Faces of the News

Illustrations by Rene Elevera

Mylene Son

By turns emotional and calm, the widow of slain Chief Insp. Jesus Son faced off with Supt. Marvin Marcos, whom she had earlier linked to her husband’s ambush-slay, at last Monday’s Senate hearing. Without blinking, she confirmed that Marcos was the subject of her husband’s rant on their joint Facebook account a day before he was waylaid while driving to work. The FB post had to do with Marcoss’ alleged ruse to frame Son for the killing of Mayor Rolando Espinosa if he carried out the hit. Marcos had allegedly offered Son P500,000 if he could find an assassin for the mayor. Marcos denied the widow’s accusations. Son expressed fears for the safety of her three young daughters. She said they need protection.

Jack Lam

Like a blur, the Macau-based gambling tycoon had sneaked out of the country amid allegations he had tried to bribe Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II with huge sums into releasing more than 1,000 Chinese nationals rounded up for working illegally at his casino in Fontana Leisure Park and Casino Hotel inside Clark Free Port Zone in Pampanga. Aguirre himself disclosed that Lam made the offer, through a third party, when they met at a restaurant in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig, following the arrest of the Chinese workers. Aguirre rejected the offer. Then poof, Lam’s gone. The million-dollar question: With all eyes on him, how did he manage to fly the coop beyond the reach of this government?

Jeron Teng

Ending his collegiate career with a flourish, La Salle star Jeron Teng cemented his legacy as one of the greatest Green Archers in history. Teng

powered La Salle to its ninth UAAP men’s basketball championship after dropping 28 points in the Archers’ 79-72 triumph over fierce rival Ateneo Blue Eagles in Game 2 of the title series. “I just wanted to give everything for La Salle,” said Teng, who bagged the Finals Most Valuable Player award. “This was my goal from the very beginning.” Teng has been a pillar of leadership for the Archers throughout his five-year stint and with him at the helm, La Salle won two championships to underscore its status as a league heavyweight.

Ben Mbala

Ben Mbala lived up to the hype as one of the most dominant players in the UAAP men’s basketball tournament. As La Salle’s pillar of strength, Mbala captured the season Most Valuable Player award with a double-double average of 20.7 points and 16.3 rebounds. “This is hard because people are expecting us to be good,” the Cameroonian center said. And adding to the weight of the expectations was the fact that La Salle’s lofty billing was all because of his presence. But instead of crumbling to pressure, Mbala didn’t disappoint as the Archers completed a remarkable 16-1 season run, capped by a sweep of rival Ateneo in the finals, behind his sterling performances throughout the tournament.

Patricia Licuanan

The low-key chair of the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) has been thrust to the limelight anew. Like Vice President Leni Robredo, she was also barred by President Duterte from attending Cabinet meetings. The reason: Her refusal to submit a courtesy resignation as the rest of the Cabinet officials had done on Mr. Duterte’s orders early on in his term. But unlike Robredo, Licuanan has vowed to comply with the President’s order, but stay on as CHEd chair. She said she did not submit her resignation then because Mr. Duterte personally assured her in a June 13 meeting that he would respect her term of office. An appointee of former President Aquino, she is currently serving a four-year term that would expire in 2018.

Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr.

Not a few heaved a sigh of relief when the Supreme Court—voting 13-1-1—ruled that the Sandiganbayan should continue trying the former senator for allegedly funneling P224.5 million of his pork barrel funds to ghost foundations of detained businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles in the multibillion-peso pork scam. Associate Justice Presbitero Velasco dissented, while Associate Justice Francis Jardeleza inhibited from the case. Revilla, the first senator to be charged and arrested over the scam, petitioned the high court to stop his trial for plunder for lack of probable cause in April 2014. In August last year, the SC allowed Juan Ponce Enrile, another former senator embroiled in the scam, to post bail to seek medical attention.