Faces of the News: November 17, 2024
Robert Ace Barbers
The leadership of the Surigao del Norte congressman was put to the test this week after former President Rodrigo Duterte taunted him and his quad committee for canceling their hearing on his controversial war on drugs on Nov. 13.
Robert Ace Barbers eventually called Duterte’s dare, saying “we are no cowards” and pushed through with the hearing. Throughout the proceedings, Barbers often invoked parliamentary rules to contain the foulmouthed 79-year-old.
He did not allow Duterte to curse, turned off his microphone whenever he became provocative and suspended the hearings whenever things got too hot. At one point, he even got the ex-President to apologize for his antics.
Political scientist Jean Encinas-Franco of the University of the Philippines-Diliman remarked Barbers apparently had the “benefit of hindsight” since he saw how the earlier Senate hearing on the drug war practically got dominated by Duterte.
In a press conference the following day, Barbers said he was “satisfied” with the way the hearing went and that the committee was considering filing charges based on Duterte’s incriminating statements. —KRIXIA SUBINGSUBING
Antonio Trillanes IV
The former senator-turned-archcritic of the Dutertes made a surprise appearance at the House quad committee hearing on Wednesday, where he repeated his 2016 allegations that the Dutertes received at least P2.4 billion in drug money stashed away in joint bank accounts.
The allegations were the basis of a plunder complaint he filed against them in the Office of the Ombudsman during Duterte’s term, which was later dismissed. This time, Trillanes’ revival of the accusations made lawmakers ask the former president whether he was willing to sign a bank waiver to put the matter to rest.
Duterte initially agreed but later walked it back, saying he would only sign it if he would be allowed to slap Trillanes in public. At this point, Trillanes taunted Duterte, causing the latter to lose his temper and say “Lulo mo” (You useless idiot) before grabbing his microphone as if to hit his longtime nemesis.
Looking satisfied after the hearing, Trillanes said Duterte that day was just all talk. In reviving his allegations, Trillanes said the bank accounts were proof that the drug war was fake and a mere scheme to enrich the former president’s family. —KRIXIA SUBINGSUBING
Mike Tyson
It was nostalgic to see the legend “Iron Mike” Tyson once again make his entrance to the ring as he faced YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul on Friday night (Saturday morning in Manila) at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Wearing his iconic black trunks, Tyson came out swinging in the first round, showing his old form, becoming more aggressive than his younger adversary and landing the more effective punches. As both fighters sized each other up in Round 2, everyone’s eyes were either glued to the ring or to the screens of their phones waiting for that famous Tyson power to come out. However, it did not happen.
Fight night analyst and fellow boxing legend Roy Jones Jr. mentioned during the Netflix livestream that he did not like Tyson’s legs, referring to his wobbly stance and jittery movements. Jake Paul took advantage of it and made it hard for “The Baddest Man on the Planet” to reach him the entire eight rounds.
Tyson, at 58 years old, did very well for his age and showed he could still take hits from someone 31 years younger. But his unanimous decision loss to Paul ultimately proved that Father Time is still unbeatable. —LOUIE GREG RIVERA
Justin Welby
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby resigned on Tuesday as the leader of the Church of England and of the world’s Anglicans after an investigation showed that he covered up sexual abuse by a member of the church.
The probe found that Welby knew in 2013 of the abuses committed by John Smyth, a lawyer who organized summer camps in the ’70s and ’80s, but did not act on them. Smyth reportedly performed “prolific, brutal and horrific” abuse of 130 boys and young men, which the Church of England covered up.
Smyth died in South Africa in 2018 at age 75. Welby quit amid a petition demanding his resignation. “It is very clear that I must take personal and institutional responsibility for the long and retraumatizing period between 2013 and 2024,” Welby said in tendering his resignation.
Associate minister Ian Paul said Welby “terminated other people’s ministries for safeguarding failings, and I don’t see there was any alternative than him doing the same himself.” King Charles, the supreme of the Church of England, has accepted Welby’s resignation. —CENON BIBE JR.
Pete Hegseth
Pete Hegseth who? The Fox News cohost of “Fox & Friends” made headlines after US President-elect Donald Trump tapped him to be his defense secretary, stunning Pentagon and even his friends at the TV network. Hegseth, 44, is a decorated Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, but his lack of experience for the top Pentagon job has come under the spotlight.
And if he is confirmed, he will face a daunting array of crises, from the ongoing wars in the Middle East and Ukraine to the growing competition with China. Hegseth and Trump seem to see eye to eye on certain issues.
According to CNN, Hegseth has used his show at Fox to air his views about the military, railing against Pentagon’s adoption of “social justice” messages and arguing that “woke” policies have hurt military recruitment.
In a bestselling book, he assailed the military’s “warped, woke and caustic policies.’’ When Trump told Fox that “you can’t have ‘woke’ military,” Hegseth agreed. More than anything, Trump values the television star power that Hegseth brings to the job, observers say. —TJ BURGONIO
