Here are today’s headlines – the latest news in the Philippines and around the world:
- DA declares food emergency to curb high rice prices
- Even Manila’s envoy to the US isn’t safe from alleged Chinese hacking
- Supreme Court punishes judge over delay in De Lima case
- ‘Meteor Garden’ star Barbie Hsu dies at 48
- Beyoncé, Sabrina Carpenter win Grammys as musicians honor Los Angeles
https://www.rappler.com/video/daily-wrap/february-03-2025/
- DA declares food emergency to curb high rice prices
- Even Manila’s envoy to the US isn’t safe from alleged Chinese hacking
- Supreme Court punishes judge over delay in De Lima case
- ‘Meteor Garden’ star Barbie Hsu dies at 48
- Beyoncé, Sabrina Carpenter win Grammys as musicians honor Los Angeles
https://www.rappler.com/video/daily-wrap/february-03-2025/
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NewsTranscript
00:00Today on Rappler
00:14The Department of Agriculture declares a food security emergency to address increasing
00:18rice prices.
00:20Philippine Ambassador to the U.S. Babe Romualde says China tapped his phone on multiple occasions.
00:25The Supreme Court punishes a judge due to the delay of the case of former Senator Laila
00:29de Lima.
00:30Meteor Garden star Barbie Hsu passed away at age 48.
00:34And Beyonce leads the winners of the 67th annual Grammy Awards.
00:39The Department of Agriculture declares a food security emergency on rice.
00:43This after the National Price Coordinating Council reports an unusual increase in rice
00:47prices despite tariff reductions and declining global prices.
00:52Agriculture Secretary Francisco Chulaurel says, quote, this emergency declaration allows
00:57us to release rice buffer stocks held by the National Food Authority to stabilize prices
01:02and ensure that rice, a staple food for millions of Filipinos, remains accessible to consumers.
01:07The NFA also needs to clear its warehouses, which currently hold 300,000 metric tons of
01:12rice, in time for the harvest season.
01:15The declaration, issued through Department Circular No. 3, will remain in effect until
01:19Chulaurel lifts the declaration.
01:21The DA chief can declare a food security emergency based on NPCC's recommendation under the
01:26amended Agricultural Tarification Act.
01:30Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez says China tapped his
01:34phone a number of times already.
01:36Romualdez says he joked with the Chinese ambassador to the Philippines, Wang Silian, saying he
01:40has to stop doing this because he can't afford to keep buying new phones.
01:44Recalling his conversation with Silian, he says the Chinese ambassador just, quote, laughed
01:48it off.
01:49Asked about Romualdez's statement, Wang says they've, quote, never touched upon the so-called
02:10Chinese hacking issue.
02:14The Supreme Court reprimands and finds a judge due to the delay in former Senator Laila de
02:18Lima's case.
02:19The Supreme Court finds Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court Presiding Judge Romeo Buenaventura
02:24guilty of misconduct for violating the new Code of Judicial Conduct and imposed an P18,000
02:29fine.
02:30He was also found guilty of simple neglect of duty and fined another P18,000.
02:35Buenaventura handled one of de Lima's three drug cases filed during former President Rodrigo
02:39Duterte's administration.
02:41These cases were eventually dismissed by various courts, with de Lima being granted bail in
02:46November 2023 before the last dismissal.
02:49Buenaventura initially denied de Lima's bail petition, including her appeal.
02:53He later withdrew from the case after a motion to inhibit was filed by one of de Lima's co-accused.
02:58The motion argued that Buenaventura's brother, Erwin Buenaventura, was the lawyer who assisted
03:03co-accused Ronnie Dayan in drafting an affidavit, which Dayan later testified had been coerced.
03:09The SC says that Buenaventura's connection to Dayan put him in violation of Canon 4,
03:13Section 4 of the new code, which says judges shall not participate in cases where their
03:17family represents a litigant.
03:21Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu passed away due to pneumonia, her family confirmed to Taiwanese
03:26media on Monday, February 3.
03:28She was 48.
03:29Hsu died after contracting influenza during a trip to Japan over the Lunar New Year holidays,
03:35which later developed into pneumonia.
03:37Her sister says in a statement,
03:39I was grateful to be her sister in this life and that we got to care for and spend time
03:43with each other.
03:44I will always be grateful to her and miss her.
03:47She leaves behind her 10-year-old daughter, 8-year-old son, and husband, South Korean
03:52DJ Koo Jun-yup.
03:53Hsu is famous for her role as Dong Sang-chai in the 2001 series Meteor Garden.
03:59She is known as Big S in Taiwanese showbiz and also starred in Meteor Garden 2.
04:03Hsu also appeared in the series Eternity, a Chinese ghost story in 2003, and Summer's
04:08Desire in 2010, as well as film Silk in 2006 and Croczilla and Motorway in 2012.
04:17Beyoncé wins the Grammy Award for Best Country Album and Album of the Year on Monday, February
04:223 for her Cowboy Carter album.
04:24For other categories, Chaperone wins Best New Artist.
04:27Kendrick Lamar wins four awards for his song Not Like Us, including Record of the Year,
04:32Song of the Year, Best Rap Performance, and Best Rap Song.
04:36Sabrina Carpenter took home two awards in the Pop category, Best Pop Vocal Album for
04:40Short and Sweet, and Best Pop Solar Performance for Espresso.
04:44Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars bag Best Pop Duo slash Group Performance for their hit song
04:48Die With a Smile.
04:50In the R&B category, Money Long wins Best R&B Performance for Made For Me, and SZA earns
04:55Best R&B Song for Saturn, while Chris Brown wins Best R&B Album for 1111.
05:01Grammy winners are selected by the 13,000 members of the Recording Academy.
05:07And that's today's wrap.
05:08I'm Cara Oliver.
05:10Click the link below for the full story.
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