Faces of the News: May 11, 2025
Kiko Pangilinan
The ex-senator seeking a comeback gained crucial endorsements from local government executives at the home stretch. In the final week of the 90-day campaign period for the May 12 elections, Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan bagged the endorsement of Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia of Cebu, the most vote-rich province in the country (with 3.4 million registered voters).
He also got the express support of Cavite gubernatorial candidate Abeng Remulla, son of former congressman and now Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla. Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte also raised his hand during his “miting de avance” in Novaliches on Saturday.
This came on top of critical endorsements of other local officials and groups with significant following, like the United Bangsamoro Justice Party and the Jesus is Lord sect. “In my mind, we have done everything we have to do. We leave it up to God now. It’s all up to God now at hawak na ng taumbayan ang desisyon,” Pangilinan said in an interview. A recent Pulse Asia survey showed him still outside the winning “Magic 12,” but he’s counting on a last-minute push. —KRIXIA SUBINGSUBING
Vince Dizon
After many deadlines that turned out to be moveable, and final warnings that eventually softened up, the shape and pace of the Public Transport Modernization Program (PTMP) Transportation Program continue to shift. Secretary Vince Dizon issued an order dated May 6 reopening the application for consolidation and issuance of provisional authorities (PAs) under the PTMP.
Dizon said the reopening was necessary to ensure “a more equitable and just transition” for drivers and operators yet to join the program. The order covers public utility jeepneys and urban vehicle express units that were registered for the years 2023 or 2024 but failed to consolidate into co-ops or corporations, or those with pending motions to accept, apply for or amend their consolidation papers.
The order, however, did not sit well with transport group Manibela. According to its leaders, they had a dialogue with Dizon where they asked that Manibela members be given back their franchises or issued PAs so they can continue operating while a special committee created by the secretary reviews the PTMP. —JEROME ANING
Robert Prevost
On May 8, Pope Leo XIV was introduced to the world from St. Peter’s Basilica, a man exuding quiet humility, as the 267th leader of the Catholic Church. But before becoming the first pontiff to come from the United States, he was Cardinal Robert Prevost, a native of Chicago.
A member of the Augustinian order, Prevost realized his missionary calling in Peru, where he served for decades among the poor, eventually becoming bishop of the city of Chiclayo. His pastoral style, shaped by years of living with marginalized communities, emphasized mercy, inclusion and dialogue.
Fluent in Spanish and deeply rooted in Latin American spirituality, he gained prominence as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, where he led the shaping of the Church’s global leadership. His election as Pope marked a return to pastoral work focused on the marginalized—coming full circle from his beginnings in the streets of Chicago to the highlands and lowlands of Peru, and finally to the Holy City which is Rome.
Richard Gomez, Lucy Torres-Gomez
Mayor Lucy Torres-Gomez of Ormoc City in Leyte has come to the defense of her husband, Leyte Rep. Richard Gomez, after he got entangled in a verbal spat with Albuera mayoral candidate Rolan “Kerwin” Espinosa. Lucy on May 6 filed a petition at the Commission on Elections to have Espinosa disqualified for challenging her husband to a gunfight.
In a 40-minute broadcast on Facebook on April 30, Espinosa dared Gomez—who is running for a second term as representative of Leyte’s fourth congressional district—to face him in a duel. Espinosa even suggested that police and military personnel serve as “referees.”
In her petition, Lucy described Espinosa’s statements as “not only criminal but also a mockery of the elections,” an attempt to establish political dominance through violence rather than via legitimate campaigning. These serious and dangerous threats were also meant to terrorize and keep the electorate from voting, she said. Espinosa, a confessed drug lord exposed during the Duterte administration, is supposedly running on a platform that seeks to rid his town of the drug menace. —JOEY GABIETA
Narendra Modi, Shebaz Sharif
On Christmas Day in 2015, coming from a two-day visit to Russia, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a surprise stopover in Lahore to greet his then Pakistani counterpart, Nawaz Sharif, on his 66th birthday. It was Modi’s first and last visit to Pakistan. A lot has happened since then.
India-Pakistan ties froze over a series of terrorist attacks in India between 2016 and 2019 by outfits operating from across the border and with the backing of Islamabad. Now the nuclear-armed neighbors are on the brink of war after gunmen killed 26 people— mostly Indian tourists—in an attack on a scenic mountain spot in the India-administered part of Kashmir, a long-disputed border region, on April 22.
India had blamed Pakistan for the massacre, which Islamabad denied. On Wednesday, India fired missiles into Pakistani-controlled territory, killing 31 people. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif—younger brother of former Premier Nawaz Sharif—condemned the airstrikes as an act of war and vowed to retaliate.
