Here are today’s headlines – the latest news in the Philippines and around the world:
- IN PHOTOS: Canada prime minister, residents mourn Filipino festival tragedy victims
- LOOK: PH Navy, Coast Guard, police deploy to Pag-asa cays after China claims sovereignty
- ‘Abby Luis Campos’ of Makati: Who’s really running for mayor?
- Cardinal’s funeral homily stresses Pope’s call for Trump to ‘build bridges, not walls’
https://www.rappler.com/video/daily-wrap/april-28-2025/
- IN PHOTOS: Canada prime minister, residents mourn Filipino festival tragedy victims
- LOOK: PH Navy, Coast Guard, police deploy to Pag-asa cays after China claims sovereignty
- ‘Abby Luis Campos’ of Makati: Who’s really running for mayor?
- Cardinal’s funeral homily stresses Pope’s call for Trump to ‘build bridges, not walls’
https://www.rappler.com/video/daily-wrap/april-28-2025/
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NewsTranscript
00:00Today on Rappler
00:06Vice President Sara Duterte supports Isco Moreno's Manila Mayor bid.
00:17Alianza Senatorial Betts claim Beijing aims to control Philippine politics in the 2025 polls.
00:23The Commission on Elections exempts the Agriculture Department's 20 pesos per kilo rice program from the election spending ban.
00:32And the doctor of Pope Francis says the pontiff did not suffer and drew pain.
00:38Vice President Sara Duterte endorses former Manila Mayor Isco Moreno in his bid to reclaim the city's top post.
00:46During Moreno's campaign rally in Tondo on Thursday night, April 24,
00:50the Vice President called the mayoral candidate as, quote,
00:53Pinakamahal na mayor ng siyudad ng Maynila, Isco Moreno.
00:57Isco Moreno Dumagoso.
00:59Duterte thanked Moreno for allowing senatorial candidates from her team,
01:03Senator Amy Marcos and Jimmy Bondoc, to join his campaign events.
01:07During her hour-long speech, Duterte criticized her political opponents
01:11and spoke out against the International Criminal Court for arresting her father,
01:15former President Rodrigo Duterte.
01:17Duterte also calls out Marcos for not keeping his campaign promise of 20 pesos per kilo rice.
01:24She also mocked Manila 2nd District Representative Rolando Valeriano
01:28and showed support for his rival, former Congressman Carlo Lopez.
01:33Valeriano had condemned the Vice President's unwillingness to explain
01:36how she spent public funds and questioned her allegiances.
01:40Alianza para sa bagong Pilipinas Senate bets claim,
01:45Beijing had plans of, quote,
01:47controlling Philippine politics through Congress in the 2025 elections.
01:52Pre-electionist Senator Francis Tolentino says in a press briefing
01:56before a campaign rally in Dagupan, Pangasinan,
01:58China interfered with the Philippines
02:00and was also trying to influence the 2025 elections
02:04as they wanted a pro-China majority in the 2025 Senate.
02:08He did not name the, quote,
02:10pro-China senators or candidates,
02:12but seemed to be referring to those allied with former President Rodrigo Duterte.
02:17Tolentino led a Senate probe where he alleged
02:19that the Chinese embassy in Manila hired a local marketing firm
02:23to push Beijing's propaganda on Philippine social media.
02:27At the same hearing, security officials also say
02:29there were, quote,
02:30indications of Chinese state-backed efforts
02:33to sway the results of the upcoming May 12 elections.
02:37ACT-CIS representative Irwin Tulfo says
02:40it was obvious that China wanted to control
02:42both the Senate and the House of Representatives.
02:46Meantime, former Senator Ping Lakson,
02:48a retired police officer with a background in intelligence,
02:51says the situation is, quote,
02:53scarier than we think.
02:55Security, law enforcement, and intelligence officials
02:58in the Philippines have long warned about
03:00disinformation and influence efforts
03:03linked to Chinese networks.
03:06The Commission on Elections
03:08exempts the 20 pesos per kilo rice program
03:11of the Department of Agriculture
03:13from the election spending ban.
03:16A Comelec memo dated April 24 states
03:18that the project indicated a disbursement amount
03:21of 5 billion pesos
03:22and implementation period until 2028.
03:26One of Comelec's conditions is that the rice program
03:29must not include giving out social aid
03:31or medical and burial assistance.
03:34Comelec chairman George Garcia adds in the memo
03:36that the concerned local government
03:38must still ask for approval from the poll body
03:40regarding the subsidy rate.
03:42He also says rice distribution
03:44must happen in public areas,
03:46with media and interest groups allowed
03:48to freely access these locations.
03:50Agriculture Secretary Francisco Chula Orell Jr.
03:53had announced a 20 pesos per kilo rice program
03:56in the Visayas
03:57after a private meeting with regional governors
03:59and President Ferdinand Marcus Jr.
04:03To help you make the best decision
04:05of who to vote for,
04:06we have all the information you need in one place,
04:08the Rappler Election Site.
04:10From comprehensive election guides and explainers
04:12to profiles of candidates,
04:14both national and local,
04:15we bring you a news feed
04:16of all the latest updates
04:17on voters' issues and campaign moments.
04:19Check it out at ph.rappler.com.
04:24Sergio Alfieri,
04:25the head of the Pontiff's medical team says,
04:28Pope Francis died quickly on Monday morning
04:30from an unexpected stroke
04:32without suffering and due pain
04:33and there was nothing that doctors
04:35could have done to save his life.
04:37Alfieri said he got a call
04:39from around 5.30 a.m. on Monday
04:41and arrived at the Vatican
04:42about 20 minutes later.
04:44He says,
04:45Alferi oversaw the Pope's treatment
05:01during a five-week stay in the hospital
05:03when he was fighting double pneumonia
05:05earlier this year.
05:06Meantime,
05:07crowds of people lined up
05:08at St. Peter's
05:09through the night
05:10and early Friday, April 25
05:12to bid farewell to Pope Francis
05:14before his funeral
05:15on Saturday, April 26.
05:17The Vatican says,
05:18since the Pope died,
05:20almost 130,000 people
05:22from all over the world
05:23have said goodbye to the pontiff.
05:25That's today's wrap.
05:28I'm Dwight DeLeon.
05:30Click the link below
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