Today on Rappler.
- Reproductive Health bill supporters question the Church’s claims it has the numbers to junk the bill.
- The United States blocks a bid that would put the Internet under UN control.
- 4 Asian badminton teams are kicked out of the London Olympics.
Story 1: RH BILL BACKERS HIT BISHOPS’ SCIENCE
Reproductive Health bill advocates debunk the claim of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines that 140 legislators will vote against the bill in a House session next week.
In a forum, academics from the University of the Philippines and the Ateneo de Manila University say CBCP’s numbers are generated through “questionable methods of research…based on hearsay reports of what are likely to be biased interviews.”
The UP and Ateneo professors present figures showing 143 legislators will vote for the bill.
They say these numbers are “based on actual interviews with legislators themselves or their office staff.”
Akbayan spokesperson Risa Hontiveros sees the hand of former President Gloria Arroyo in the bid to delay and eventually junk the bill.
RISA HONTIVEROS, AKBAYAN SPOKESPERSON: Handang handa itong Catholic majority, bahagi ng Philippine majority, handang handang mag-yes sa RH bill pero siguradong magno-no kay GMA. Kasi sa karamihan ng Pilipino, si GMA, unfortunately, ay kumakatawan pa rin sa klase ng pulitika na nakaka-alienate sa mga tao.
The August 7 vote will determine if the House will move on to amendments on the bill.
Story 2: DE LIMA APPEALS IBP VERDICT ON DISBARMENT
President Benigno Aquino III admits Malacañang’s legal staff is helping Justice Secretary Leila de Lima deal with problems in her bid to be the next chief justice.
Asked by reporters about De Lima’s issues with the Judicial and Bar Council, the President says “Our legal staff is working on it…it’s best to wait for the JBC process to end before I can make a comment.”
De Lima faces an Integrated Bar of the Philippines probe on the disbarment cases filed against her.
This could disqualify her from the JBC’s shortlist of chief justice candidates.
Rappler sources say De Lima is asking the IBP to dismiss the disbarment cases against her without conducting a formal probe.
De Lima argues the Supreme Court did not explicitly state that they found merit in the disbarment cases when they referred them to the IBP.
But in its July 28 ruling, the IBP board says the High Court would have dismissed the cases if it did not find basis to have the cases probed.
Story 3: CONGRESS PULLOUT FROM JBC CHILDISH, SAYS CHAVEZ
Former Solicitor General Frank Chavez says Congress’ statement it might boycott the search process for the next Chief Justice is -quote- “a childish threat”.
Last week, Congress pulled out of the interview of candidates pending the resolution of the issue.
The Supreme Court holds oral arguments on the issue of representation after Congress appealed the Court’s decision on having only one representative in the JBC.
Chavez filed the petition saying the JBC composition was unconstitutional.
During today’s Supreme Court oral arguments, Chavez responds to the statement of Sen Joker Arroyo that the Senate and the House might withdraw from the JBC if only one Congress representative will be allowed in the body.
FRANK CHAVEZ, FORMER SOLICITOR GENERAL: It’s a childish threat because the solution does not lie in boycotting the JBC. The solution does not lie in refusing to send a representative to the JBC. The solution lies, number 1, in honoring the constitution, sending only one representative…Because the court considers the word ‘Congress’ in its generic sense, meaning the legislative department.
Story 4: ALMENDRAS WANTS TO ‘DEPOLITICIZE’ ENERGY
Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras says he’s fighting an uphill battle against political interests and corruption.
Almendras hopes the fight to ‘depoliticize’ energy would carry on after his term ends.
Rappler sources say Almendras will soon be named to another post in the cabinet.
The energy secretary and the President stop short of officially confirming the revamp.
In a country of more than 7000 different islands, the national energy agenda is interlocked with local needs and politics.
Almendras says that although it made him unpopular he is making local power cooperatives more accountable.
JOSE RENE ALMENDRAS, ENERGY SECRETARY: I am persona non grata in a few provinces, but the fact is you need to depoliticize the electric cooperatives. I have suspended, fired (members of) electric cooperatives for doing things they should not be doing. Quite a number of my death threats have come from these issues…We’ve instituted certain measures, such as relatives of politicians to a certain degree cannot sit in a board. Why? Because if you’re with me, you have electricity. If you voted against me, you don’t have electricity…It is so sad that in some areas (during) the election for an electric cooperative, the vote buying is even higher than that of the barangay elections. Why? Because it can be a big amount. It can be a few hundred million pesos a month.
Story 5: ANOMALIES PERSIST IN GOVT ANTI-POVERTY PROGRAM
Anomalies in the conditional cash transfer program persist despite government assurances these problems have been addressed.
In its 2011 audit report on the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, the Commission on Audit says the government fails to weed out ineligible families for the program.
COA says some of the program’s beneficiaries are not “extremely poor” but they continue to receive monthly cash aid.
For this year, the CCT was allocated 39.44 billion pesos, up from last year’s 21.194 billion pesos.
Social Welfare Secretary Dinky Soliman says the agency cleaned its lists of beneficiary families who had double entries or were above the poverty threshold.
But COA says the problem remains, with some beneficiaries allegedly employed in government.
Story 6: GENER LEAVES 23 DEAD IN PH
Tropical storm Gener, international codename Saola, hits land over Taiwan early Thursday.
NDRRMC says it leaves 23 people dead and 21 injured in the Philippines.
Twenty-nine roads and 3 bridges have also been damaged.
Pagasa’s 5 P.M. bulletin says Gener has weakened and is downgraded from typhoon to a tropical storm.
Public storm warning signal number one is still up over the Batanes group of islands.
It continues to affect the Southwest Monsoon, bringing rain over Luzon and Western Visayas.
The rest of the country will be partly cloudy to cloudy with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms.
Moderate to strong winds blowing from the southwest will prevail over the Philippines.
Story 7: US TO BLOCK BID GIVING UN CONTROL OF INTERNET
The United States opposes a bid to revise a global treaty that would bring the Internet under UN control.
Proposals by Russia and China call for an expansion of authority of a UN agency which sets global telecom rules.
US officials and technology leaders express concern these proposals threaten the openness of the Internet.
Some say it could give governments greater authority to filter or censor information.
Story 8: THE wRap: YOUR WORLD IN ONE READ
At number 1, President Barack Obama signs a secret order authorizing US support for Syrian rebels locked in a battle to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad.
The directive was in an intelligence “finding” authorized early this year allowing clandestine action by the CIA.
White House officials declined to comment but publicly say they are providing “non-lethal” assistance.
Violence has escalated dramatically in main cities like Aleppo.
This follows last month’s failure of the UN Security Council to agree on tougher sanctions against Assad’s regime.
At number 8, The State Department reports the number of worldwide terror attacks fell to 10,283 last year, down from 11,641 in 2010, the lowest since 2005.
It traces the decline to the death of Osama bin Laden and other top Al Qaeda members last year.
The report says bin Laden’s death triggered a “decline that will be difficult to reverse.”
The same report says Mindanao remains a terrorist haven, noting weak government control, lingering poverty and Islamic minority resentment.
At number 9, Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg’s sister Arielle finds out she now works for Google after the tech giant acquired Wildfire.
In a Facebook post, Arielle admits the situation will be awkward for her and her famous older sibling Mark.
Arielle writes “Not gonna lie… this feels pretty awkward.”
And at number 10, In China, where the headhunter industry is not as developed, companies are turning to social media to find potential hires.
Auditing and consulting company Deloitte offers a “virtual office tour” that’s built like a videogame, allowing visitors to visit meeting rooms and talk to employees.
When it needed interns, the company filled the vacancies within hours from its online community.
In a survey of HR professionals worldwide, 46% of respondents say social media sites are effective tools for recruiting and finding quality candidates.
Story 9: NBA CHAMPION FIL-AM COACH SPOELSTRA BACK IN PH
Head coach Erik Spoelstra of NBA Champions Miami Heat is in the Philippines for the NBA trophy tour.
He says he’s excited to be back in the country for his fourth visit, this time with the championship trophy.
Spoelstra also visits President Benigno Aquino III and gives him a Miami Heat jersey.
The Fil-Am coach, who regrets not playing in the PBA, watched Game 5 of the finals between Rain or Shine and B-Meg Llamados. Here’s what he had to say.
ERIK SPOELSTRA, MIAMI HEAT HEADCOACH: In terms of what I noticed about last night, no questions about it. I can limit it to one word: physicality…It was great to see, I like to see the passion. I wasn’t rooting for either team, although I have a friendship with Tim Cone, but I decided to see the competition, I hope that there are 7 games.
Story 10: BADMINTON TEAMS KICKED OUT FOR LOSING ON PURPOSE
4 badminton teams were kicked out on day 5 of the London Olympics.
Natashya Gutierrez reports.
Eight doubles players from Indonesia, South Korea and China are disqualified after trying to lose on purpose to get easier matches in the next rounds.
Officials agree their actions contradict Olympic values.
In the pool, swimming’s world governing body FINA defends China’s Ye Shiwen who is caught in the middle of doping accusations.
The 16-year-old has set two world records, sparking speculations after her lightning-fast records.
FINA says Ye passed four drug tests in the past year and should be given the benefit of the doubt.
Less than half of Team Philippines is left to compete after swimmer Jasmine Alkhaldi and archer Mark Javier bow out of the Games.
Alkhaldi finishes 34th of 48 overall in the women’s 100m freestyle, while Javier also fails to advance.
Javier loses to American Ellison Brady in the men’s individual round of 32, 7-1.
Five Filipinos still have a chance to bring a medal home.
Outside the Games, tragedy strikes when a British cyclist dies after getting hit by an Olympics shuttle bus carrying mediamen from the Olympic Park.
The driver of the bus is under investigation for dangerous driving.
Natashya Gutierrez, Rappler, Manila
– Rappler.com
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