033019 - Los Angeles Weekend Edition

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MARCH 30-APRIL 2, 2019 Volume 29 - No. 24 • 4 Sections – 30 Pages

Rappler CEO Maria Ressa released on bail after arrest at NAIA Palace: Cases have “nothing to do with freedom of expression or the press”

warrant as she set foot in the Philippines from her trip to San Francisco, California. The VETERAN journalist and Rap- arrest warrant was issued by pler Chief Executive Officer the Pasig Regional Trial Court (CEO) Maria Ressa posted bail Branch 265 dated March 28. “To any officer of the law, you on Friday, March 29 after being arrested upon her arrival at are hereby commanded to arNinoy Aquino International Air- rest the person Maria Angelita Ressa who is to be found at (adport (NAIA). The Pasig City police wel- dress redacted) or elsewhere comed Ressa with an arrest and who stand charged before by NATHALIE

ROBLES

AJPress

DATELINE

me of the crime of violation of Section 2-A of Commonwealth Act No. 108 or the Anti-Dummy Law,” the arrest warrant penned by Judge Acerey Pacheco stated. However, she was able to secure bail amounting to P90,000 before the Pasig RTC in exchange for her provisional lib- ARRESTED. A police officer escorts Rappler chief executive officer, Maria Ressa (middle), at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport upon erty. Ressa said that this was her arrival from the U.S. on Friday, March 29. Ressa was ordered arrested by the Pasig City Regional Trial Court Branch 265 on charges of u PAGE A2 violation of the Anti-Dummy Law. Photo courtesy of the NAIA Media Affairs Division

Duterte’s birthday wish: ‘Progress, prosperity for PH’

USA

by RITCHEL

MENDIOLA AJPress

FROM THE AJPRESS NEWS TEAM ACROSS AMERICA

Democratic and Republican parties lay down strategies for reaching AAPIs ahead of 2020 ASIAN American and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) continue to be the fastest-growing minority group in the U.S., and when it comes to public policy and politics, this growth has also been increasingly reflected in the electorate. Just in the last decade, the number of AAPI voters nearly doubled from about 2.4 million registered voters in 2000 to about 5.8 million in 2016 — about 3.7 percent of the total voting population, according to the 2018 Asian American Voter Survey conducted by APIAVote and AAPI Data. u PAGE A3

Family Court Judge Cheryl Moss

Inquirer.net photo

Fil-Am Las Vegas judge heads city’s first-ever gambling court

WITH the image of Las Vegas comes those of blackjack tables, slot machines, and colored poker chips with the accompanying image big cash wins and prizes. But less thrown in the spotlight is the side of gambling where the games can get taken too far to the point of addiction. That’s where Filipina-American Family Court Judge Cheryl Nora Moss comes in. Moss—who was elected to the District Court, Family Division in 2000 after starting her legal career serving as a law clerk in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia and as an intern in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the capital among others — created a new speu PAGE A4

President Rodrigo Duterte

Malacañang photo

FOR President Rodrigo Duterte’s 74th birthday, his only wish is a more “prosperous and progressive” Philippines. “My wish is that we will just continue to progress and prosper, hindi tayo masali dyan sa mga gulo-gulo ng ibang bayan (we won’t be involved in the troubles of other nations),” he said before blowing out the candle on

his Philippine flag-themed birthday cake during his dinner with the Presidential Security Group at Matina Enclaves in Davao City on Wednesday night, March 27. Duterte said that on his actual birthday, he would just be “sleeping all day” at home. He has previously said he will be unavailable on his natal day, but will welcome his children and grandchildren. “I wish you all happiness,” he told his well-wishers who pre-

sented the specially customized cake to him. According to The Philippine Star, Duterte has never thrown lavish parties to celebrate his birthday, even when he was Davao City’s mayor. Usually, he makes himself unavailable every March 28 — which is why he has shunned any activity at Malacañang or anywhere in Luzon and the Visayas for his birthday this year. u PAGE A2

Facebook removes 200 fake, ‘misleading’ pages, accounts based in the Philippines FACEBOOK took down 200 pages, groups and accounts for using “coordinated inauthentic behavior” to spread content across the social media network. In a blog post, Nathaniel Gleicher, Facebook head of cybersecurity policy, said 67 Facebook pages, 68 Facebook accounts, 40 groups and 25 Instagram accounts were taken down for “misleading others about who they were and what they were

doing.” Gleicher said Facebook is “constantly working to detect and stop this type of activity because we don’t want our services to be used to manipulate people.” “We’re taking down these Pages and accounts based on their behavior, not the content they posted,” he clarified. “In this case, the people behind this activity coordinated with one another and used fake accounts

to misrepresent themselves, and that was the basis for our action.” The pages that have been taken down were a combination of authentic and fake accounts. “They frequently posted about local and political news, including topics like the upcoming elections, candidate updates and views, alleged misconduct of political opponents, and controversial events that were puru PAGE A5

Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson

Senate photo by Joseph Vidal

Senator likens PH PH defense chief in US to discuss defense to ‘wild, wild west’ by NATHALIE

treaty with American counterpart by JAIME LAUDE Philstar.com

PHILIPPINE Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, now in the United States for a United Nations conference, is set to discuss the 1951 U.S.-Philippine Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) with his American counterpart. Lorenzana, who is pushing a review of the decades-old defense treaty, said the matter would definitely be on the table in his meeting with acting U.S. Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan in Washington next week. He did not reveal the exact date of the meeting or other possible agenda items. “Yes,” was Lorenzana’s reply when asked Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana met with UN Secretary if he intends to discuss with Shanahan his General Antonio Guterres at the United Nations Headquarters in New York

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on Wednesday, March 27.

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Photo courtesy of DND

PHILIPPINE Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson on Wednesday, March 27, called for a stricter firearm regulation policy as he compared the country’s crime condition to that of 19th century America’s “Wild, Wild West.” “Dapat sa 18th Congress, palagay ko, pagtuunan ng pansin [ang gun control] kasi talagang halos araw-araw na ‘pag nakakapanood ka ng news, parang wild, wild west na ang ating bansa (The 18th Congress should focus on gun control because when you watch the news every day, it seems that our country has become like the wild, wild west),” Lacson said as reported by ABSCBN News. The senator, who used to be a chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), said that people must change the mindset wherein firearms within the line of sight were considered acceptable. According to Lacson, alienating the notion of guns would reduce crimes committed using such.

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