FACES OF THE NEWS

Jovie Espenido

Police Lt. Col. Jovie Espenido, President Duterte’s ultimate warrior against illegal drugs, was awarded in 2017 the Magalong medal of the Order of Lapulapu for “extraordinary service” or “exceptional contributions to the success of an activity pursuant to a campaign or advocacy of the President.” In October last year, Mr. Duterte told Espenido: “Go (to Bacolod City) and you are free to kill everybody.” Then assigned as deputy chief for operations of the Bacolod city police, Espenido’s record precedes him. He was police chief of Albuera, Leyte, in 2016 when its mayor, Rolando Espinosa Sr., was tagged as being involved in the drug trade by the President, and was later killed inside his cell by police who, in a midnight raid, said they were serving a search warrant. In 2017, Espenido was transferred to Ozamiz City, a stint that resulted in the killing of another mayor, Reynaldo Parojinog, and 14 others linked to the illegal drug trade. This week, Espenido was removed from his post for being included in the President’s narcolist, one among the 357 policemen whose ties to the drug trade were being validated. Mr. Duterte, however, maintains that he still trusts his former drug warrior.

Greg Slaughter

Four days ago in an Instagram post, multititled big man Greg Slaughter announced he has decided to take an indefinite break from basketball “to be able to work on himself in all aspects.” The news sent shock waves across the Philippine basketball community, prompting fans to speculate on what he really meant. Slaughter was an integral part of three Ginebra championships. In one of those title runs, he actually won his only best player of the conference award. But apparently, according to sources, after learning he was part of a rumored trade that would send him to Northport, Slaughter decided not to sign another contract with Barangay Ginebra—the only team he has played for since being drafted first overall in 2013. Ginebra is currently on a mission to capture another Grand Slam title for their coach, Tim Cone. Some people don’t see Slaughter a fit for Cone’s system— the guy’s production has slipped in all four years under the multititled mentor. But in a league where height is a precious commodity, Slaughter’s presence could still be vital. The future’s still cloudy for both parties with Cone still trying to reach a now distant Slaughter.

Li Wenliang

Fame found opthalmologist Li Wenliang after he died of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on Feb. 7. Li became one of the over 1,500, to date, who had succumbed to the infection. Li, 34, had noticed seven cases of a virus that looked like SARS, the virus that led to a global epidemic in 2003, and told his colleagues about it. He was summoned by local authorities and accused of “making false comments” that had “severely disturbed the social order.” In his Weibo post, Li describes how on Jan. 10 he started coughing, then had a fever. Two days later, he was in hospital where he was diagnosed with the virus on Jan. 30. After he died, Chinese netizens staged an online uprising protesting the government’s shabby treatment of Li. The top two trending hashtags on the website were “Wuhan government owes Dr. Li Wenliang an apology” and “We want freedom of speech.” China’s censors, however, quickly scrubbed off the comments. It may be too late for Li to appreciate the outpouring of public support, but his death has led people to question the Chinese government’s lack of transparency on the epidemic. That may still make a difference to the more than 64,000 infected with COVID-19 as of this writing.

Brad Pitt

Who doesn’t know Brad Pitt, he whose name would forever be linked to two of Hollywood’s most gorgeous women, former wives Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie? But Pitt went beyond glamor and gained more renown last week when he won his first Oscar as best supporting actor in Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood.” Playing a stunt double in the movie showed off not just his solid abs and blond good looks but also his underrated talent. His acceptance speech at the Oscars, meanwhile, showed his politics. Pitt, 56, began his speech with a reference to the Trump impeachment where key witness John Bolton’s testimony was blocked by the Republican-dominated US Senate. Said Pitt: “They told me I only have 45 seconds up here … which is 45 seconds more than the Senate gave John Bolton this week.” He would later joke that Tarantino might do a feature on the Trump impeachment, “(where) in the end, the adults do the right thing.” He also proved himself a good father when he dedicated his award to his six children with actress Angelina Jolie: “This is for my kids who color everything I do,” Pitt said at the conclusion of his speech. “I adore you.”

Donald Trump

Amid shrill protestations from politicians and military officials from Manila and Washington regarding President Duterte’s scrapping of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the United States, US President Donald Trump said on Feb. 12 that it was OK. “If they would like to do that, that’s fine. We’ll save a lot of money,” said Trump who in November last year demanded that Japan and South Korea pay more for the deployment of US troops in their countries. The American president has also urged US allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to spend more for defense and not rely largely on Washington. Waving off Duterte’s cancellation of the VFA, Trump stressed his “very good relationship” with the Philippine leader. The Philippines is the only Southeast Asian country with a mutual defense treaty with the United States on which the VFA is based. The treaty provides a legal framework for the presence of US military troops in the Philippines whose withdrawal, the Philippine Senate argued this week, could seriously affect the security and economy of the Philippines and the Asia-pacific. Scrapping the VFA needs a thorough review, it added.