Rappler Newscast | June 13, 2012

Today on Rappler.

• Impeachment prosecutors say 4 cases can be filed against ousted Chief Justice Renato Corona.
• The Supreme Court upholds the COMELEC’s purchase of automated voting machines for 2013.
• And at least 88 are missing after flash floods in Saranggani Province while another tropical storm threatens to enter the Philippines before the weekend.

Story 1: 4 POSSIBLE CASES VS CORONA
Is it enough to remove Renato Corona from the Supreme Court or should government pursue cases against him?
Rappler interviews 2 private prosecutors, who were key players in Corona’s impeachment trial.
They say there is enough evidence to file 4 strong cases against him.
One, violation of the SALN law. Two, perjury for “lying” in his SALN. Three, forfeiture of unexplained wealth and four, tax evasion for not paying the correct taxes. Corona admits before the impeachment court that he has dollar and peso bank deposits totaling 183-M pesos.
He only declared 3.5 million pesos in his 2010 SALN. If the same charge is filed in a criminal court and Corona is found guilty private prosecutor Jose Justiniano says the penalties are grave–including years in prison. Former Senator Rene Saguisag cites the case of Calauan Mayor Antonio Sanchez who was fined P5,000 per year for 4 years or perjury by omission, or non-compliance with the SALN law.
The second possible case against Corona is perjury. A prosecution lawyer tells rappler, “The SALN is filed under oath.” Anything stated there that’s false is a potential case.
Third possible case: Corona’s assets could be seized by the government under Republic Act 1379 if proven to be unlawfully acquired.
Prosecutors say this is the bigger case.
Justiniano asks, “How did he earn $2.4 million?” Another prosecutor says, unexplained wealth is presumed to be ill-gotten.”
The fourth case that can be filed is tax evasion and private prosecutors say there’s a strong case.
BIR records show Corona’s tax payments came from withheld taxes from his salaries.
Corona paid less that 200-thousand pesos in taxes based on total annual income of around 650,000 pesos.
If he invested in foreign exchange as he claims, Justiniano says Corona should have paid separate taxes for the transactions.
Private prosecutors add the government cannot file all 4 cases against Corona.
If government files perjury, it can’t file violation of RA 6713 because of double jeopardy.  But forfeiture of unexplained wealth and tax evasion can proceed. Corona says he will not leave the country and that quote I’m not guilty of any charges they may file against me.

Story 2: TULFO UPGRADES CASE VS SANTIAGOS TO ATTEMPTED HOMICIDE
Commentator Ramon Tulfo plans to amend his complaint against celebrities Raymart Santiago and Claudine Barretto to attempted homicide.
Tulfo had earlier filed a case of physical injury and grave coercion against the Santiagos. New evidence supposedly surfaced to warrant the change. Tulfo says Customs employee Marlon Atengco reports one of the Santiagos’ companions. Edoardo Atilano tried to get the gun of an airport policeman. Atengco was the same person who took the viral 59-second video of the fight which did not include the incident Tulfo described.
MON TULFO: Kailangan talagang…Justice must be served here. Kailangan na mangibabaw and hustisya dito. Hindi kasi ito laban ko. Laban ito ng mga taong inapi nila.

Story 3: SC: NO IRREGULARITY IN PCOS PURCHASE
The Supreme Court upholds the validity of the Commission on Elections’ purchase of automated voting machines for the 2013 elections.
Voting 11-3 Wednesday, the High Court says Comelec did not commit any irregularity when it purchased about 82,000 PCOS or precinct count optical scan machines from Smartmatic Corp. for 1.8-billion pesos.
The decision was written by Justice Diosdado Peralta.

Story 4: PACQUIAO-BRADLEY SPLIT DECISION UP FOR REVIEW
The head of the Nevada State Athletic Commission will review the decision on the Pacquiao-Bradley fight.
Executive director Keith Kizer tells RingTV.com he plans to review footage of the fight with each of the 3 judges individually to examine each of their scoring criteria, and see how they scored each punch, round by round.
He says he’s interested to find out how close it was In their minds and what was the difference in each round that made them decide to give it to either Pacquiao or Bradley. Kizer explains he is looking for a good explanation and a very similar if not the exact same criteria in judging.
US Senator Harry Reid says he backs a probe into the split decision but believes there was nothing untoward in the scoring.

Story 5: 2ND COURT ISSUES HOLD ORDER VS EX-FG MIKE
A different Sandiganbayan division issues a separate hold departure order against former First gentleman Mike Arroyo.
The Sandiganbayan Fourth Division yesterday approves a request by Arroyo for permit to travel to Japan and Hong Kong from June 16 to June 23, 2012 on business. But the Second Division says the latest Hold Departure Order was issued June 8, 2012 and under the rules, he has to file another motion for leave to travel abroad.  Mike Arroyo should also first be conditionally arraigned before he can be allowed to leave the country.

Story 6: THE wRap
Let’s now look at Rappler’s “wRap” for today…
a list of the ten most important events around the world you shouldn’t miss.

At number 6, Thousands troop to the streets in Moscow to protest what they call the illegitimate leadership of Russian President Alexander Putin. The protesters call for his resignation and demand new elections. They also mobilize support on social media using the hashtag “Welcome to the Year ’37” – a reference to the year Soviet dictator Josef Stalin reached the height of his power. Russians say Putin’s new tactics against opposition leaders are Stalin-like.

At number 7, A proposal by the British government to permit gay marriage meets staunch disapproval from the Church of England.
A paper drafted by English bishops and the Archbishop’s Council argues -quote- “to change the nature of marriage for everyone will be divisive and deliver no obvious legal gain.”  Prime Minister David Cameron says he will back the proposal despite strong opposition from members of his Conservative Party.

At number 8, the Oklahoma City Thunder takes down Miami Heat, 105 to 94, in Game One of the NBA Finals. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook combine to score 63 points for the Thunder. MVP LeBron James of Miami Heat finishes with 30 points but was unable to stop Durant. Game 2 of the 7-game finals will be on Thursday, June 14. (Friday, June 15 in the Philippines.)

At number 9, We’re all familiar with ‘.com’, ‘.org’, and ‘.net’ as the most widely used domain suffixes.  In 2000 and 2004, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers or ICANN, holds two test rounds to determine the viability of adding more domain suffixes to the mix of over 300 used today. On June 13, ICANN will be releasing in London a list of new Internet suffix bids including ‘.Google. and ‘.YouTube’. Other bids are ‘.NYC’, ‘.DOCTOR’, and ‘.MUSIC.. If selected, domains will cost at least $25,000 to maintain. The review is expected to take anywhere between 9 to 20 months.

And at number 10, London’s newly constructed Olympic Stadium will be transformed into a scenic British rural scene.
The set will be complete with meadows, fields and rivers, and will include animals found in a farm. The show’s artistic director, Danny Boyle, says the $42-million ceremony is based on a vision of a -quote- “mythic” British countryside that will give the world a view of who British people are. It is inspired by the Tempest and titled ‘the Isles of Wonder.’
For the full top 10 visit Rappler.com’s ‘the wRap.’

Story 7: TROPICAL STORM GUCHOL TO ENTER PH
A tropical storm will enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility before the weekend.
PAGASA spots a Tropical Storm, international name Guchol over 1000 kilometers east of Mindanao.
Guchol is expected to enter the Philippines either Thursday or Friday.
It will be given the Philippine codename “Butchoy.”
The city government of Davao is mobilizing residents in case of flash floods which engulfed several towns in Sarangani Province Monday night, sending 568 families to evacuation centers.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council or NDRRMC says 2 people were killed while 88 are still missing.
In Palawan, 5 people were killed when a wooden-hulled passenger ferry capsized about 10 kilometers from port.
Death toll totals 7 in Palawan.

Let’s look at the mood navigator.
Fresh from the optimism of Independence Day, the mood is inspired.  Contributing to that are votes on President Aquino’s independence day speech, the search for Filipino identity and the economic numbers.

– Rappler.com