Rappler Newscast | April 16, 2014

Today on Rappler.

• Rehabilitation chief Lacson accuses the Romualdezes of mounting an anti-government campaign.
• The health department announces the first case of the MERS virus infection in the Philippines.
• Advocates Edcel Lagman and Sylvia Claudio say the Reproductive Health Law, properly implemented, will make lives better for Filipinos.

 

Story 1: LACSON LINKS ROMUALDEZES TO ANTI-GOVERNMENT RALLY
Rehabilitation Secretary Panfilo Lacson accuses the Romualdezes of Leyte of helping mount an anti-government rally protesting the slow recovery of areas devastated by Typhoon Yolanda or Haiyan last year.
Lacson says he received a verified intelligence report linking Leyte Representative Martin Romualdez and Tacloban Mayor Alfred Romualdez to a February rally before the President visited Tacloban City.
Lacson says a truck bus traced to the Romualdezes unloaded at least 25 protesters in the rally.
He says the report was –quote– “frustrating,” adding “I’m so disappointed to find out that they’re assisting rallyists who lambast us, including myself…They are part of the government.”
Tacloban Mayor Romualdez, who earlier criticized the government for its slow response, says it’s–quote– “not his style” to mount anti-government rallies.
The Romualdezes are part of the family of Imelda Romualdez Marcos, widow of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos, who put Aquino’s father in jail.

Story 2: DOH ANNOUNCES FIRST CASE OF MERS VIRUS INFECTION IN PH
The health department confirms the first case of the MERS Coronavirus infection in the Philippines.
Health Secretary Enrique Ona says a male overseas Filipino worker or OFW tested positive for the virus after having contact with a fellow Filipino who died in the United Arab Emirates last April 10.
Assistant Secretary Eric Tayag says the Philippines and Malaysia are the first two countries in Asia outside the Middle East to have a laboratory-confirmed case of the virus.
Ona says the man has not yet shown symptoms of the infection, but is now under quarantine along with anyone who had contact with him in the past 24 hours.
The MERS or Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus is a highly fatal, influenza-like illness.
As of Sunday, the World Health Organization reported 228 laboratory-confirmed cases, with 92 deaths from 10 countries.

Story 3: JAKARTA, MANILA POISED TO BE GLOBAL LEADERS
A US-based consulting firm says Jakarta and Manila are poised to become global leaders in the next two decades.
A report by A.T. Kearney puts Indonesia’s capital at the top of a list of 34 cities in low and middle income countries likely to be leaders in business.
Manila ranks second, followed by Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.
The report cites Jakarta’s improving political system and efforts to address income inequality as reasons for its top ranking.
Analysts also say Manila holds a lot of promise, because of its better-than-expected economic growth.
The Philippines grew 7.2% in 2013, just behind China’s 7.7%.

Story 4: RH LAW: WHAT’S NEXT?
After more than 15 years, the Philippine Supreme Court rules the Reproductive Health Law is constitutional.
Advocates praise the ruling, but many now ask: what’s next?
RH law proponents Edcel Lagman and Sylvia Claudio recall the challenges they faced while the bill languished in Congress for 13 years.

SYLVIA CLAUDIO, UP CENTER FOR WOMEN STUDIES DIRECTOR: Surprises both positive and negative… and it’s hard to just think of all the difficulties we passed through…If only the people could decide this on a plebiscite, we probably would’ve won it then…

Lagman says this is a clear victory for advocates.

EDCEL LAGMAN, RH LAW PRINCIPAL AUTHOR: I’m extremely happy. And people say – some say this is a win win situation. Definitely, it’s not a win-win situation. When you have a unanimous decision upholding the constitutionality of the RH Law as a whole, then that’s not a win-win situation… that’s a definite and categorical victory.

While Lagman is happy with the ruling, Claudio says she’s wary, citing the provisions the court struck down in the measure.

SYLVIA CLAUDIO, UP CENTER FOR WOMEN STUDIES DIRECTOR: The provisions struck down worry me for other reasons because I’m also a physician…Because the ethical consideration of doctors is that we should refer patients. That’s across the board, and that’s part of your oath as a medical professional. We are not like ordinary citizens where we allow our personal, political, and religious beliefs to get in the way of our patients’ well-being and that is the core principle of the ethics of our profession and I think this is dangerous, the way how the court struck down these particular provisions.

Lagman also acknowledges the challenges ahead.
Both say the law, properly implemented, will change the lives of Filipinos.

EDCEL LAGMAN, RH LAW PRINCIPAL AUTHOR: In the implementation, I think the Supreme Court decision declaring the law constitutional is a challenge, both to the executive and to Congress. To the executive – fully and faithfully implement the law, and for Congress, to give appropriate funding in order that reproductive health programs and activities to be implemented fully. And also for Congress to resist attempts to repeal the law or weaken the law…This law is not a population control measure. It’s a health measure, to protect the health of women, mothers, children, adolescents, and infants. It is a human rights law or measure because it guarantees the rights of parents, women, and couples to fully, freely, and responsibly decide the number, the spacing of their children. It’s also an anti-poverty program as well as a veritable agenda for sustainable human development. Eventually, the full implementation of the law would help our economy perk up and we’ll be able to achieve sustainable development.

Story 5: CLASHES WON’T AFFECT GOV’T-MILF PEACE DEAL – DELES

The Philippines says it’s confident the peace deal with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front or MILF will hold despite fresh clashes that left 4 MILF members dead.
The clashes came just two weeks after the government and the MILF signed a peace deal to end decades of conflict.
The military says 18 were killed including 4 members of the MILF when the military launched operations on Friday to capture two top leaders of the Abu Sayyaf.
Government peace negotiator Teresita Deles says the MILF members acted on their own when they helped the Abu Sayyaf.
She adds, “We are still confident that the MILF leadership can bring a huge bulk of their fighters into the fold of the law.”
The peace deal aims to set up an autonomous Muslim area in the Southern Philippines early next year.

Story 6: DOJ SUMMONS CEDRIC LEE OVER TAX EVASION COMPLAINT
The justice department summons controversial businessman Cedric Lee – this time for tax evasion.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue or BIR filed criminal complaints against Izumo Contractors Incorporated and its 3 officers.
Lee is the president and chief executive officer of Izumo.
The BIR says Izumo owes the government P194.47 million or around $4.37 million in taxes.
Lee has standing arrest warrant for allegedly beating comedian-host Vhong Navarro in January.

Story 7: SOCIAL MEDIA POST OF THE DAY
For our social media post of the day:
Tax-filing season just ended and the Bureau of Internal Revenue is running after delinquents.
That includes boxing champ Manny Pacquiao, who’s been chased down by BIR chief Kim Henares for a while now.
Henares’ single-minded pursuit of tax avoiders continue to trigger reactions — comments range from irate to sobering, to funny memes.

Story 8: TWO BACKPACKS DETONATED AS BOSTON GEARS FOR MARATHON
Police detonate two backpacks near the finish line of the Boston Marathon and arrest a suspect on the anniversary of last year’s deadly bombings.
Hundreds of people were evacuated after the backpacks were found at the scene of the twin bombings that killed 3 people a year ago.
Boston police arrest a male suspect dressed in black.
The man carried a knapsack, and was reportedly acting strangely.
This comes on the day the city paid a solemn tribute to the victims and survivors of the marathon bombings last year.
Three people died and more than 260 others injured when two bombs detonated near the finish line of the city’s famous marathon on April 15, 2013.
US leaders will conduct memorial services across the country.
President Barack Obama will observe a moment of silence in the Oval Office.

Story 9: DOZENS STILL MISSING IN SOUTH KOREA FERRY SINKING
South Korea says at least four people died and nearly 300 people are missing after a ferry carrying 459 people capsized off the south coast Wednesday.
The South Korean coastguard says 164 people were rescued.
Television aerial footage shows terrified passengers wearing life jackets climbing into inflatable boats as the ship sank.
The ferry, which sailed out of the western port of Incheon Tuesday evening, ran into trouble some 20 kilometers off the southern island of Byungpoong.
The cause of the accident is not immediately clear, although rescued passengers say the ferry came to a sudden stop after a loud noise.

Story 10: THE wRap: YOUR WORLD IN ONE READ
At number 4, Officials say armed and masked men kidnapped Jordan’s ambassador to Libya as he rode to work in the capital Tripoli.
The gunmen shot at the ambassador’s car and injured his driver.
Tuesday’s incident was the latest targeting of Libyan leaders and foreign diplomats in the country, 3 years after NATO-backed rebels ended the 4-decade reign of autocratic leader Moamer Kadhafi.
Jordanian Prime Minister Abdullah Nsur urges Libyan authorities to work to secure the safe release of the kingdom’s ambassador, Fawaz Aitan.

At number 5, the unmanned submarine searching for the missing Malaysia Flight MH370 is deployed again in the Indian Ocean Wednesday.
After more than 3 weeks of hunting for black box signals, the submarine was deployed for the first time Monday night from the Australian ship Ocean Shield.
That first mission was aborted when the sub reached its maximum operating depth without finding any traces of the plane.

And at number 7, The United Nations weather agency Tuesday warns there’s a good chance of an “El Niño” climate phenomenon in the Pacific Ocean this year.
The weather pattern could bring droughts and heavy rainfall to the rest of the world.
The El Niño phenomenon occurs every two to 7 years.
The last El Niño occurred between June 2009 and May 2010.

 

– 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
	Marga Deona
MASTER EDITOR / PLAYBACK	Exxon Ruebe
	Emerald Hidalgo
	Jaene Zaplan
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR / CAMERAMAN	Charlie Salazar
	Adrian Portugal
	Francis Lopez
	Naoki Mengua
GRAPHICS	Jessica Lazaro
	Raffy de Guzman