Faces of the News: January 5, 2025
Ramon Ang
Tycoon Ramon Ang, who heads the New Naia Infra Corp. (NNIC), may have gotten a glimpse of the future trajectory of Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia).
The country’s primary gateway saw its passenger volume grow by 10.43 percent to a record high of 50.1 million in 2024, a figure expected to further increase in the coming years as the aviation sector sustains its postpandemic rebound.
The latest count exceeded the airport’s current annual capacity of 35 million, which only showed that Ang’s NNIC had to stay the course of expanding the terminal. The Ang-led consortium took over the operations of Naia in September last year, promising to make the airport more convenient and efficient.
In November, he began the renovation work and safety upgrades for Terminal 4. NNIC is also set to install new toilets and refurbish existing comfort rooms, increase the overall additional seating capacity and install more air conditioning units.
In the long term, Ang wants to construct a new terminal that by itself can serve 35 million passengers a year. —TYRONE JASPER C. PIAD
Jonas Cortes
Dismissed Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes has turned to the Supreme Court as he continues to challenge the decision of the Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) canceling his certificate of candidacy (COC) for alleged “misrepresentation.” Cortes’ legal team on Thursday filed a petition seeking a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the Comelec ruling that disqualified him from seeking reelection in the May 12 elections.
He asked the high court to reverse the poll body’s decision and restore his eligibility as a candidate. In a ruling on Dec. 18, 2024, the Comelec’s Second Division said Cortes had marked “not applicable (N/A)” in his COC in response to questions about pending cases, docket numbers and the status of the legal actions taken against him.
This was despite the dismissal order he got from the Office of the Ombudsman on Oct. 3, 2024, a day before he filed his COC. Cortes later filed a motion for reconsideration, arguing that the Ombudsman’s decision—which found him guilty of grave misconduct for allowing a cement plant to operate in Mandaue without business and environmental permits— was still under appeal. —JANE BAUTISTA
Dennis Trillo
For his performance in Zig Dulay’s prison drama “Green Bones,” Dennis Trillo bagged the best actor trophy at the recent 2024 Gabi ng Parangal, the awards ceremony of the ongoing 50th Metro Manila Film Festival. He competed against Arjo Atayde (“Topakk”), Vice Ganda (“And the Breadwinner is…”) and Piolo Pascual (“The Kingdom”) for the honor.
Trillo plays Dom, who is accused of murdering his sister and is in the process of being granted parole. Cowritten by National Artist for Film Ricky Lee, the film—and the title—revolves around the belief that, when the body of a good person is cremated, the bones would appear green.
It also tells the story of Ruru Madrid’s character, Xavier, a prison guard in a quest for justice for his sister’s murder. Produced by GMA Pictures, the film also won awards for best picture, best supporting actor for Madrid, best child performer for Sienna Stevens, best screenplay for Lee and Anj Atienza, and best cinematography for Neil Daza. The producers recently signed a distribution deal with American film company Columbia Pictures. —MARINEL CRUZ
Albert Capellas
The Philippine men’s football team came within inches of booking its first-ever finals appearance in the Asean Mitsubishi Electric Cup, after losing to Thailand in their two-leg semifinal affair on Dec. 30, 2024. But fans have reason to remain optimistic thanks in large part to the way coach Albert Capellas has guided the nationals despite a shaky start in the tournament, which is considered the biggest in Southeast Asia.
Capellas, a native of Catalonia, Spain, who once handled FC Barcelona’s youth academy, took the job in September following the sudden departure of Belgian mentor Tom Saintfiet. With little time to prepare for the Asean Championship, Capellas instilled an attacking mindset in the team, which had to make do without some key players who were busy with other clubs overseas.
Logging three straight 1-1 ties against Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam didn’t deter the Filipinos. They later bested Indonesia, 1-0, at the close of the group stage to set up a match with Thailand. Capellas steered the Philippines to a 2-1 win in the first leg, before pushing the Thais to the limit in the return match. —JONAS TERRADO
Shamsud-Din Jabbar
Born and raised a Muslim in Beaumont, Texas, Shamsud-Din Jabbar was the eldest of four brothers who worked in the US Army from 2007 to 2020 as a human resources and IT specialist, seeing no combat action, before becoming a realtor in Houston.
He was a nice guy who “wouldn’t hurt a fly” and never showed any sign of radicalization, his brother said. It thus came as a shock to his family when, on New Year’s Day, the 42-year-old Jabbar plowed a truck into a crowd of revelers on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, killing 15 people and injuring 35 others. Wielding an assault rifle, he allegedly got out of the truck and opened fire on responding police officers, getting killed in the exchange.
But before the attack, he posted videos online declaring “his support for Isis (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria)” and saying he joined the jihadist militant group before summer, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
In one video, Jabbar referred to his divorce and said he originally planned to harm his family, but dropped it because he wanted media to focus on the “war between the believers and disbelievers.” —PRESS RELEASE
