines – Like most love stories, Ronnie’s (not his real name) story begins with two.

“Maliit lang ang bahay naming nun. At konti lang ang laman: dalawang plato, dalawang baso, dalawang unan. Pero punong-puno kami ng pangarap,” he said.

(We had a tiny house and all we had inside were two plates, two cups, two pillows. But we were so filled with dreams.”)

He and his wife Lucille (not her real name) were both young. She was 22 and he was 26. They were so in love and so eager to start a family – or at least Ronnie was.

Lucille wanted to wait. They did not have enough money and Lucille had always been the breadwinner of her family.

It was a blow to Ronnie’s pride. “She doesn’t think I can be a good provider,” he thought.

But it made Ronnie work hard to prove her wrong, to show that his ambition and his vision for the family they were going to have was as clear and as solid as his love for her.

When Ronnie's office job reaped the financial rewards of a promotion, he wanted to celebrate by having “the baby talk”.

“No, not yet,” Lucille insisted. Both of them were making more money now in their jobs in finance and education, and were more comfortable. Appliances and other home furnishings had been added to the two plates, cups, pillows and blanket that they had started their home with.

But Lucille’s parents were also more financially dependent on her now. “We can’t afford a baby yet,” she said, her usual argument now accompanied by the justification of supporting her own family.

Ronnie was confused and dejected, but acquiesced. It would be best to wait until they were more financially secure and could give their baby everything he or she could possibly want and need. 

Not ready to start a family

After Ronnie’s next promotion, he again broached the topic of adding a little one to their family.“Mag-pamilya na tayo.” (Let’s start a family.)

It was not a question this time; it was more of a call to answer his gnawing desire to be a father.

“I’m not ready. I don’t want to...yet,” Lucille said.

Ronnie was devastated and stunned. In their 5 years together, it  was the first time he had heard Lucille say that she did not want to have a family.

Panic began to creep in and doubt settled in his mind. More anxious and worried about the passage of time withering away their chances to have a child, every year after that, Ronnie would ask Lucille, cajole her to start a family. Always, the answer was the same, becoming more forceful as Ronnie became more desperate.

Time apart

By the time their 9th wedding anniversary came around, Ronnie was general manager of the small company where he worked. He was 36 and wanted to have a child. It was now or never, he thought.

This time, the baby talk was met with silence. Lucille’s silence was clearer than any answer she could give or any argument Ronnie could make.

“May be it’s time we thought about this – separately for a while,” Ronnie ended up saying.

Lucille moved out, leaving Ronnie in their home alone.

That was almost a year ago.

“I thought she would come back, that she would come to her senses,” said Ronnie, who is still struggling to make sense of their 9 years together.

Starting anew

Ronnie is now on his own, hoping for someone who can share his desire to start the family he has wanted for so long to have. He wants to get an annulment, but cannot afford it.

“If you think about it, my salary is ok. But the lawyers I’ve talked to ask for P250,000, sometimes P500,000 for an annulment case. Where will I get that kind of money?”

He feels betrayed – by Lucille, by the system that makes annulments attainable only by the moneyed and by his Church which does not allow divorce.

“I don’t understand it. I have been a good Catholic all my life. Why can’t the Church that I have loved and served all my life give me another chance at happiness?" 

He has stopped going to Mass and receiving communion. He still goes to Church on Sundays, but from a safe distance. He stands outside in the churchyard, listening as the mass spills over from the loudspeakers. Ronnie remains lost and broken.

“Buti pa yung mga babae, may Gabriela, may mga babaeng senadora na makikinig sa hiling niyo sa divorce. Sa aming kayang mga lalaki, sino ang makikinig sa amin?” (The women are lucky, they have Gabriela and women senators who will listen to their clamor for divorce. But what about us men, is there anyone who will listen to us?)

Ronnie feels that he is not the only man who feels this way. There are many others who are constrained to maintain the macho image, inhibited by the stereotype of philandering husbands.

“Now I just want to start over again and make things right," Ronnie said. "Why can’t the Church allow me to be happy again?” – Rappler.com

This story is part of the series, "The annulment business", on annulment mills and annulment scams. Reporting on this project was supported with a grant from the Journalism for Nation Building Foundation.

(UPDATED) Ah, the heat of election politics. 

The Cubao fortress of the Araneta-Roxas clan, which has been converted into campaign headquarters for the 2016 presidential run of its most famous heir, Mar Roxas, is now practically a free-for-all, come-as-you-are area for everyone – politicians, campaigners, supporters, converts, fan clubs, friends, relatives, media. 

Except for one: Senator Bam Aquino, presidential cousin, member of the Liberal Party, campaign manager of Roxas’ running mate Leni Robredo, and – this needs emphasis – a member of the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) that voted in favor of presidential wannabe Senator Grace Poe in her disqualification case.

In a 3-page opinion that he released shortly after the tight SET vote (5-4 in favor of Poe), Aquino said "logic dictates" foundlings are neither naturalized nor stateless, but natural-born Filipinos. 

"Foundlings are among the most vulnerable to statelessness and discrimination. Social justice dictates the State should be the first to recognize and ensure that foundlings are able to enjoy each and every right accorded them," he explained. (READ: Senators explain votes on Poe case)

Rappler learned that Aquino's pro-Poe vote infuriated the Roxas camp, which raised hell in closed-door meetings. It reinforced their suspicion, they said, that Bam was among those who had tried to influence the President to endorse Poe rather than Roxas for the 2016 race.

So for now he’s not welcome in “Balay” or “Bahay na Puti,” the Roxas home and campaign headquarters, according to our sources. "He's banned in Balay," says a source from the private sector who's supporting the Roxas-Robredo campaign.

Are we headed for another Noy-Bi nightmare in May? Okay, let's not go there – yet.

Perhaps Leni Robredo can try to lift that ban in the spirit of welcoming the New Year?

Meanwhile, Senator Aquino released this statement Sunday, December 27.

While I admit that some members of the LP were surprised by my SET vote, nais kong idiin na ginalang naman nila ang naging desisyon natin at walang sinuman sa partido ang sumubok na impluwensiyahan ako sa kaso.

(While I admit that some members of the LP were surprised by my SET vote, I'd like to emphasize that they respected my decision and no one in the party tried to influence me in the case.)

Ngayon, abala tayo sa pagtiyak na mananalo sina Mar Roxas, Leni Robredo at ang buong LP Senate slate sa 2016 elections.

(I am now busy making sure that Mar Roxas, Leni Robredo, and the entire LP Senate slate will win in the 2016 elections.)

Ang mga balita-balitang mga ganito ay mga tangka lamang na ilihis ang ating atensiyon. Tuloy-tuloy tayo sa pagpapanalo para kay Mar, Leni, at ang ating LP Senate slate!

(Reports like these are attempts to shift our attention. We're all out in making sure that Mar, Leni, and the LP Senate slate will win.)

– Glenda M. Gloria/Rappler.com

(Inside Track is Rappler's intelligencer on people, events, places and everything of public interest. It's a take-off from Newsbreak's Inside Track section. Contributions are most welcome. Just send bits of information to investigative@rappler.com.)