Rappler Newscast | July 12, 2013

Rappler.com

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The gov and the MILF extend talks. 3 Filipino nurses are rescued after being abducted in Libya. Obama warns China not to use coercion.

Today on Rappler.

  • For the 2nd time, the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front extend talks, after failing to agree on the wealth-sharing scheme. 
  • Three Filipino nurses are rescued after being abducted in Libya.
  • US President Obama warns China not to use coercion in its maritime disputes with its neighbors.
 

Editor’s Note: Story “HOW PH GOT OFF EU’S AVIATION BLACKLIST” erroneously showed graphics that says “NEW AIRCRAFTS”. It should read “NEW AIRCRAFT”.

Story 1: STILL NO DEAL: PEACE TALKS EXTENDED ANEW
Despite extending the talks for one more day, the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front or MILF fail to agree on a deal.
Peace panels from both sides leave the negotiating table past 5 pm Friday without signing any annexes for the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro.
Negotiators though agree to extend the talks for one more day– Saturday.
Both sides could not arrive at a compromise on how to share wealth between the envisioned Bangsamoro political entity and the central government.
Sources tell Rappler the government wants a 50-50 wealth-sharing arrangement for revenues from fossil fuels, gas, and oil.
But the MILF is pushing for a 75-25 share in favor of the Bangsamoro.
An agreement on wealth sharing would have been a breakthrough since its contents are also related to power-sharing and normalization.
Talks reach a near breakdown when the panels left the negotiating table Thursday – the supposed last day of the talks – without any deal.
On Thursday, MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal said there was “limited chance” they were returning, but the government managed to persuade the MILF to extend this round of negotiations.

Story 2: SUSPECTED MNLF MEMBERS KIDNAP 12 CIVILIANS IN BASILAN
Alleged members of the Moro National Liberation Front kidnap at least 12 civilians in Basilan Thursday.
The military’s Western Mindanao Command says about 50 kidnappers took 12 residents of Tipo-Tipo town hostage.
Four minors were already released.
The military says the group is led by a certain Commander Hassan.
Authorities say clan war or rido may be the motive for the kidnapping.
The military adds, it may be the MNLF’s retaliation for the kidnapping of Commander Hassan’s 3 daughters, who were abducted July 9 in Basilan.

Story 3: VITUG VLOGS: REDEFINING GENOCIDE
Rappler’s editor at large Marites Vitug says she’s floored by arguments raised by critics of the reproductive health law before the Supreme Court.
Find out why in her video blog.

We remember Francisco Tatad in his youthful days.
He read the historic martial law order in 1972.
Recently he made another similarly unsettling declaration.
Before the Supreme Court, men and women of reason and logic, the former senator likened the Reproductive Health law to “genocide.”
The law still remains on paper 4 months after Congress passed it because the Court stopped the landmark legislation.
Really, is the RH law the equivalent of Rwanda’s genocide? Is it the same as the mass killings of one tribe by another? Is the RH law a killing machine?
I am floored.
For a writer, Tatad takes extreme liberty with words.
He is splashing drama on a cut-and-dried law, where what is needed are precise understanding, clarity of thought, and sobriety.
This is Marites Vitug for Vitug Vlogs.

Story 4: FILIPINO NURSES RESCUED AFTER LIBYA ABDUCTION
The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs confirms 3 Filipino nurses are rescued in Libya after they were kidnapped.
On Friday, DFA spokesman Raul Hernandez says a Libyan male kidnapped one female and two male Filipino nurses Monday night in downtown Sebha.
The kidnapper brought them to an isolated area in the city’s outskirts.
One of the male nurses escaped and contacted the police.
Police rescued the two other nurses and brought the 3 to the police station for debriefing.
Hernandez says the information came from Philippine Ambassador to Libya Oscar Orcine.
Orcine is waiting for the official report of the Libyan police, and will relay the matter to Libya’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to ensure better security for overseas Filipino workers in the country.
Migrante vice chairman John Leonard Monterona says the Philippine embassy and labor officials should help arrange the nurses’ transfer to Tripoli, which is –quote– “relatively peaceful now.”

Story 5: SAUDI PRINCESS CHARGED WITH HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN US
A Saudi princess is charged in California with enslaving a Kenyan woman, forcing her to work in abusive conditions.
On Wednesday, police arrest Meshael Alayban, one of 6 wives of a grandson of the Saudi King Abdullah.
She is accused of forcing a Kenyan woman to work 16 hour days for a monthly salary of just $220.
The unnamed Kenyan woman tells US authorities Alayban withheld her passport and refused to allow her to return to Kenya.
When police arrested Alayban, they found 4 Filipinos who could also be victims of human trafficking.
Those cases are still being investigated.
If convicted, Alayban could face up to 12 years in jail.

Story 6: WORLD BANK ON REDUCING POVERTY BY 2030
Axel van Trotsenburg of the World Bank talks about initiatives to reduce extreme poverty by 2030.
Trotsenburg heads the World Bank’s strategy in supporting the east Asia and the Pacific region.
He says the challenge in the Philippines is to keep aiming for inclusive growth that trickles down to the poor despite a difficult global economic environment.
One of the administration’s poverty alleviation measures is the conditional cash transfer program, which critics brand as dole outs.
Trotsenburg, who worked in Latin American countries which implemented similar programs, says those countries benefited from it.

AXEL VAN TROTSENBURG, VICE PRESIDENT FOR EAST ASIA & PACIFIC, WORLD BANK: The World Bank is a firm believer in this system not as a dole-out, but to provide hope and opportunity for the ones who have been excluded…Sometimes this is important that there is a financial incentive that against child labor, the children stay in school, finish primary school and go hopefully to secondary school. We need to see that this has been helpful. For it we have seen better health outcomes, better school outcomes and attendance rates in the countries that benefited from this.

Story 7: HOW PH GOT OFF EU’S AVIATION BLACKLIST
After earning a bad reputation in aviation safety, the Philippines sends the message it cleaned up its mess in commercial aviation.
Lala Rimando reports.

Starting July 12, the Philippines and its biggest airline are off the list of banned carriers in Europe’s skies.

GUY LEDOUX, EU AMBASSADOR TO THE PHILIPPINES: This is a tremendous achievement in such a short period of time.This decision is very encouraging and is the first success of CAAP.

In the 1990’s, Philippine carriers were barred from mounting new flights in America.
In 2008, the US Federal Aviation Authority downgraded the Philippines to category two.
and in 2010, the EU blacklisted the Philippines.
The foreign groups said the Philippines had no expertise and funds to cope with 3 major developments in aviation: the new security standards set after the 9/11 terror attacks; the rise of the budget airlines; and the advent modern types of aircraft.
This led to the creation of  the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines in 2008.

LALA RIMANDO, REPORTING: Decades of politicking, pressure from commercial interests and the accommodation of unqualified individuals in government positions were taking its toll on airline regulation.

CAAP reaps praises for its hard work.

GUY LEDOUX, EU AMBASSADOR TO THE PHILIPPINES: Corrective actions were progressively undertaken by CAAP, particularly after the appointment of General Hotchkiss in June 2012. An assessment by ICAO in October 2012 showed improvements.

Retired General William Hotchkiss is the fourth director general since 2012.
He is also credited for telling Cebu Pacific to hold off applying to fly to Europe until it addresses safety issues found in 4 airport incidents the past year.

WILLIAM HOTCHKISS III, AVIATION INDUSTRY REGULATOR: The idea is to make Cebu Pacific safer for everybody else, not just for Europeans, but especially for Filipinos.

It’s a sweet comeback for rival Philippine Airlines, which took a financial hit when it couldn’t deploy its new and expensive planes to these lucrative routes.

RAMON ANG, PHILIPPINE AIRLINES PRESIDENT: We’ll fly to Amsterdam, London, Paris and Rome. As you all know, we recently acquired long-range Airbus aircraft. I think we will be able to launch our first flight by September or October.

Being taken off the blacklist means the Philippines is no longer seen as an unsafe destination — a shot in the arm for tourism and national pride.
Lala Rimando, Rappler, Manila.

Story 8: OBAMA WARNS CHINA AGAINST ‘COERCION’ AT SEA
US President Barack Obama warns China Thursday against using force in its tense maritime disputes with its neighbors.
In a White House statement, Obama urges China to –quote– “manage its maritime disputes with its neighbors peacefully without the use of intimidation or coercion.”
In recent months, tensions build up between China and Japan, with Tokyo accusing Beijing of sending ships to exert its claim over islands in the East China Sea.
The Philippines and Vietnam also criticize China for allegedly using assertive means to lay claim over the South China Sea.
Obama meets with Chinese officials in Washington for talks on different issues.
State Councilor Yang Jiechi says China supports “freedom of navigation in all oceans” and adds it will “continue to firmly implement its policy.”
Since 2010, the United States has repeatedly spoken out over the South China Sea disputes.

Story 9: THE wRap: YOUR WORLD IN ONE READ
At number 6, Irish lawmakers vote in favor of controversial new legislation which will allow abortion in limited cases where the mother’s life is at risk.
The bill passes easily as the government enjoys a large majority and the support of some members of the opposition.
It now goes to a vote in the upper house.
Abortion laws in Ireland became the focus of intense debate following the death of an Indian woman who sought abortion when told she was miscarrying.

At number 7, a damaged Japanese nuclear plant is suspected to be leaking radiation-contaminated water into the Pacific Ocean.
News reports quote the Nuclear Regulation Authority as saying it’s –quote– “highly suspected” that radioactive water at the
Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station seeped into the ground and contaminated the sea.
Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co says levels of radioactive material in groundwater rose sharply at the complex.

At number 8, Astronomers say they found another blue planet a long way from Earth — not a water world, but a scorching, hostile place where it rains glass, sideways.
For the first time, scientists from NASA and its European counterpart, ESA, determine the true color of an exoplanet, or celestial bodies which orbit stars other than our own Sun.
They conclude that a gas giant 63 light-years from our own planet is a deep cobalt blue, “reminiscent of Earth’s color as seen from space.”
This planet orbits very close to its host star and has an atmosphere of over 1000 degrees Celsius.
The planet is one of the nearest exoplanets to Earth that can be seen crossing the face of its star.

At number 9, Nokia unveils its new flagship smartphone, the Lumia 1020, at its Zoom Reinvented event in New York July 12.
The Lumia 1020 is a Windows 8-powered smartphone with a 41 megapixel camera that is roughly the size of other 4.5 inch smartphones in the market today.
Building on its #ZoomReinvented theme, Nokia also promotes a new feature that allows users to shoot now and zoom later on a photograph.

And at number 10, “Give Up Tomorrow,” the Marty Syjuco-produced documentary is nominated in the News and Documentary Emmy Awards.
The film tells the story of Paco Larrañaga, the primary suspect in the rape-slay of Marijoy and Jacqueline Chiong.
Its message: Larrañaga, in prison for 16 years this 2013, was wrongfully convicted.

Story 10: LEBRON JAMES COMING TO MANILA
LeBron James is coming to Manila.
The 4-time NBA MVP and 2-time champion forward of the Miami Heat will visit the Philippines on July 23 in a tour arranged by Nike Philippines.
James joins a long list of NBA superstars flocking to the country this year, as part of the NBA Global Games Philippines matchup between the Houston Rockets and Eastern Conference finalist Indiana Pacers.

– 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
  Naoki Mengua
GRAPHICS Jessica Lazaro
  Matthew Hebrona

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