Rappler Newscast | April 30, 2013

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Risa Hontiveros gains most in the latest Pulse Asia survey. PNoy denies security of tenure to workers. Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands abdicates.

Today on Rappler.

  • Five senatorial candidates lose numbers while Risa Hontiveros gains the most in the latest Pulse Asia survey.
  • A day before May 1 celebrations, President Aquino denies security of tenure to workers.
  • And, Queen Beatrix abdicates giving the Netherlands its first male monarch in more than a century.

Story 1: 5 SENATE BETS BIG LOSERS IN SURVEYS
The latest Pulse Asia survey shows voting preferences for 5 senatorial candidates plunge, announced 13 days before the May 13 elections.
An April 20 to 22 Pulse Asia survey shows a drop in numbers for Sen Koko Pimentel, Sen Gringo Honasan, Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano, Cagayan Rep Jack Enrile, and Nancy Binay.
The decline in their voting preference brings down their rankings, except for Enrile who retains the 11th-16th spot.
Among the 16 bets who have a statistical chance of winning, only former censors chief Grace Poe and former Akbayan Rep Risa Hontiveros increase their numbers.
Poe now occupies the 3rd to 4th spot, up from her previous rank of 4th to 10th place.
Hontiveros breaks into the list of potential winners for the first time, ranking 12th to 17th, from her previous rank of 16-18.
Still topping the list are re-electionists Sen Loren Legarda and Chiz Escudero, tied at 1st to 2nd place.
Poe comes in at 3rd to 4th, followed by Cayetano at 3rd-7th.
At 4th-9th place is former Las Piñas Rep Cynthia Villar, followed by Sen Sonny Trillanes and Bam Aquino at 4th-10th place.
Tied in rank 5-11 are San Juan Rep JV Ejercito and Nancy Binay.
Pimentel registers the biggest decline, ranking 6th to 12th from his previous rank of 4-10.
Aurora Rep Sonny Angara is at 8th-14th place, followed by resigned Sen Migz Zubiri at 10th-16th.
Tied in 11th-16th are Honasan and Enrile.
Rounding up the top 16 are Hontiveros and former Sen Jun Magsaysay.
This is also Magsaysay’s first time to break into the winning list in the Pulse Asia survey.
The survey shows an 11-5 combination in favor of Team PNoy.

Story 2: AQUINO: SALCEDA STILL BACKS TEAM PNOY
President Benigno Aquino says Albay Gov Joey Salceda backs the administration slate, even after the governor welcomed United Nationalist Alliance candidates over the weekend.
Some Team PNoy candidates question Salceda’s appearance with the UNA bets.
In a press briefing Tuesday, Aquino says Salceda sent him a message saying he was being “extra hospitable” because it was the climax of the Daragang Magayon festival.
The President quotes Salceda as saying he is still firm in his commitment to deliver a 10-2 victory for Team PNoy in Albay, with the two UNA bets being San Juan Rep JV Ejercito and resigned Sen Juan Miguel Zubiri.
Salceda says though he will personally vote for the vice president’s daughter, UNA bet Nancy Binay.

Story 3: PURPLE VOTE ENDORSES 7 TEAM PNOY BETS
With a little over a week before the polls, the Purple Vote campaign endorses 7 senatorial candidates known for their support of the reproductive health law.
The candidates all belong to Team PNoy: Sonny Angara, Bam Aquino, Alan Peter Cayetano, Chiz Escudero, Risa Hontiveros, Loren Legarda, and Grace Poe.
Although the candidates’ pro-RH stance is a major criterion in their choice, Likhaan Director Dr. Junice Melgar says the group based its decision on the candidates’ solid and consistent support for the RH law; support for other progressive measures like the sin tax law and FOI; and the candidates’ integrity.
In March, Melgar says the group launched the Purple Vote campaign because they wanted to –quote– “defend the candidates because they are really being undermined.”
The Purple Vote campaign was introduced after the Catholic Church unveiled its “Team Buhay and Team Patay” campaign, asking voters to reject supporters of the RH law.
Missing from the list are 2 senatorial candidates listed under Team Patay: Makabayan senatorial candidate Teddy Casiño and UNA senatorial bet Jack Enrile.

Story 4: TEACHERS DEMAND P6,000 PAY FOR POLL DUTIES
Teachers under the group Alliance of Concerned Teachers or ACT demand P6,000 in pay for the services they will render as board of election inspectors for the midterm elections.
ACT chairperson Benjie Valbuena says teachers deserve additional P2,000 pay from the P4,000 set by the Comelec.

BENJIE VALBUENA, ACT CHAIRPERSON: Pakiramdam namin lagi na lang agrabyado ang mga teachers…Kaya nananawagan kami ng proper compensation para sa lahat ng mga teachers na maninilbihan sa eleksyong darating. (We feel teachers always get the short end of the stick. Which is why we are asking for proper compensation for all the teachers who will serve in the coming elections.)

In 2010, teachers received P4,300 during the first automated elections in the country.
Valbuena says BEIs or board of election inspectors have to handle around 1,000 voters per precinct under the automated elections, unlike when the polls were implemented through a manual system.
ACT also seeks legal assistance from Comelec and 5 days of service credits.
But Comelec chair Sixto Brillantes says the poll body already answered the concerns of teachers through Education Secretary Armin Luistro.
Brillantes says teachers will be given legal assistance by at least 3 groups:
the Legal Network for Truthful Elections, Integrated Bar of the Philippines, and the Public Attorney’s Office.

Story 5: AQUINO WON’T CERTIFY TENURE BILL, HIKE TAX EXEMPTIONS
President Benigno Aquino on Tuesday denies the demands of labor groups to certify the security of tenure bill as urgent and raise tax exemptions.
In a pre-Labor Day speech Tuesday, Aquino says certifying the tenure bill is “against the law” and “runs counter to our agenda to create jobs.”
He cites the negative effects in the long term, adding only 1.8 million would benefit, while an estimated 10 million Filipinos could lose their jobs if the bill, in current form, gets approved.
Aquino adds, raising the P30,000 ceiling for tax exemptions to P60,000 would reduce tax collections by P2.74 billion.
Labor group Trade Union Congress of the Philippines is dismayed by Aquino’s speech.
TUCP spokesman Alan Tanjusay says, “We were expecting something to hold on to…Trade unions and labor groups are at a loss.”

Story 6: WILLEM-ALEXANDER NEW DUTCH KING AFTER BEATRIX ABDICATES
Willem-Alexander becomes Dutch king Tuesday after his mother, queen Beatrix signed her act of abdication in Amsterdam.
The 46-year-old Willem-Alexander is the first male monarch of the Netherlands since 1890.
He replaces his mother, Queen Beatrix, who ends her 33-year reign.
In a televised address Monday, the 75-year-old monarch bids farewell to the nation in her role as queen.
Thousands gather in Dam Square early Tuesday, hoping to catch a glimpse of Willem-Alexander and his Argentine-born queen-to-be Maxima.
In an interview weeks before the ceremony, Willem-Alexander says he has been preparing for his new role by taking on more duties in a bid to shake off his “Prince Pils” image as a hard-partying and troublesome royal.

Story 7: THE wRap: YOUR WORLD IN ONE READ
At number 3, Malaysia braces for its closest general election ever.
On May 5, when voters cast their ballots, It will be the first time in the country’s history that they do so without knowing the eventual winner.
The ruling coalition, headed by the United Malays National Organisation has been unbeaten since independence in 1957.
But the rising Pakatan Rakyat opposition alliance promises to end authoritarianism and corruption.
A loss by UMNO’s Barisan Nasional ruling coalition threatens a Malay elite accustomed to political dominance and its rich business perks.

At number 6, Afghan President Hamid Karzai confirms Monday that his office received money from the US Central Intelligence Agency over the past decade, reportedly handed over in suitcases and backpacks.
Karzai thanks the US spy agency for what he said was money well spent just hours after The New York Times reported Karzai’s office received millions of dollars in cash in a CIA effort to win influence.
He said the money was used for good causes in Afghanistan, where endemic corruption undermined efforts to establish a stable state more than 11 years after the US-led invasion to dislodge the Taliban.

And at number 9, in a Fortune magazine cover story, Mark Zuckerberg reveals he made a bad decision in 2010 because he was concerned he would miss the next wave.
In 2010, Zuckerberg focused Facebook’s engineers on designing a Facebook app that could operate on any smartphone, betting that standalone mobile apps would go away.
They didn’t. The buggy and slow Facebook app soon became “one of the biggest mistakes we’ve ever made.”
He then made sweeping structural changes.
In early April, Zuckerberg introduced Facebook Home, a new way to provide its customers with a rich Facebook experience on mobile phones.

Story 8: NBA CENTER JASON COLLINS: ‘I’M GAY’
NBA center Jason Collins is the first active player in a major professional American team sport to reveal he is gay.
Collins, a 12-year NBA veteran, comes out to Sports Illustrated in a major cover story released Monday.
He says –quote-, “I didn’t set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport.
But since I am, I’m happy to start the conversation.”
His twin brother Jarron Collins, who also plays in the NBA, writes his reaction to Jason’s coming out in the same Sports Illustrated issue.
He says –quote– “At the end of the day, this is what matters…He’s my brother, he’s a great guy, and I want him to be happy.”
Jason’s gesture earns the support of many, most notably, tweets from former US president Bill Clinton and NBA All-Star Kobe Bryant.

– Rappler.com

Newscast production staff

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER / WRITER Lilibeth Frondoso
DIRECTOR Rupert Ambil
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER / PUBLISHER Rodneil Quiteles
  Dindin Reyes
HEAD WRITER / PROMPTER Katerina Francisco
MASTER EDITOR / PLAYBACK Vicente Roxas
  Exxon Ruebe
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR / CAMERAMAN Charlie Salazar
  Adrian Portugal
  Francis Lopez
GRAPHICS Jessica Lazaro

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