Newsmakers

Agaw bato scheme was exposed, along with the rogue cops who operated their own gangs within the Philippine National Police. The Chief PNP at that time was sacked.

There had been controversies along the way, but hey, we survived each and every one unscathed!

The last couple of months had been controversial as President Rodrigo Duterte remained as the top newsmaker with his pronouncements that rocked the business front.

A jolt in the stock market was felt — and even stronger than the series of quakes that hit Mindanao — when the Chief Executive fired his last salvos for 2019 against the two water concessionaires.

He wanted Maynilad and Manila Water to shape up, and boy they did when the President demanded a review of the contracts they entered into with the past dispensations without waiting for the proper time and leadership with which they should have done them with.

And so, the Maynilad of Manny V. Pangilinan and the Manila Water of the Ayala family have seen their company stocks plummet when Mr. Duterte expressed his disgust over what he felt was their shortchanging the government of its rightful share in the contracts.

They bowed down and will follow what the President tells them to do.

The Chief Executive had also appointed Vice President Leni Robredo to co-chair the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs before recalling the appointment in less than a month, claiming he did not trust her.

The President also warned media giant ABS-CBN of being stripped of its franchise to operate, his beef being the non-airing of his campaign commercial when he ran for the presidency in 2016. Members of Congress will not tackle the franchise issue until this coming year to follow Mr. Duterte’s wish, of course.

For these alone, the President remains the top Filipino newsmaker since he was shoved to Malacañang in 2016.

His top allies made the biggest news, too.

The President’s former aide Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go was among the top elected senators in the midterm elections last May. He is joined by Mr. Duterte’s top policeman Ronald “Bato” de la Rosa in that august hall by Manila Bay. They joined the old names which have been staples in Philippine politics.

Nearly four years since giving the country a President from the region, Mindanao was hit by powerful earthquakes and aftershocks.

The most prominent of these jolts happened in succession in Cotabato in October 2019.

The region has yet to recover from the initial 6.3 magnitude earthquake that struck the city on 16 October with its epicenter in Tulunan and a series of more quakes continued to rock the region until before Christmas.

F/B Gem-Ver was sunk at Reed Bank after the Chinese vessel rammed the boat. Its crew survived the long ordeal when the Filipino fishermen were left on their own in open sea when a Vietnamese vessel’s crew came to their rescue.

In June, two suicide bombers detonated themselves in Indanan, Sulu. Subsequent bombings revealed the ISIL’s successful use of a Filipino suicide bomber after years of futile attempts to woo local warriors into taking what for the terrorists is the ultimate act of sacrifice.

The Philippines had sent back tons of garbage to Canada.

A new player in telecommunications — Dito Telecommunity — was granted a government franchise. It will become the third telecommunications company and the first to challenge Globe and Smart in years.

Rapist-killer former mayor Antonio Sanchez of Calauan, Laguna almost bought his freedom. But alert members of the media had managed to disclosed the faulty credits he had supposedly earned from the Good Conduct Time Allowance law that, after long weeks of Senate hearings, he was sent back to his jail cell with no chance of regaining the freedom that he does not deserve.

The dreaded African swine fever had reached the country. It shook up the hog industry, but the country’s agriculture program has managed to recover swiftly.

The death of Cadet 4th Class Darwin Dormitorio had sent the Philippine Military Academy to review its programs. Hazing will no longer be tolerated in the academy.

The “agaw bato” scheme was exposed, along with the rogue cops who operated their own gangs within the Philippine National Police. The Chief PNP at that time was sacked. No replacement has been named until this writing.

The Southeast Asian Games was held in the Philippines, with the national athletes winning the overall championship for only the second time in 14 years. The organizing committee’s officials, however, stand to face a probe by the Senate soon for what is claimed anomalies in handling the Philippine SEA Games Organizing Committee’s finances.

Daily Tribune was in the thick of these events when they happened. It will continue to be vigilant as it holds on to its promise of covering news without fear and without favor.