SUMMARY
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Tonight on Rappler.
- Senator Juan Ponce Enrile is detained in a police hospital.
- Terrorist group ISIS takes full control of Syria’s main oil sources.
- Indonesia’s presidential contenders turn to social media to win the youth vote.
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TEMPORARY HOSPITAL ARREST FOR ENRILE
Senator Juan Ponce Enrile is now in detention at a police camp hospital.
Enrile surrenders Friday at police headquarters Camp Crame following an arrest warrant issued by anti-graft court Sandiganbayan.
Enrile faces graft and plunder charges filed by the Ombudsman.
The Sandiganbayan also denies a motion for bail filed by Enrile.
This comes a month after Enrile was charged for allegedly receiving millions of pesos in kickbacks from public funds diverted to bogus projects.
Police take Enrile’s mugshots and fingerprints inside Crame’s multi-purpose hall.
A doctor examines him and Enrile’s blood pressure reportedly reaches 190/90.
The doctor decides the 90-year old senator should be detained at the PNP hospital instead of the custodial center where Senators Bong Revilla and Jinggoy Estrada are detained.
This is not the first time Enrile has been arrested.
In 1990, Enrile was arrested on charges of rebellion against the Corazon Aquino administration.
He was arrested for a second time in 2001 for his alleged involvement in a failed Malacanang siege staged by supporters of former president Joseph Estrada.
Both charges were dismissed for lack of merit.
Earlier, Enrile’s fellow senators Bong Revilla and Jinggoy Estrada surrendered to authorities before their arrest warrants could be served.
The two are detained in the Philippine National Police Custodial Center.
COURT DENIES GIGI REYES’ PLEA TO SUSPEND PROCEEDINGS
The Sandiganbayan orders the arrest of Senator Enrile’s former aide Gigi Reyes Friday.
This comes after the court denies her plea to suspend proceedings in her plunder and graft cases.
Reyes is one of Enrile’s co-accused.
She submits to the Sandiganbayan Friday afternoon to submit to its jurisdiction.
The court orders that she be detained at the Quezon City Jail.
The court also requires the jail warden to report within 3 days from notice if facilities are adequate to fully secure Reyes.
As of Friday, Reyes is detained temporarily at the Sandiganbayan until further orders.
PLUNDER, GRAFT AND ATTEMPTS TO AMEND CHARGES
The pork barrel scam cases are now in the hands of the Sandiganbayan.
Government prosecutors from the Ombudsman will go up against private lawyers from the defense team.
De La Salle University College of Law Dean Jose Manuel Diokno says the government’s case will stand a chance if private prosecutors come in.
JOSE MANUEL DIOKNO, DEAN, DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF LAW: I think that they would benefit a lot if private prosecutors get involved in the case because the mechanics of conducting a trial…sad to say, I would have more confidence in the private prosecutors than with public prosecutors.
Are they ready to do battle with veteran lawyers?
Let’s just say that they’re at a tremendous disadvantage both in terms of skills and in terms of resources. Unfortunately, the best of our litigators never end up in government, most of them end up in private firms.
Diokno cites the failed bid of the Ombudsman prosecutors to amend the charge sheet against Senators Bong Revilla and Jinggoy Estrada.
The prosecutors withdrew their motion to amend Estrada’s
information after the court warned the senator might be released.
But Diokno says the prosecutors should have stood their ground.
He says the motion could have been accepted because the amendments do not change the charge to another crime.
JOSE MANUEL DIOKNO, DEAN, DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF LAW: I disagree with the statement that they would have to go free. If the amendment changes the charge, let’s say from murder to homicide or another crime, if you remove people from among the accused, then that would be the consequence. But the amendments here are not like that. When you go to court, you stand your ground, when you go to court, you never back down. If you filed something, that means you have absolute conviction that’s the right thing to do.
Diokno warns, the defense team will take advantage of every blunder the prosecution team makes.
Diokno says the Ombudsman should make sure there won’t be room for doubt… in the evidence and testimony they present to the court.
JOSE MANUEL DIOKNO, DEAN, DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF LAW: I’m hoping the Ombudsman’s office is preparing its witnesses carefully and the exhibits that they will present. It’s very technical but if they fail for example to authenticate all those records of Benhur Luy, that case will crumble just on the fact that they were unable to authenticate the evidence. And if the testimonies of the witnesses vary greatly from what they said in the Senate, again that would be exploited by the defense.
The pork barrel scam is the biggest corruption scandal in recent history where top lawmakers are accused of conniving to steal public funds.
Diokno says given the magnitude of the case, it will take years to resolve.
JOSE MANUEL DIOKNO, DEAN, DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF LAW: It will take years. In the first case, plunder is one of the hardest cases to prosecute, because of the elements, the evidence, the requirements, it’s very hard to prosecute. And then you have a number of accused involved, they all have their own lawyers, each of those lawyers will probably elevate this to the Supreme Court at some point.
TROPICAL STORM APPROACHING, LPA BRINGS RAINS
A tropical storm with international name Neoguri is spotted about 1,500 km east of the Visayas region.
It is forecast to move northwest at 20 kilometers per hour with maximum sustained winds of 85 km per hour and gustiness of up to 100 km per hour.
It is not yet within the Philippine area of responsibility.
An existing low pressure area brings a rainy weekend to Northern Luzon.
State weather bureau PAGASA says the low pressure area is estimated at 225 km east of Aparri, Cagayan as of 4pm Friday.
The heavy rains and thunderstorms may trigger flashfloods and landslides.
Metro Manila and the the rest of Luzon and Visayas will be cloudy with light to moderate rains and thunderstorms…
while Mindanao will experience partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms.
FLOODS IN MAGUINDANAO
It’s been a rainy June and July in the province of Maguindanao in the southern Philippines.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council reports the rains brought by the Intertropical Convergence Zone Wednesday further aggravate the flooding.
This caused the rivers Rio Grande and Patot to overflow, affecting 18 municipalities, 133 barangays, almost 20,000 families, and 100,000 individuals.
9 of the 18 municipalities are declared in a state of calamity.
No casualties have been reported, but a man named Randy Ferenal is missing and six passengers injured when a banca capsized.
Check out Rappler’s Project Agos microsite – a one-stop shop for educating the public on how to prepare better for disasters.
Project Agos aims to raise awareness on climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction and management.
It can help people better prepare, respond, and aid in recovery.
PHILIPPINES, VIETNAM FORM TEAM TO BOOST ALLIANCE
The move comes after a meeting between Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario and his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Binh Minh Wednesday.
The DFA says both ministers agreed to further promote cooperation in many areas such as fisheries, defense and security, trade, and investment.
Experts say strategic partnerships remain vaguely defined, but agree these involve shared objectives to promote regional security.
So far, the Philippines has two strategic partners – the United States and Japan. Both countries remain challenged by China.
Vietnam, on the other hand, has forged at least 10.
Prior to the meeting between the foreign secretaries, armies of both nations already vowed to conduct joint training.
In an interview with Rappler, Vietnamese Ambassador to the Philippines Truong Trieu Duong said Manila and Hanoi should “stand united” in the face of Beijing.
He said “We’ve got to be united, and stand united. We will win.”
ISLAMIC STATE CONTROLS ALL MAIN SYRIAN OIL FIELDS: NGO
Jihadists seized the major Al-Omar oil field Thursday.
Also known as the Islamic State, ISIS declared an “Islamic caliphate” in areas it controls in Syria and Iraq as it spearheads an offensive against Iraqi troops.
The group traces its roots to Syria’s war, which began as a peaceful movement demanding Assad’s ouster but morphed into a conflict after a brutal crackdown by the regime.
Jihadists started to pour into Syria months into the fighting, drawing warnings from analysts of a looming regional disaster.
RELIGION, ETHNICITY, AND THE INDONESIA ELECTIONS
Religion and ethnicity play big roles in the Indonesian elections.
How will the next president unite a nation divided by faith and race?
Ayee Macaraig files this video blog.
This is the Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta, the largest mosque in Southeast Asia…
located in the world’s biggest Muslim-majority nation, Indonesia.
Indonesians do their Friday prayers here…
and pilgrimage as Muslims observe the holy fasting month of Ramadan.
Indonesia takes pride in its unique blend of moderate Islam and democracy.
It also hails the diversity of the nation, having various religions and hundreds of ethnic groups and languages.
But faith and ethnicity have been a hot topic in Indonesia’s presidential election set on July 9.
Frontrunner Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo or Jokowi’s popularity suffers from a smear campaign labeling him a closet ethnic Chinese Christian.
Pollsters say this helped narrow his lead over former special forces commander Prabowo Subianto…
in a country where almost 9 out of 10 citizens are Muslim.
To counter the spread of a tabloid carrying the rumor…
Jokowi’s camp released its own tabloid showing him performing the Haj pilgrimage in Mecca.
Jokowi also promotes a “mental revolution” to fight religious intolerance and ethnic differences through education.
His rival, Prabowo, stirs controversy for securing the support of strict, conservative Islamic parties…
and for his alleged involvement in anti-Chinese violence during the fall of Suharto in 1998.
While Prabowo is also hit by black propaganda highlighting human rights abuses…
the issue does not stick as much as the rumors on Jokowi’s religion.
Will Indonesia see a more tolerant president in the next 5 years?
The election will help determine how Indonesia lives up to its motto: unity in diversity.
Ayee Macaraig, Rappler, Jakarta, Indonesia.
INDONESIA ELECTIONS: WHERE THINGS STAND, WHAT’S AT STAKE
It’s a tail end of a month long, intense campaign in a presidential election that seems to split on 2 main themes: the old vs the new; the old vs the young.
There’s a generational gap with the youth seeming to support Joko Widodo, the former governor of Jakarta, who symbolizes a break with the past.
His folksy charm has captured their imagination – giving him a 30% lead in April.
He’s seen that lead dwindle, partly because he’s dropped the ball in the campaign, where he’s appeared weak and indecisive.
It’s now a dead heat with some saying retired General Prabowo Subianto may actually be in the lead.
Many see Prabowo as the new face of the Old Guard, former head of Indonesia’s special forces and the son-in-law of Suharto, Prabowo’s plagued by charges of human rights violations.
Prabowo has run a military style campaign that recalls the spirit of Sukarno and Suharto, who was in power for 32 years.
The key word is “tegas” – standing for control and stability. His slick social media campaigns make him a favorite of many Indonesian men.
The future – not just of Indonesia – but of Southeast Asia and Asia.
Indonesia is a founding member of ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, now about to create one market of more than 600 million people.
Indonesia’s expected to take a key role in political and security issues in Asia.
We’ll hear more about this at the close of the month long campaign period – the last of 3 presidential debates tomorrow night.
Watch it live Saturday night at 9:30 pm Manila time on Rappler.
For all news related to the Indonesian elections visit www.rappler.com/indonesia.
Follow live updates from Rappler Indonesia – @RapplerID on Twitter.
THE wRap: YOUR WORLD IN ONE READ
wRap #7: YOUNG VOTERS’ SOCIAL MEDIA USE REDEFINES INDONESIAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
Indonesia’s presidential candidates, Joko Widodo and Prabowo Subianto tap into the potential of social media to attract the youth vote.
In the run-up to the July 9 election, both camps flood social media feeds with memes, photos, videos and chatter about their campaigns and candidates.
Jokowi’s social media campaign is run by tech-savvy volunteers, while Prabowo’s is run by digital analysts no older than 28.
There are about 65 million Indonesians on Facebook, while at least 15.3 million are on Twitter.
Those under 30 are heavy social media users, and they make up a third of the approximately 185.6 million total eligible voters.
wRap #8: WHO URGES 33 COUNTRIES TO STEP UP FIGHT VS TUBERCULOSIS
The World Health Organization calls out 33 nations to recognize the continued danger of tuberculosis and try to wipe it out by 2050.
The WHO says countries such as the United States, Australia, France, and other developed nations are singled out because they are at the “low level of incidence that allows them to truly target elimination.”
TB, which can be spread by sneezing, is the the deadliest disease after AIDS to be caused by a single infectious agent.
While preventable and curable, it still infects some 155,000 people every year.
In the 33 developed nations listed, around 10,000 died of the disease in 2013.
For the full top 10 visit Rappler.com’s ‘the wRap.’
– 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 |
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