Senators allied with Vice President Sara Duterte (1ST photo) watch, apparently in exasperation, Tuesday’s lengthy plenary session as Sen. Risa Hontiveros (2nd photo)—merely constituting a two-person minority together with Sen. Koko Pimentel—forces the Senate to get the ball rolling on the impeachment trial which the chamber should have already begun four months ago, after the House of Representatives transmitted the articles of impeachment against Duterte in February. Senate President Francis Escudero was eventually prompted to take an oath as the trial’s presiding officer, but that proceeding was stalled anew after the Senate majority moved to have the articles returned to the House to determine their constitutionality. Activists (3rd photo) pushing for Duterte’s trial remained outside the Senate amid the tug of war between the Vice President’s allies and the minority. A survey last week showed some 78 percent of Filipinos want Duterte to stand trial, despite results from last May’s midterm elections favoring her candidates. —NIÑO JESUS ORBETA
GRIEF, FRUSTRATION
Residents (1st photo) in West London’s Southall district, also known as Little India, hold a vigil on Friday in memory of those who lost their lives in the Air India plane crash on Thursday in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad. Daksha Patni (2nd photo) on Friday grieves at a hospital in Ahmedabad upon learning that her 14-year-old nephew Akash was among the fatalities. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner bound for Britain lost height only seconds after takeoff, erupting in a fireball as it hit buildings in Ahmedabad, including a medical college’s hostel. Only one of the 242 passengers and crew onboard survived, and by Saturday, the death toll rose to 279. Relatives of the dead have also expressed frustration over the delay in the release of the recovered bodies. —REUTERS
STILL AIMING FOR P20
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. on Friday leads the launching of the P20 Rice Project for workers at Manila Harbour Center in Port Area, Manila. The Department of Agriculture said earlier it would allocate 1.2 million kilograms of rice monthly to an estimated 120,000 minimum wage earners nationwide. —MARIANNE BERMUDEZ
