Illustration by RENE ELEVERA
Rey Leonardo Guerrero
The former chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and head of the Maritime Industry Authority assumed on Wednesday his post as the third customs chief of the Duterte administration in three years.
Guerrero’s appointment to the Bureau of Customs (BOC) came at a time when the agency got embroiled in another “shabu” (crystal meth) smuggling scandal, a blow to the administration whose centerpiece project is to stamp out the illegal drug trade.
Frustrated with what was going on inside the BOC, President Rodrigo Duterte has called in military men to take over the corruption-ridden bureau.
In his bid to allay concerns that the BOC was being militarized, Guerrero said that at least for now the bureau’s personnel would still be in “control” of its operations while he sorted out what “appropriate actions” to take.
Guerrero, however, warned that erring individuals and groups could expect his efforts to address the systemic corruption in the bureau to be “decisive and unrelenting.”
Jair Bolsonaro
It has been a busy first week for Brazil’s President-elect Jair Bolsonaro, the latest leader to get the people’s vote in what seems to be a global swing to the right in governments all over the world.
The 63-year-old leader presented his Cabinet nominees who quickly echoed his rhetoric.
His future defense minister, for one, said snipers should be employed against criminals.
But almost all his appointees have little experience in governance and raised questions over their management ability.
His economic minister, for instance, was to handle a “superministry” combining five portfolios.
The administration has also backtracked on some campaign promises because such reforms may not be passed by an opposition Congress.
He has withdrawn a plan to merge the agriculture and environment ministries and also stepped back from planned reforms in the pension system.
But Bolsonaro continues to enjoy public support and stokes that popularity through social media.
Jennifer Dalquez
Countless overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) can relate to Jennifer Dalquez’s story.
The 30-year-old single mother from General Santos City went to work as a domestic helper in the United Arab Emirates in December 2011 to support her family and two young children.
For the next three years, she also took on part-time jobs hoping to come home for good in 2014.
But in December 2014, she was arrested and sentenced to death for killing her policeman employer who had attacked and tried to rape her.
After four years in prison, she was acquitted of murder charges without having to pay blood money, but had to serve another five years in jail for the alleged theft of a cell phone.
Finally released last month, Dalquez was promptly repatriated last Friday, with 86 other distressed OFWs from Abu Dhabi.
While rejoicing at her release, the nongovernment group Migrante International said Dalquez’s case called attention to the plight of other OFWs in jail all over the world.
Klay Thompson
Klay Thompson started the season slow, his cool shooting sharing the limelight with the furnace-hot shooting of teammates Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant.
But when he broke out of his slump, he did so in a big way for the Golden State Warriors.
Thompson broke the 3-point record of his Splash Brother Curry, draining 14 triples in the Warriors’ 149-124 dismantling of the Chicago Bulls.
It was a show of supreme confidence as much as it was a display of marksmanship for Thompson.
Before that match, he had made just five of 36 attempts from beyond the arc.
Curry hit 13 3-pointers against New Orleans in 2016.
“That’s what I do this for — for those moments that you share with your teammates,” said Thompson, who was mobbed by teammates after his 14th try. “I don’t know if I would be able to break these records I have gotten in my past like tonight without the system I play in, or the team I play with, the guys I play with.”
CJ Cansino
Some guys get down after a tough outing. The great ones? They bounce back.
Such was the case for CJ Cansino of the University of Santo Tomas (UST).
Cansino looked every bit a jittery freshman after being outclassed by National University’s (NU) Dave Ildefonso in a fourth quarter showdown between two star rookies.
The Bulldogs eventually scrubbed off the Tigers, 75-70. Eager to bounce back, Cansino showed his true worth in record fashion, notching 20 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists in a 79-68 victory over University of the East, becoming the first rookie in recent memory to complete a triple double.
“After the [NU] game, I immediately watched the replay and I looked at my lapses and I told myself that I have to improve, so that became extra motivation for me. I did my best for the UST community, for the coaches, because they’ve all sacrificed so much for us,” said Cansino, who turned 19 on Oct. 27.