Faces of the News: July 19, 2020

ILLUSTRATION BY RENE ELEVERA

Edgardo Labella

The Cebu City mayor made headlines last week after the local government acquired P2.5 million worth of “tuob,” or steam inhalation kits, that were distributed to COVID-19 patients in isolation centers despite the health department’s assertion that the practice does not kill the virus that causes COVID-19.

The kit, composed of an electric water heater, steam gown, adult bath towel, two hand towels, an industrial plastic chair and a water basin was first said to have cost the city P2,500 each.

But public uproar over the “expensive” kits prompted Labella to deny knowing about them, or signing a purchase request for the kits.

City Hall eventually said that the kits were donated by a supplier whom officials did not identify.

While many Cebuanos considered Labella a kind man, the mayor, a former director of the Office of the Ombudsman Visayas, has been criticized for his “weak” and “soft” leadership, as well as for his handling of the COVID-19 crisis in Cebu City, which has one of the highest number of cases in the country.

This may have prompted President Rodrigo Duterte to appoint Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu to oversee the city’s response to the pandemic.

—Ador Vincent Mayol

Naya Rivera

Another tragedy befell the cast of the TV musical series “Glee,” after one of its stars, Naya Rivera, drowned in a boating accident in Lake Piru in California. She was 33.

The singer-actress reportedly disappeared in the lake after saving her son Josey, 4, who was found safe in the boat Rivera had rented.

After a week of extensive search operations, Rivera’s body was recovered on July 13.

It was the third tragic loss for “Glee.” Stars Cory Monteith died of a drug overdose in 2013, while Mark Salling died in an apparent suicide in 2018 after pleading guilty to possession of child pornography.

Cast members, including Amber Riley, Kevin McHale, Chris Colfer and Heather Morris, went to Lake Piru to show support to Rivera’s family and were seen praying shortly before her body was found.

Tributes to Rivera flooded social media. The singer, who was of African American, German and Puerto Rican descent, started out as a child actress and model before gaining fame via “Glee,” which ran from 2015 to 2019.

Her character, the funny and feisty cheerleader Santana Lopez, also inspired LGBT people of color after she came out as a lesbian.

—Allan Policarpio

Mikee Defensor

“I am NOT my father,” declared a widely shared Twitter post attributed to law student Mikee Defensor, daughter of Anakalusugan Rep. Michael “Mike” Defensor, one of the lawmakers who led the assault on ABS-CBN’s franchise application.

Though the younger Defensor’s account is private, the tweet has become fodder for political intrigue as she appeared to distance herself from her father’s stand on ABS-CBN, whose bid for a new license was defeated in a 70-11 vote in the House franchise committee on July 10.

In the tweet, the younger Defensor said: “I’ve stayed silent despite my dad ‘trending’ many times on Twitter because I understand that he is a public official and must be held accountable for his actions … But at the end of the day, I’m not the one in Congress. And more importantly, I am NOT my father. My heart goes out to those greatly affected by this, most especially the 11,000 workers who have lost their jobs in the middle of a pandemic.”

Former Rep. Erin Tañada posted a screenshot of the tweet and congratulated Mikee on her “courageous stand.” “You are the Mike Defensor I knew when we were marching in the streets. I hope you don’t change,” he said.

—DJ Yap

Ghislaine Maxwell

A flight risk who has “demonstrated sophistication in hiding her resources and herself.”

That was how US District Judge Alison Nathan saw Ghislaine Maxwell before denying her bail over charges that she lured girls — some as young as 14 — to be abused by her longtime associate Jeffrey Epstein.

Maxwell, 58, a wealthy socialite, helped the Hollywood mogul recruit and eventually abuse girls over three years starting in 1994, prosecutors say.

Of the six criminal charges against her, four were for transporting minors for illegal sexual acts and two for perjury for lying in depositions regarding her role in Epstein’s illicit affairs.

One of Maxwell’s accusers, Annie Farmer, said: “She is a sexual predator who groomed and abused me and countless other children and young women” for Epstein to exploit.

She added: “Without Ghislaine, Jeffrey could not have done what he did.”

Before her arrest on July 2, Maxwell, who pleaded not guilty to the charges, had been hiding in a sprawling property in New Hampshire, which she bought in cash in December in an anonymous transaction — one of the reasons that convinced the judge to keep her in jail before her trial in July 2021.

Dioceldo Sy

Dioceldo Sy earned the ire of both the Games and Amusements Board (GAB) and the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) after he revealed to the media earlier this week that his Blackwater squad violated the league’s health protocols.

The team held an unauthorized practice session in a Quezon City gym, he said.

Instead of calming all sides involved when confronted with his revelation, Sy threatened to sell the Elite for a hefty P150 million, saying his “heart [was] no longer into basketball and the PBA.”

He felt “offended, bullied and pushed to the wall” by the GAB and the PBA when they took offense to what he considers a nonissue, Sy said.

The GAB countered that the joint administrative order allowing the league to resume practices had yet to be issued as it was waiting for some more signatures, a statement backed by PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial.

Both the GAB and the PBA dealt with Sy separately. PBA fined him P100,000 for his team’s violation of protocols, and he is now waiting for a meeting with GAB chair Abraham Mitra to explain his actions.

Sy has yet to explain his threat to sell his franchise, and has zipped his lips while waiting for the fallout from the controversy.

—Louie Greg Rivera