FACE OF THE NEWS: Jan. 6, 2019

Illustration by RENE ELEVERA

Carlwyn Baldo

“I am being used as a scapegoat,” Daraga Mayor Carlwyn Baldo said, following the Philippine National Police’s declaration that investigations and testimonies from suspected gunmen had pointed to him as the brains in the killing of his 2019 election rival and Ako Bicol Rep. Rodel Batocabe.

Baldo’s name cropped up as early as Dec. 22, on the same day that Batocabe and his police escort SPO2 Orlando Diaz were gunned down.

But Baldo protested that, already, he was being “persecuted in the courts of public opinion.”

As of Thursday, police have filed charges of double murder and multiple counts of frustrated murder against the suspects at the Albay prosecutors office.

Sources said it was business as usual for Baldo at the mayor’s office, with the mayor asserting his innocence.

Nancy Pelosi

California Rep. Nancy Pelosi beat the odds and critics from her own Democratic Party to reprise her role in 2007 as House Speaker, the first and only woman so far to achieve the feat.

The 78-year-old San Francisco liberal displayed her mastery of US congressional politics when she outlined her priorities and shot down suggestions to start impeachment proceedings against US President Donald Trump, saying it was potentially a “divisive activity.”

Instead, she said she would champion lower health care costs, green infrastructure and restore “integrity to government.”

The new Speaker also firmly indicated she would not allow the construction of Trump’s border wall, as she considers it “an immorality between countries, and an old way of thinking (that) isn’t cost effective.”

Statue of ‘Korean comfort woman’

A 1-meter-tall bronze statue of a Korean “comfort woman” in San Pedro City, Laguna, drew controversy after Japan protested the memorial to women forced into sexual slavery by Japanese soldiers during World War II.

The statue, by South Korean couple Kim Seo-kyong and Kim Eun-sung, was unveiled on Dec. 28 at the Mary Mother of Mercy, a private shelter for the elderly and abandoned in the city.

But on Dec. 30, the city government took it down after protests from the Japanese Embassy.

The statue of a young Korean woman seated with fists clenched on her lap is similar to other memorials to thousands of comfort women in many countries, some of which were also removed on the request of the Japanese government.

The statue was supposed to symbolize “peace and true friendship among all nations.”

Emperor Akihito

In his final New Year’s Day appearance, Japanese Emperor Akihito waved to throngs of well-wishers just months before he steps down on April 30 and hands over the throne to his elder son, Crown Prince Naruhito, in what will be the first abdication ceremony in Japan in 200 years.

Akihito shocked the country in 2016 when he signaled his desire to take a back seat, citing his age and health problems.

In 1989, Akihito succeeded his father, wartime Emperor Hirohito, who was once viewed as a god.

Striving to become a more accessible emperor, Akihito married a commoner, Empress Michiko.

Both of his sons also married commoners.

Akihito’s three-decade reign is known in Japan as “Heisei,” with the first character meaning “peace.”

Naruhito is set to ascend the Chrysanthemum Throne a day after his father’s abdication.

Donnie Nietes

For a man of his fighting caliber and championship pedigree, Donnie Nietes sure has stayed on the far edge of the boxing spotlight.

Now 36, the country’s longest-reigning world champion can finally savor big-time fame after capturing the WBO world super flyweight title at Wynn Palace in Macau on the last day of 2018.

Nietes edged out Japan’s Kazuto Ioka to capture a fourth world title in as many weight classes.

Nietes had previously held belts as ruler of the minimum weight, light flyweight, and flyweight divisions.

As firecrackers heralded the start of 2019, Nietes (42-1-5) lit up Ioka (23-2) with ferocious punches to earn the nod of two of the three judges, with scores of 118-110 and 116-112, respectively.

Nietes thus ended a banner year for Philippine boxing, which now counts eight  world champions on its roster.