Faces of the News: July 21, 2024
Romeo Lumagui Jr.
E-marketplace operators like Shopee and Lazada have begun collecting a 1-percent withholding tax from sellers and merchants using their platforms on July 15, as ordered by Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Commissioner Romeo Lumagui Jr. On July 16, Lumagui announced via a memorandum circular that no further delays in the collection would be granted. The BIR decision followed the 90-day extension given last year; the withholding tax was originally set to begin in mid-April. The bureau allowed this earlier leeway to give merchants ample time to adjust to the new system. With the implementation of the tax on sellers, Lumagui stressed it was mainly intended to ensure efficient tax collection. According to Revenue Regulation No. 16-2023, only online merchants earning more than P500,000 annually will be subjected to a 1-percent withholding on one-half of their gross remittances. The BIR chief also assured consumers that the collection should not lead to price increases since the tax was meant to be incorporated into the sellers’ income. —Mariedel Irish U. Catilogo
Justine Baltazar
The selection of Justine Baltazar as top overall pick of the Converge FiberXers in the PBA Rookie Draft hardly came as a surprise. Despite the entry of promising talents like Fil-American Sedrick Barefield, RJ Abarrientos and Dave Ildefonso, the FiberXers went with the 6’6” Kapampangan as the guy they hope would help transform the franchise after its miserable last season. Converge won just three games out of 22 during the 2023-24 campaign that saw bottom finishes in the Commissioner’s Cup and Philippine Cup, thus entitling the FiberXers to the No. 1 pick in the Rookie Draft. Coach Aldin Ayo and Converge felt Baltazar is someone the FiberXers need, a versatile presence in the shaded lane. Converge, however, will have to wait since Baltazar still has a contract to finish with the Pampanga Giant Lanterns of the MPBL before he can suit up for the Commissioner’s Cup in the second conference. The FiberXers are keen on becoming a contender going into their third PBA season and hopefully, with Baltazar, show more consistency against league giants San Miguel Beer, Barangay Ginebra, Magnolia, TNT and Meralco. —Jonas Terrado
Satur Ocampo and France Castro
In a decision that surprised many, the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Tagum City, Davao del Norte, convicted two veteran activists—Satur Ocampo and ACT Rep. France Castro—along with 11 others of child abuse, and sentenced them to up to six years in jail. The case stemmed from their involvement in a “rescue mission” for “lumad” students and teachers in Talaingod town in November 2018. The court said the group, now called Talaingod 13, “exposed the minors to hazard” when they kept the students in their company and transported them on foot for three hours in the dark and without permission from their parents. Ocampo, a former House member, and Castro denounced the RTC decision as “unacceptable and unjust,” saying their “wrongful conviction speaks of the continuing persecution of those who are helping and advocating for the rights of lumad children.’’ But for National Security Adviser Eduardo Año, National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict Executive Director Ernesto Torres Jr., and Duterte Youth Rep. Drixie Cardema, it was justice duly served on the Talaingod 13. —Krixia Subingsubing
JD Vance
Ohio Sen. JD Vance is a relative newcomer in politics. He was elected to the US Senate in 2022 and has been a senator for only a year and a half. Before that, he was known for his bestselling book “Hillbilly Elegy,” which tells of the challenges and struggles his family faced—and conquered—while living in the Rust Belt state of Ohio. His father gave him up for adoption when he was 6. His mother was a drug addict. Vance grew up poor in a poor environment. Yet he rose from hardship by joining the Marines, entering law school at Yale, becoming a lawyer, then moving to venture capitalism—gaining success and riches. On July 15, Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump announced that Vance would be his running mate—and the senator readily accepted. Declaring himself as prolife, Vance said he espouses a total abortion ban after 15 weeks, but with reasonable exceptions. CBS News writes that he opposes US aid for Ukraine and finds some decisions of hardline Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban useful for Americans.
Thomas Matthew Crooks
On July 13, Thomas Matthew Crooks climbed onto the roof of a building in Butler, Pennsylvania, took out an AR-15-style rifle and, according to authorities, fired several shots at Donald Trump as he spoke at a campaign rally. A bullet ripped through the right ear of the former US president and now Republican presidential nominee, another killed fireman Corey Comperatore, while other projectiles wounded two others at the daytime event. With blood smeared on his face, Trump survived while Crooks was shot dead by law enforcement counter-snipers. A week after the failed assassination attempt, key questions remain unanswered: Why did Crooks do it? How did he manage to still be in a position to shoot after flagged as suspicious 19 minutes earlier? And why did local police and the Secret Service fail to stop him when people already saw him armed, sprawled on the roof and taking aim at Trump? Investigation is ongoing and so far authorities are still solving the puzzle about the 20-year-old man.
