FACES OF THE NEWS
Makati City Regional Trial Court Branch 150 Judge Elmo Alameda found himself in the crossfire after ordering the arrest of Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV on Sept. 25. Alameda upheld President Duterte’s Proclamation No. 572, which voided Trillanes’ amnesty given by former President Benigno Aquino III in 2011 after the senator failed to present an original copy of his amnesty application form. The judge, however, allowed Trillanes to post a P200,000 bail. Alameda’s ruling was widely slammed for ignoring the evidence and affidavits presented by the senator’s camp. Former Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile said there were no political prisoners during the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos’ martial law. But former Senators Aquilino Pimentel Jr. and Rene Saguisag, former Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo and former Human Rights Commissioner Loretta Rosales—in a defiant reunion—begged to differ. The quartet gathered at a Makati City hotel to reminisce and retell their stories, and in the process, offer a compelling version of the brutal military regime that would debunk Enrile’s claims. “I was jailed only four times and ousted from office twice,” Pimentel cracked. The 84-year-old former Senate President also remarked that Enrile, 94, might have forgotten him. “That’s part of aging,” Pimentel quipped. Enrile, he added, might have been cementing his ties to the Marcoses in a bid to get into the family’s good graces, since he was part of the Edsa People Power Revolution that ousted Marcos in 1986. Just preparing should Bongbong run for and win the presidency, “but without my vote,” Pimentel said. Saguisag recalled that he was arrested simply for calling Marcos a “supersubversive.” Both Rosales and Ocampo, meanwhile, recounted harrowing tales of torture in the hands of the military—being stripped naked, electrocuted, doused with cold water and sexually abused. “It’s time to come out and be partisan for the truth,” said the former human rights commission chief. “Mr. Enrile, unfortunately, does not seem to know when to take the right side of history. He is a person who adjusts according to demands of what is politically expedient for him and what is beneficial for him,” she added. The four human rights activists also appealed to Filipinos to always remember and look back at history, while also looking forward to a better world. “Forget the past and you will be doomed to repeat it,” warned Saguisag. “America’s Dad,” 81-year-old Bill Cosby, is preparing a longshot bid to overturn his sexual assault conviction and three-to10-year prison sentence. Cosby’s lawyers argued that prosecutors presented illegal evidence and the judge was biased against the comedian. If his appeal fails, Cosby can’t hope to get parole once he serves his minimum three-year sentence because Pennsylvania is not lenient on sex offenders. Cosby, whose fortune once topped $400 million, is also expected to fight defamation suits filed by at least 10 womenwho were called “liars” by his lawyer. Tiger Woods struck a dramatic end to a drought of titles when, after four back surgeries, he reminded people he wasn’t quite a washed-out pro just yet. Woods zoomed to an early five-shot lead in the Tour Championship, which was enough to dissuade even the most frantic assaults at his perch on top of the leaderboard. Woods tapped in for par at 18 and settled for a one-over 71 and a two-shot victory over Billy Horschel, the 80th victory of his PGA Tour career. It marked his first victory in five years and gave him a great lift going to the Ryder Cup. “I loved every bit of it,” he said.