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By PABLO A. TARIMAN
AURAEUS Solito’s “Busong” -- which was premiered last year at the Cannes International Film Festival’s Directors Fortnight section -- continued its winning streak by running away with the grand prize in the recently concluded National Geographic All Roads Film Festival in Washington D.C.

BANGUED, Abra – The whistleblower who has filed a complaint of plunder against two members of one of Abra’s most powerful clans now faces arrest after they turned the tables on her and sued her for falsification of documents.

INTERIOR and Local Government Undersecretary Rico E. Puno and three others visited in May the main facility of an Israel-based firm that has been blacklisted by the Indian defense ministry early this year for engaging in corrupt practices.

CONFLICTING interests of labor-sending countries like Indonesia and the Philippines and of labor-receiving countries like Malaysia and Thailand partly explain why it will likely take years for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to make the regional instrument to promote and protect the rights of labor migrants a reality.

SHORTLY after arriving in Kuala Lumpur early this year to work as a domestic worker, Marissa Santos (not her real name) began complaining of severe stomach pains. Her Malaysian employer promptly returned Santos to her recruiter, also a Malaysian. But instead of getting her medical help, the recruiter subjected Santos to slave-like treatment at his spa.

By PABLO A. TARIMAN
IT must have been a case of déjà vu when Filipino filmmaker Brillante Mendoza and Nora Aunor (along with Lovi Poe and Mercedes Cabral) received a five-minute standing ovation after the screening of “Thy Womb” in the 69th Venice Film Festival.

ILOILO is a province of equanimity. Ilonggos, as they are called, are known to be mild-mannered and peace loving. They are a tamed lot. From this lot one of the country’s outstanding policemen this year has been chosen. Ironically, one who had to struggle with lupus, a disease which in Latin means “wolf” because of the patient’s bouts of wildness and irrationality.

By VERA Files PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino made history by appointing Lourdes Sereno as the country’s first female Chief Justice, but he also broke tradition by setting aside the seniority rule and naming to the highest judicial post one of the Court’s youngest associate justices, who also happens to be his college schoolmate.

PHILIPPINE Ambassador to China Sonia Brady suffered a stroke in Beijing this week. “Amb. Brady suffered a stroke and is hospitalized where her condition is being monitored closely,” Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario confirmed Brady’s condition in a text message to VERA Files.

COTABATO CITY— The Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) now faces the difficult, if not almost impossible, task of weeding out the multiple registrants from last July’s general voters’ registration because the Commission on Election failed to provide for the automatic deletion of such registrants.

THE late Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo had always made known that his personal advocacies included looking after the welfare of people with disabilities (PWDs). “This is personal to me,” he said in his keynote address at the launching last April 18 of the Fully Abled Nation, a multisectoral initiative to encourage PWDs to register and vote in the 2013 midterm elections. “I am no stranger to PWDs.”

ISABELA, Basilan -- FILIPINOS even in the farthest parts of the country mourned the death of Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo. In the conflict-ridden province of Basilan, a meeting of the provincial peace and order council that he was scheduled to attend became a tribute to Robredo, who was called "the most respected DILG secretary."

BONGAO, Tawi-tawi—Muslim leaders challenged followers of Islam to change public perceptions that the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) is the cheating capital of the Philippines.

COTABATO CITY— A festive atmosphere filled the air here late Saturday night as Muslims marked takbir by riding around the city with roaring car engines, persistent honking and delighted howls.

MALAMAUI, Basilan—Islam sets restrictions on how women conduct their lifestyles and function alongside men in society. But for a group of women residing in the remote community of Carbon in Malamaui in Basilan province, this seems to be a minor setback.

COTABATO CITY— The Commission on Elections allowed persons with disabilities (PWDs) to register during the voters’ registration in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), but failed to provide them with supplemental forms that would have determined the kind of assistance they  would need come election day next year. For the entire 10 days of

ZAMBOANGA CITY— Two explosions, one near a mosque, wounded seven bus passengers here Thursday night. The seven wounded victims in the bus explosion include two-year-old Mac Owen Palomar who was rushed to the Western Mindanao Medical Center along with three others who sustained minor injuries. Others were brought to the Zamboanga City Medical Center and Doctors Hospital.