FACES OF THE NEWS
Isnilon Hapilon
A raid on his hideout triggered a firefight between the Maute terrorist group and government troops, sparking the Marawi crisis, and forcing President Duterte to declare martial law in Mindanao from Russia, and fly back home in haste. His ties to rebellion and militancy run deep. The Arabic-speaking Islamic preacher fought with the secessionist Moro National Liberation Front before joining the Abu Sayyaf, a militant group that had morphed into a band of bandits and terrorists that gained notoriety for its kidnapping sprees, including that of 20 hostages from a resort in 2001. In 2014, he pledged allegiance to the Islamic State and became its leader in Southeast Asia. He has had close shaves with the military, but the engineering graduate from the University of the Philippines has remained elusive.
Fr. Chito Suganob
In the crisis that has spiraled out of a gun battle between the Maute members and soldiers, Father Suganob and church workers were among the first to be taken hostage. As they rampaged through Marawi City, the militants barged into the Cathedral of St. Mary’s, and seized the priest and the workers. Most of us didn’t know about it until Archbishop Socrates Villegas aired an appeal for prayers for their safety. Suganob was not a combatant, hence, not a threat to anyone, that’s why their capture “violated every norm of civilized conflict,” said the president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines. Meantime, residents continued to flee their homes as the Maute group, now backed up reportedly by militants from Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, engaged the troops in pitched battles.
Danilo Lim
Recently appointed chair of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), he now joins the growing ranks of ex-military officers now in government. In the previous Aquino administration, he was deputy customs commissioner, but later quit out of disillusionment with corruption. At the MMDA, he reckoned corruption was the root cause of problems plaguing the metropolis streets, from ambulant vendors to illegally parked cars. No fancy solution, but a “back to basics approach” focusing on enforcement of traffic rules to solve the problem, the retired brigadier general said. Meantime, officer in charge Tim Orbos, who has implemented some drastic measures including cleaning up Baclaran of vendors, returned to his previous post as general manager of the agency.
Milan Melindo
Melindo shakes up the boxing world. After he dropped his first two bids for a world crown, many boxing buffs were ready to label Melindo as a goner. Never mind that those losses, against Mexican champions Juan Francisco Estrada in 2013 and Javier Mendoza in 2015, were the only blots in his ring ledger that shows 36 wins with 13 knockouts (KOs). Last Sunday, however, the 29-year-old Melindo proved his detractors wrong. A huge underdog in his International Boxing Federation light flyweight title fight against Japanese champion Akira Yaegashi in Tokyo, Melindo shocked the packed crowd at Ariake Stadium when he disposed of Yaegashi (25-6, 13 KOs) via three knockdowns right in the first round. Now, Melindo is aiming to become the unified king of the 108-pound division. And nobody would dare bet against him.
Brillante MaMendoza
Filipino filmmaker Brillante Ma Mendoza returned to Cannes last week—not to compete, but to mentor budding directors from all over the world. The Institut Française had tapped Mendoza to conduct a master class at the 9th Fabrique des Cinemas du Monde, held during the Cannes Film Festival in France. Organizers said that they had chosen Mendoza because his “talent, determination and experience” as director and producer would inspire this year’s participants. Mendoza acted as mentor to 10 “students” from Brazil, Cuba, Egypt, Kenya, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mali, Myanmar, Peru and South Africa. Called “godfathers,” among past Fabrique mentors were Jia Zhang-ke (in 2016), Claire Denis (2015) and Walter Salles (2014). Mendoza won best director in Cannes for “Kinatay” in 2009.
Ariana Grande
Days after the Manchester attack that killed 22, Ariana Grande hasn’t stopped thinking about her fans. She now plans to return to Manchester to play a benefit gig for the victims. She said she hoped to honor and raise funds for the victims and their families. “The compassion, kindness, love, strength and oneness that you’ve shown one another this past week is the exact opposite of the heinous intentions it must take to pull off something as evil as what happened on Monday. You are the opposite,” The American pop singer said. Her concert on Monday last week turned bloody when Salman Abedi, a 22-year-old Briton of Libyan descent, detonated explosives outside the Manchester Arena. His brother, Hashim, was arrested in Libya on suspicion of links to the Islamic State, and so was his father, Ramadan.