Here are today's headlines – the latest news in the Philippines and around the world:
- Court of Appeals reverses De Lima’s acquittal in 1 drug case - Leila de Lima, Chel Diokno join prosecution team vs VP Sara - Court orders arrest of Harry Roque, Cassandra Ong for trafficking - Voter turnout hits 81.65% in 2025, a record high for midterm polls - Girl power! BINI among Filipinos named in Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia Class of 2025
00:08A Court of Appeals division reverses a ruling that acquitted Laila de Lima in a drug case.
00:19Oppositions Laila de Lima and Chell Jokno will replace Vice President Sara Duterte's impeachment prosecutors who lost re-election.
00:26A court orders the arrest of Harry Roque and Cassandra Ong for qualified trafficking in persons.
00:32The voter turnout reaches 81.65%, the highest in the history of midterm elections.
00:38And Bini is named in the Forbes 2025 30 under 30 list.
00:43A Court of Appeals division reverses a trial court ruling that junked one drug case against former Senator Laila de Lima.
00:50The Court of Appeals 8th Division grants the Office of the Solicitor General's petition for certiorari, assailing De Lima's acquittal in the drug case linked to former Bureau of Corrections Chief Rafael Ragos.
01:01In his decision, the CA notes that Muntinlupa City Regional Trial Court presiding Judge Abraham Joseph Alcantara acquitted De Lima, quote, on the sole basis of Ragos' recantation.
01:12Ragos was the witness in the case.
01:14In 2023, Alcantara acquitted De Lima, saying Ragos' testimony was necessary to sustain any conviction.
01:21Without it, quote, the crucial link to establish conspiracy is shrouded with reasonable doubt.
01:26The division says Alcantara failed to identify the statements retracted by Ragos and did not clearly explain which element of the crime the prosecution failed to establish against De Lima.
01:37The CA division also remanded the case back to the lower court level.
01:41De Lima's legal defense team says her acquittal in the reversed case remains enforceable, which means she won't be detained for now.
01:50Opposition figures Laila De Lima and Chael Jokno will replace two lawmakers who were assigned to prosecute Vice President Sara Duterte in her impeachment trial but lost their re-election bids.
02:01The invitation came from House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
02:03Ramualdez says, quote, their potential inclusion in the prosecution panel would add credibility, balance, and depth to this constitutionally mandated process.
02:13The camps of De Lima and Jokno also confirmed that they accepted the offer.
02:17De Lima says, quote, I have accepted.
02:20My decision comes from a place of duty and principle.
02:22I have always stood for truth, accountability, and the rule of law across different administrations, regardless of political affiliation.
02:30That commitment remains unchanged.
02:33Akbayan adds, quote,
02:34As the principal endorser of the first impeachment complaint and after third-party deliberations, we extend our full support to this historic process of accountability.
02:44De Lima is the first nominee of Mamamayang Liberal, which ranks 14th based on partial and unofficial results.
02:50Jokno, meanwhile, is the first nominee of Akbayan, which is virtually guaranteed three seats, as Akbayan leads the partyless race.
02:59A court in the Philippines ordered the arrest of former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque and Filipino-Chinese businesswoman Cassandra Ong for qualified trafficking in persons.
03:09Justice Undersecretary Nicholas Felix T., head of the Interagency Task Force Against Trafficking, confirms this to Rappler on Thursday, May 15.
03:17The charges stemmed from the raided Lucky South 99 Pogo in Porac, Pampanga.
03:22Prosecutors allege it operated a massive scam farm that trafficked workers.
03:27Roque earlier admitted to lawyering for the real estate firm Whirlwind in an ejectment case, which was accompanied at least to Lucky South 99.
03:35Although Roque also admitted to helping Ong arrange meetings with PAGCOR to renew Lucky South's Pogo license,
03:41he maintained these acts did not amount to human trafficking.
03:43Roque is in The Hague applying for asylum.
03:46The Philippines and the Netherlands have no extradition treaty.
03:50In a statement he sent from The Hague when he was charged on April 28, Roque said,
03:54The data from the Commission on Elections shows on May 15, the voter turnout for the 2025 elections reached 81.65%, the highest in history for midterm polls in the country.
04:15Out of the 68.43 million registered voters in 2025, a total of 55.87 million cast their ballots.
04:24In a 2022 presidential election, 5.5 million Filipinos voted with a turnout of 82.6%.
04:31Midterm elections usually have lower turnout since Filipinos only vote for senators, party list representatives, and local officials.
04:38This year's midterm turnout is the highest so far.
04:42In 2019, it was only 75.9%, and in 2013, 77.31%.
04:48The current numbers don't include the 1.24 million overseas Filipino voters whose turnout is still being finalized.
04:56The overall turnout is expected to rise as the Bangsamoro parliamentary elections were moved to October.
05:01The Kamala counts those polls as part of the 2025 midterms.
05:05This was also the first time Kamala accused South Korean firm Miru Systems as its election technology provider.
05:14P-pop girl group Beanie is named in the Forbes 30 Under 30 list 2025 edition for Asian groups and individuals in the sports and entertainment industries.
05:23Forbes particularly points out the girl group began its world tour that spanned a total of 15 locations.
05:28They began flying to other locations after staging their sold-out concert in the 50,000-seater Philippine Arena in February.
05:37Beanie was formed in ABS-CBN's Starhunt Academy and debuted in 2021 with members Joanna, Mika, Sheena, Stacy, Colette, Aya, Gwen, and Maloy.
05:47The girls saw a meteoric rise to fame after their song Pantropico went viral.
05:51From then on, more of their songs began to debut on the charts, like Salamin Salamin, Cherry on Top, and Blink Twice, among others.
05:59Forbes' 2025 list recognizes those with a bold vision for the future.
06:03Besides Beanie, six other Filipinos were named in the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in different industries.
06:09And that's today's wrap. I'm Cara Oliver. Thank you for watching.
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