Rappler Newscast | May 29, 2014

Today on Rappler.

• The Philippine economy slows down in the first quarter of 2014.
• Digital files from Benhur Luy reveal even the driver of the man they call “Sexy” got a bonus from Napoles.
• The latest on the MH370: Australia rules out the search area in the Indian Ocean.

PHILIPPINE GROWTH SLOWS TO 5.7% IN Q1

The Philippine economy slows down in the first quarter of 2014, as the impact of last year’s natural disasters hit harder than expected.
In the first quarter of 2014, growth slows down to 5.7% from 6.3% in the fourth quarter of 2013 and 7.7% in the first quarter of last year.
Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan says the slow growth is expected because of the disasters that affected the agriculture, trade and tourism sectors.
Last year, the Philippines grew 7.2%, the fastest in Asia after China.
The country also won investor confidence with investor grade ratings and record highs in the stock market.
But the Philippines suffered a series of natural disasters toward the end of last year.
The worst was Typhoon Haiyan or Yolanda that devastated Central Philippines.
But Balisacan says the Philippines’ growth remains the third fastest, next to China’s 7.4% and Malaysia’s 6.2%.
He says he is confident the country can meet its growth target of 6.5 to 7.5% for the full year 2014.

AFTER PEACE DEAL, ARMM INVESTMENTS SOAR

After the signing of a peace pact, investments in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao or ARMM soar.
For the first 5 months of the year, investments reach P1.62 billion — more than the 1.46 billion-peso total for the whole of 2013.
Regional Board of Investments-ARMM chairman Ishak Mastura says investors view the signing of the peace deal as a “removal of the major risk of flare-up of violent political conflict and insurgency in the region.”
The Philippine government and Muslim rebels signed a peace deal in March, after 17 years of conflict.
The ARMM expects investments to hit a record of at least P2 billion this year.

PH, CANADA SIGN AIR PACT, AGREE TO DOUBLE FLIGHTS

The Philippines and Canada sign a deal to double the number of flights between the two countries to boost investments and tourism.
The Civil Aeronautics Board says the agreement will allow 14 flights a week.
This is the fifth air pact finalized by the Philippines this year.
The Aquino administration is pursuing air talks as part of its “pocket” open skies policy.
The policy will help the country meet its target of attracting 10 million tourists by 2016.

LUY FILES: EVEN SEXY’S DRIVER GOT NAPOLES BONUS

Senator TG Guingona releases the digital files of pork barrel scam whistleblower Benhur Luy Thursday.
Luy’s files detail the daily transactions and activities of alleged mastermind Janet Napoles
– from kickbacks, to party invites, to lavish birthday gifts, down to Chinese rice cake purchases.
The files also reveal Napoles did not just focus on high-level officials.
To cover her tracks, she also allegedly paid off inspectors and auditors regularly.
Even the driver of a lawmaker codenamed Sexy got a Christmas bonus.
Luy earlier testified “Sexy” was the codename for one of the senators Napoles transacted with.
Newspaper reports identified Senator Jinggoy Estrada as “Sexy,” because of his visible weight loss.
Three senators face plunder charges over the scam: Senators Bong Revilla, Juan Ponce Enrile, and Estrada.
The case against the three is based on an audit report covering 2007 to 2009… but Luy’s records show they had transactions with Napoles even before 2007.
While the focus of the investigation has been on the pork barrel, Luy’s files listed other types of funds like budgetary insertions and savings.
Although not as frequent as the 3 opposition senators, the names of other officials appear in the files like former agriculture undersecretary Jocjoc Bolante, Senate President Franklin Drilon, Senator Miriam Santiago, and former presidential son Mikey Arroyo.

NAPOLES ADMITS MISTAKE IN PORK SCAM LIST

The camp of Janet Napoles admits a mistake in the list of lawmakers implicated in the corruption scandal.
The list submitted to the justice department included Cebu 1st district
Representative Gerald Gullas.
Napoles’ lawyer Bruce Rivera clarifies, Napoles transacted with former congressman Eduardo Gullas.
The younger Gullas is a neophyte lawmaker who won his first congressional seat during the May 2013 elections.
It’s not the first time Napoles’ list was tainted by supposed encoding errors.
Shortly after the release of her initial list, Napoles asked that Senator JV Ejercito’s name be removed because of an encoding mistake.

NO KID SURVIVES TACLOBAN TENT FIRE

The Ocenar family survived super typhoon Haiyan 6 months ago.
But Maria Eliza Ocenar and her young children did not survive the fire that razed their tent in Tacloban City Wednesday.
7-year-old John Mark died hours after his mother and 5 siblings succumbed to their injuries from the fire, which burned around 85% of their bodies.
Tacloban Mayor Alfred Romualdez says the fire was likely triggered by a gas lamp, which spread quickly throughout the makeshift house made of fabric.
Romualdez says around 800 families remain in tents after the typhoon, exposed to similar hazards.
Romualdez blames red tape in government for the lack of budget to supply permanent shelters.

FLEE LIBYA, PHILIPPINES URGES NATIONALS

The Philippines urges its nationals to flee Libya as it raises crisis alert level 3 in the strife-torn country.
The Department of Foreign Affairs or DFA says the Philippine government will shoulder the repatriation cost.
There are over 13,000 Filipinos in Libya.
The DFA raises alert levels to voluntary repatriation, with Libya believed to be at the brink of civil war.
Earlier this month, a dramatic spike in lawlessness in Libya’s two largest cities stirred concern abroad and in oil markets.

OBAMA WARNS AGAINST ‘AGGRESSION’ IN SOUTH CHINA SEA

US President Barack Obama says the United States is ready to respond to China’s “aggression” toward its neighbors at sea but says Washington should lead by example by ratifying a key treaty.
He says the US can’t try to resolve problems in the South China Sea without first ratifying the Law of the Sea Convention.
Senators of the rival Republican Party refuse to ratify the treaty, saying the UN convention would override US sovereignty.
Obama delivers the remarks in a speech to US military cadets at West Point Wednesday.
In a wide-ranging speech on foreign policy, Obama emphasizes his vision of America’s role in the world
He says those who suggest America is in decline are “either misreading history or engaged in partisan politics.”
Obama says America should strike a middle ground between isolationism and overreach.
He adds, “U.S. military action cannot be the only — or even primary — component of our leadership in every instance.
Just because we have the best hammer does not mean that every problem is a nail.”

INDIAN OCEAN ‘DISCOUNTED’ AS MH370 CRASH ZONE

The area of the Indian Ocean where transmissions believed to have come from the missing Malaysian plane is ruled out as the crash zone.
After a lengthy underwater search for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH 370 the Australian-led Joint Agency Coordination Center or JACC says the area can now be “discounted as the final resting place of MH370.”
In early April, a mini sub scoured the ocean floor after ping-emitting beacons, believed to have come from the plane’s black box, were detected.
The plane vanished on March 8 with 239 people on board.
The search effort enters a new phase: using equipment to scan the unmapped ocean bed to define a search zone of up to 60,000 square kilometers.

MERKEL TOPS FORBES ‘POWERFUL WOMEN’ LIST

For the fourth consecutive year, German Chancellor Angela Merkel tops Forbes Magazine’s list of the world’s most powerful women.
The magazine describes Merkel as one who “broke through the ranks of Germany’s male-dominated politics to become the first woman to serve as Chancellor.”
Forbes has named Merkel the most powerful woman nine times.
The list released Wednesday includes US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, philanthropist Melinda Gates, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff…
International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde, and former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton.

THE wRap: YOUR WORLD IN ONE READ

wRap #3: THAILAND GOV’T BLOCKS FACEBOOK

Thailand’s information technology ministry blocks Facebook and plans to hold talks with other social networking sites to stop protests against the military government.
As social media users react with alarm, the army went on national TV to deny it blocked Facebook.
Some users are unconvinced and say it could be a trial run for a possible future blackout or a warning shot to coup critics.

wRap #8: APPLE’S BIGGEST BUY: BEATS MUSIC FOR $3B

Apple announces plans to buy high-end audio equipment maker Beats Music and Beats Electronics to the tune of $3 billion.
It’s Apple’s largest acquisition ever.
Bringing Beats into the Apple fold will weave the iTunes Radio service into more devices.
The move is expected to help Apple ramp up its efforts to counter the successful models of streaming services like Pandora, Spotify, and others.

wRap #10: BELOVED POET MAYA ANGELOU DIES AT 86

Celebrated African-American author, poet and civil rights activist Maya Angelou dies Wednesday evening, Manila time.
She was 86.
Angelou is best known for her autobiographies that focused on her childhood and early adulthood, including “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” from 1969.
In her last post on Twitter, Angelou wrote: “Listen to yourself and in that quietude you might hear the voice of God.”

For the full top 10 visit Rappler.com’s ‘the wRap.’

SOCIAL MEDIA POST OF THE DAY

The world mourns the passing of Maya Angelou.
Social media is abuzz with photos and quotes from the “Phenomenal Woman.”
Some of those who paid tribute to Angelou are big stars…
like actress Emma Watson, singers Beyonce and Rihanna, and talk show host Oprah.

– 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