Faces of the News: August 11, 2024
President Marcos and Manny Villar
President Marcos’ political party continued to forge alliances ahead of the 2025 midterm elections. On Aug. 8, his Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) entered into a pact with the Nacionalista Party (NP), the country’s oldest political party, which is currently headed by former Senate President and billionaire-tycoon Manny Villar. The Alliance Agreement signed at the Villar-owned Brittany Hotel in Taguig City was a “natural” fit for the two forces, as the President put it.
Mr. Marcos recalled that he was actually on the Nacionalista’s senatorial slate in the 2010 elections while his late father, former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., also once belonged to the NP. The alliance formalized on Thursday, he said, created what was now the single largest political bloc in the country. The PFP’s pact with the 117-year-old NP was its fourth effort to expand its reach and find allies for next year’s elections. Partido Federal earlier signed similar agreements with the Lakas Christian Muslim Democrats, the Nationalist People’s Coalition and the National Unity Party. —Julie M. Aurelio
Andres Bautista
The US Department of Justice reported on Aug. 9 (Manila time) that a federal grand jury in the Southern District of Florida had indicted former Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chair Andres Bautista and three executives of the election automation service provider Smartmatic for allegedly conspiring to commit bribery and money laundering “to retain and obtain business” related to the 2016 Philippine elections. According to the indictment, a slush fund was created in shell companies from which $1.5 million in bribe money disguised as loan payments were transferred to bank accounts in Asia, Europe and the United States, including in Florida. In his X (formerly Twitter) account, Bautista said, “I will fight for my exoneration in court and show that I have not committed any crime against the US government or the American people nor have I taken advantage of or prejudiced them in any way.” He claimed the charges were possibly “politically influenced by key Philippine officials,” and stressed that he performed his functions as Comelec chair in the 2016 polls with “zeal and competence in service of the Filipino people.” —Jerome Aning
Carlos Yulo
The nation found itself both celebrating Carlos Yulo’s historic double-gold performance at the Paris Olympics, and also following a family drama as it unfolds on social media. The twin triumph in the men’s floor exercise and vault allowed Yulo not only to exorcise the demons from his disappointing Olympic debut in the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Games three years ago. It also made him the country’s first male gold medalist, first Filipino gymnast to earn a medal and first Filipino to produce two medals in a single Olympics, the pinnacle of athletic competition. The historic feats made Yulo about P20 million richer, thanks to a law granting incentives to Olympic winners and to perks from numerous companies and brands. But with the fame comes the downside of his life becoming an open book. Netizens have since been hooked on the feud between the 24-year-old athlete and his mother, Angelica, over money matters and the mother’s apparent refusal to give her blessing to her son’s relationship with girlfriend Chloe San Jose. —Jonas Terrado
Taylor Swift
A third suspect was arrested in Vienna, Austria, on Friday, Aug. 9, in connection with a planned attack on a Taylor Swift concert. The pop superstar was scheduled to perform in three sold-out concerts in a stadium in Vienna where 195,000 people were expected to attend. Austrian security officials said the main suspect, a 19-year-old Austrian citizen with North Macedonian parents, had planned to attack the crowd gathered outside the stadium using explosives and knives. Swift had just performed in sold-out shows in Germany and Poland.
She had yet to make a statement on the canceled Vienna shows but wrote on her Instagram on Tuesday: “I can’t believe we have two cities left … See you soon Vienna!” The five “Eras” shows scheduled in London next week will push through as planned. London Mayor Sadiq Khan said on Friday that they had a “huge amount of experience in policing these events” after the deadly attack at Manchester Arena during a 2017 Ariana Grande concert that left 23 dead. —Raoul J. Chee Kee
Sheikh Hasina
Once hailed as a democracy icon in her nation, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled her country on Aug. 5, derided as an autocrat. Hasina flew to India on a military helicopter after weeks of student-led protests. The street unrest started out demanding the abolition of government job quotas that favored descendants of those who fought for Bangladesh’s independence from Pakistan. The Hasina government’s strong-arm response—which led to disappearances, scores of arrests and hundreds of deaths—turned the rallies into a nationwide call for her resignation. Hasina stepped down after former military officials took the side of protesters as demonstrations grew bigger and louder and the government crackdown turned more violent and deadlier. She had led Bangladesh for almost 20 years, during which democracy was restored and the economy grew, until she began clamping down on opposition and dissent. After she left, hundreds arrested during the quotas protest and prominent opposition figures were released. An interim government has since been established led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus.
