News in Pictures: October 6, 2024
RETREAT AND ADVANCE
Former Sen. Leila de Lima (above) is welcomed by Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chair George Garcia upon her arrival on Saturday at the Manila Hotel, where the Comelec has set up an office operating till Tuesday to accept documents from aspiring candidates in next year’s midterm polls. De Lima has chosen to return to politics on a smaller scale as a party list candidate, together with her allies in the once-ruling Liberal Party, Teddy Baguilat and Erin Tañada.
The two former congressmen are seeking to return to the House of Representatives via the party list route, as de Lima’s fellow nominees in the Mamamayang Liberal Partylist. Veteran activists, on the other hand, have thrown their hat in the national arena of the senatorial race, with labor rights advocates Leody de Guzman and Luke Espiritu of the Partido Lakas ng Masa, as well as Moro leader Amiral Lidasan of the Makabayan Coalition filing their candidacies for senator on Friday.
Espiritu ran in 2022 as a senatorial candidate of De Guzman, who ran for president at that time. Although they lost that race, the activists regard their exposure to voters as another step in their bid to secure a place in the country’s electoral democracy, beyond the parliament of the streets. —LYN RILLON, RICHARD A. REYES
INSPECTION IN HOME PROVINCE
President Marcos, accompanied by his son Ilocos Norte Rep. Sandro Marcos (in red shirt), inspects Gabu Dike in Laoag City which was damaged by Supertyphoon “Julian” (international name: Krathon). Mr. Marcos lamented the general state of the river system in his home province and the typhoon’s impact on Ilocos Norte’s infrastructure. The President said he would ask the private sector to help desilt the water system of Ilocos Norte, which has about 25 rivers flowing out to five bays and also to the West Philippine Sea. —PPA POOL
NOT THIS PROGRESS
Critics of the $5.9-billion Tampakan gold and copper mining project, said to be the biggest in the country, march to the Regional Trial Court in Koronadal City, provincial capital of South Cotabato, to file a petition against the extension of the open pit mining project of Sagittarius Mines. The extension will pave the way for Tampakan’s commercial production scheduled in 2026. But activists maintain that a provincial ban on open pit mining remains in effect. The late Environment Secretary Gina Lopez, during her brief tenure of 10 months from 2016 to 2017, had opposed the Tampakan venture, calling it the “scariest open pit in the country” since it covered agricultural land about the size of “700 football fields.” Other critics said the project would destroy the environment, disrupt livelihoods and pose a health risk to its surrounding communities. —BONG S. SARMIENTO
