ILLUSTRATION BY RENE ELEVERA
James Mattis
US Defense Secretary James Mattis led rites to return to the Philippines three church bells seized by US troops during the Philippine-American War over a century ago.
US soldiers took the bells as war trophy after Filipinos killed 48 of their troops in a surprise attack in 1901.
In retaliation, Americans turned Samar, where the attack occurred, into a howling wilderness.
“History reminds us that all wars end. In returning the bells to our ally and friend, the Philippines, we pick up our generation’s responsibility to deepen the respect between our peoples,” Mattis said in a ceremony at the F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming, where two of the bells were kept.
Though some US veterans and officials oppose the return of the bells, Filipinos revere them as symbols of national pride.
Alan Peter and Lani Cayetano
Taguig’s husband-and-wife tandem faces disqualification from the 2019 midterm polls after a Taguig resident filed a case against them for admitting to living in separate homes so they could run in the city’s two congressional seats.
Barangay Signal Village resident Leonides Buac Jr. told the Commission on Elections that the couple could not run separately in the city’s congressional races since the Family Code “obliges them to live together.”
He also questioned Lani’s residence in a condo unit previously listed as the address of Cayetano siblings Lino and Pia when they ran for office in 2013 and 2016, respectively.
How could three families “habitually reside and maintain a family together in such a tiny space,” Buac asked, bewailing what he described as the Cayetano “superdynasty.”
Stan Lee
A small, private funeral was held to mourn Marvel Comics mogul Stan Lee, 95, who died in Los Angeles on Nov. 12.
Lee’s company, POW! Entertainment, said it was planning more memorials for the comic book legend, whose career spanned eight decades.
Lee, born Stanley Martin Lieber, had been working in comics since 1939.
He started as office assistant and rose to become an editor and writer for Marvel Comics.
In the early 1960s, when superheroes had fallen out of favor following the heyday of Superman and Batman in the 1930s and 1940s, Lee helped turn the downtrend around, with angsty rebellious heroes like the Fantastic Four (1961), Spider-Man (1962), The Incredible Hulk (1962), X-Men (1963) and so many more.
He was also known for his cameo appearances in Marvel movies.
Aung San Suu Kyi
Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi was publicly chastised at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit in Singapore over her handling of the Rohingya crisis.
The one-time rights champion has refused to speak up for the Rohingya, a stateless, persecuted Muslim minority driven by violence into Bangladesh in huge numbers.
Many of the honors previously showered upon Suu Kyi for her stoic, peaceful resistance during years of house arrest by Myanmar’s junta have been rescinded.
Amnesty International, which campaigned to free Suu Kyi when she was under detention, stripped her of its highest honor over her “indifference” to the Rohingya.
“Her star has dimmed,” said an Asean diplomat of Suu Kyi, who insists that a domestic probe will establish any evidence of Army abuses.
Jayvee Mocon
You can call Jayvee Mocon a Red Lion through and through. After winning two titles with the San Beda high school squad, Mocon ended his college career with four seniors title, the last of which he capped with a sweet bonus.
In his farewell game, Mocon won the Finals MVP trophy after notching 16 points and 11 rebounds on top of five blocks in the title-clinching 71-56 victory over the Lyceum Pirates.
Mocon averaged 15 points, 10.5 rebounds and three blocks in the championship round, plugging holes that emerged in the San Beda game plan.
“I’m just doing my part. I’m very thankful to my parents who were there for me through the good and bad and coach (Boyet Fernandez) who always pushes me to work hard,” he said.
The Red Lions won their 11th National Collegiate Athletic Association title in 13 years.