Rappler Newscast | May 17, 2013

Story 1: 3 NEW SENATORS PROCLAIMED
The National Board of Canvassers proclaims Bam Aquino, Koko Pimentel, and Sonny Trillanes senators of the Republic of the Philippines.
But only Aquino attends the ceremonies, with Trillanes out of town and Pimentel skipping the event.
Pimentel calls the proclamation ‘premature.’
He says the remaining uncanvassed votes can still change the result.
Based on the Commission on Elections’ 12th canvass report, Bam Aquino has 14,086,288 votes; Koko Pimentel, 13,466,306 votes; and Sonny Trillanes, 12,958,307 votes.

Story 2: COMELEC’S DEFENSE: WE USED FAX TALLIES
The Commission on Elections says it partly based its proclamation of the top 6 senators Thursday on faxed tallies.
On Thursday, the National Board of Canvassers proclaimed 6 senators after  only 24% of certificates of canvass were counted.
The Comelec earlier ordered local canvassers who failed to transmit their results on Wednesday to fax directly to the National Board of Canvassers based in Manila.
Comelec says it used these tallies, called grouped canvass reports, to project the number of COCs not yet received by the NBOC.
In Resolution No. 9706 released Friday, the poll body says it used these validated tallies as basis to determine the votes obtained by the candidates for senator and to determine whether the standing of those proclaimed as senators will be affected by the remaining canvass not yet received by the NBOC.

Story 3: WHY NANCY BINAY SKIPPED HER PROCLAMATION
Nancy Binay skips her proclamation ceremony at the Philippine International Convention Center Thursday.
Despite her absence, the National Board of Canvassers named Binay a senator.
Commission on Elections Chairman Sixto Brillantes says the proclamation is valid.

SIXTO BRILLANTES, COMELEC CHAIR: The certificate of proclamation is the evidence of your proclamation. You have it already and it is signed by all the commissioners. So as far as we are concerned she, Nancy Binay has already been proclaimed.

Before the proclamation, sources from the United Nationalist Alliance say Binay thought twice about attending because of UNA’s motion to postpone the partial proclamation of senatorial candidates.
On Wednesday, UNA filed a motion to suspend the proclamation, citing an alleged breach in the access of election data.
Comelec denied the motion and proceeded with the proclamation.

Story 4: BRILLANTES TO QUIT IF PROCLAMATION FAILS
Poll chief Sixto Brillantes says he would resign if the 6 candidates proclaimed Thursday are dislodged from the winning lineup.
On Thursday, the NBOC proclaimed the 6 senators based on only 24% of the COCs.
In an interview with reporters, Brillantes says he guarantees the 6 senators will end up winners after the board tallies all certificates of canvass.
He adds, “I will fight for it. I will resign if the 6 get dislodged.”
The number of voters in the canvassed COCs right before the proclamation was 13.38 million.
That’s around 36.8% of the projected voter turnout of 36.4 million.

Story 5: VITUG VLOGS: SURPRISE US, GRACE!
The Commission on Elections proclaims 6 new senators Thursday, including race frontrunner Grace Poe.
Rappler’s editor at large Marites Vitug says her win shows the continuing influence of showbiz.
Here’s her video blog.

Grace Poe’s victory shows the power of showbiz.
The name of her father, the late movie icon Fernando Poe Jr., spelled magic.
A focus group discussion her team conducted showed that people believed her father was cheated in his presidential bid in 2004.
And they wanted to right this wrong.
This sentiment further boosted her chances of winning.
There was another plus factor: she ran a “smart and disciplined” campaign, says Sen. Serge Osmeña, a veteran of national campaigns.
Grace stuck to her message of being her father’s daughter out to help the poor. And she worked hard to get this across—in her ads, sorties, rallies, and debates.
During the campaign, Grace said she saw widespread poverty. Inequity, indeed, is the most pressing and disturbing reality in our country today.
How will she address this once she gets to the Senate?
Grace, surprise us! The public expects much from you.
This is Marites Vitug for VitugVlogs.

Story 6: DOJ TO TAIWAN: ‘YOU JUST CAN’T COME HERE’
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima says the Taiwanese government cannot just send investigators for the killing of a Taiwanese fisherman.
De Lima says Taiwan has to make an “official request” to the Manila Economic and Cultural Office before conducting any probe.
She adds, without Taiwan’s request, it would be the government’s “obligation” to investigate the killing through an independent body.
De Lima’s statements come after investigators from Taiwan arrive in Manila Thursday to investigate the killing of a 65-year-old fisherman.
Last week, the Philippine Coast Guard admitted they shot the fisherman after his vessel illegally sailed into Philippine waters.
To retaliate, Taiwan banned the hiring of new workers from the Philippines.

Story 7: THE wRap: YOUR WORLD IN ONE READ
At number 4, Indonesia’s foreign minister calls for a new treaty spanning across Asia to help build trust.
During a visit to Washington, Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa says a treaty could help end — quote — “the all-too-familiar vicious cycle of tensions” in Asia and encourage confidence by bringing countries together in their goals.
Natalegawa says an “Indo-Pacific-Wide Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation” would fit with the ASEAN bloc’s Treaty of Amity and Cooperation, which bans the use of force in settling disputes in Southeast Asia.

At number 7, Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev wrote a note before his capture, in which he called the victims “collateral damage” for US action in Afghanistan and Iraq.
CBS News reports Tsarnaev also left a message on the inside wall of the boat where he hid from police, saying: “When you attack one Muslim, you attack all Muslims.”
The twin explosions near the finish line killed three people and wounded more than 260.

And at number 10, football mega star David Beckham announces his retirement after 20 years.
The former England captain makes the announcement shortly after winning the Ligue 1 title with French giants Paris Saint-Germain, making him the first Englishman to win league championships in four different countries.
He bows out from the game at the same time as his Manchester United mentor Alex Ferguson, who handed Beckham his professional debut in 1993.

Newscast production staff