Faces of the News

Ariel Arbitrario

He became the first consultant of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) to fall after the peace talks with the government collapsed. Just when hopes were up, President Duterte scuttled the talks over the weekend. The reason: the communist rebels abandoned their own unilateral ceasefire, killed six soldiers and kidnapped two others. Soon after, the government terminated a joint agreement granting safe conduct pass for the rebel negotiators and their staff, also known as the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees. They were also placed on the immigration lookout bulletin on the orders of Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II. Both the government and the NDFP panels remain hopeful of a resumption in peace talks.

Delfin Lorenzana

As defense chief, he issued orders to the Armed Forces of the Philippines to launch an “all-out war” against the New People’s Army. Finding his voice again, he specified that the operations would be “surgical” to avoid casualties among noncombatants. Fidel Agcaoili, NDFP chief negotiator, sounded unperturbed. It wasn’t the first time the government declared an all-out war against the guerrillas, he said. Then Presidents Corazon C. Aquino (who died in 2009) and Joseph Estrada did it at one point during their terms. “We are used to these threats,” he said. The Communist Party of the Philippines said President Duterte has “gone berserk” and has wasted the gains of the talks for the past months. Clashes between the two forces have erupted after the cancellation of peace talks.

Charlie ‘Atong’ Ang

Where the Meridien Vista Gaming Corp. (MVGC) goes, he won’t be far behind. The gaming company has reportedly expanded its numbers game operations beyond the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (Ceza) in Cagayan to Albay province. But wait, the company was granted a franchise by Ceza to operate a jai alai fronton only in Cagayan. Armed with the document, the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office ordered MVGC to immediately stop its operations that competed with the government-sanctioned Small Town Lottery in Albay province. Ang has been rumored to be the owner of the company but the latter claimed he was only an adviser during the fronton’s development stage. MVGC obtained its franchise during the administration of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Gina Lopez

Everything came to a head when she announced the shutdown of 23 mines, saying many were operating in watersheds. A bold move by the environment secretary who said the companies could appeal her order with President Duterte. It later turned out that the team that reviewed an audit of mines recommended the suspension of operations, not closure, of the mines. But Lopez didn’t budge. She said it was “time for social justice.” The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines pleaded their case with Malacañang. On the same day that Lopez said she would sign the closure order, Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella assured the miners they would get due process. But she declared that her order was nonnegotiable and that this had the backing of the President.

Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez

Either you’re with him or against him. Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez has cracked the whip on the supermajority in the House by asking those against the death penalty to toe the line— or else lose their plum House posts. “If you are deputy speaker, it doesn’t look good if you won’t support the administration-sponsored bill, and also if you’re chair of a committee,” he said. Among those affected by the thinly veiled warning is former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, a deputy speaker who is opposed to the death penalty. Alvarez, a principal author of House Bill No. 4727, that seeks to reimpose the capital punishment for heinous crimes, said Arroyo would be replaced only if she opposed the bill on the plenary floor. He denied targeting the Pampanga congresswoman.

Carlos G. Dominguez III

The finance secretary is no stranger to controversy, given his long years in the government and the private sector. But the latest one that he has found himself in the middle of has caught the attention not only of the local players but also the international business community, given the far-reaching impact of the order of Environment Secretary Gina Lopez to shut down 23 mines and suspend operations of another five. Dominguez, as head of the economic cluster of the Duterte administration, has made no secret of his concern over the orders issued by Lopez. But he emphasized that he was not “against” Lopez. He earlier told business journalists: “Nobody is challenging her order, at least I am not. We are just saying, ’What is going on?’”