Rappler Newscast | August 25, 2014

Today on Rappler.

• On National Heroes Day, thousands march in Manila to protest what remains of the “pork barrel” system.
• Pro-Aquino groups push to continue President Aquino’s reforms.
• A 6.1 magnitude quake damages historical buildings and causes fires in northern California.

GROUPS STAGE PROTEST VS ALL FORMS OF ‘PORK’

A year after the Million People March, groups once again protest in Luneta Park against institutionalized corruption or the pork barrel.
Anti-pork groups come together to sign a people’s initiative against the development fund.
This initiative is called “Stand Up! Sign Up!”
The country-wide development fund is seen as the epitome of a corrupt system where legislators can funnel millions of pesos to bogus NGO’s for a cut of public money.
Some of the groups and individuals who supported 2013’s Million People March in 2013 join the People’s Initiative.
This comes after the “People’s Congress” was launched in Cebu City last Saturday, where a proposal to abolish the pork barrel through a people’s initiative was introduced.
The People’s Initiative Against Pork Barrel also says despite the Supreme Court declaring the fund unconstitutional, the system still survives through the President’s discretionary funds.
including the P132 billion Malampaya fund, the President’s Social Fund and the P449 billion Special Purpose Fund.
Other issues also take center stage in the protest action. 
Protesters also oppose charter change and the possible lifting of term limits for presidents.
Charter change became a flashpoint after President Benigno Aquino said he was reconsidering his views on term limits.
Aquino’s satisfaction and approval ratings have been at their lowest after the the development fund controversy focused attention on the President’s spending program.
In the People’s Initiative rally archbishop Oscar Cruz says people are complaining they’ve never been part of surveys conducted by the likes of Pulse Asia or SWS.

OSCAR CRUZ, ARCHBISHOP: Ilan sa inyo ang magbibigay ng approval rating sa pangulo ng zero? (How many of you will give the President a zero approval rating?)

AQUINO CABINET MEETS WITH SUPPORTERS ON DAY OF ANTI-PORK RALLY
A group pushing to continue President Aquino’s reforms hold parallel activities Monday.
The Koalisyon ng Mamamayan Para sa Reporma or KOMPRe says it wants to ensure positive gains made under Aquino continue after 2016.
KOMPRe asks people to “stand and hold the line” when it comes to “gains under the Aquino administration.”
Members of Aquino’s Cabinet attend the Kompre launch in a show of solidarity for the President.
Those attending include Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, Transportation Secretary Jun Abaya, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan,
Presidential Adviser on Political Affairs Ronald Llamas, Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda and Welfare Secretary Dinky Soliman.
Roxas says with Aquino’s support the ruling Liberal Party commits to pass the Anti-Dynasty Bill.
Lacierda also vows to pass the Freedom and Information bill.
Abaya, who was criticized for recent failures of the railway system, reiterates his promise of riding the MRT3 to prove it is safe and promises the MRT7 would be constructed in 2014.
While Aquino’s allies agree the government has to do more, they also emphasize the administration’s accomplishments, such as the reproductive health bill, the impeachment of former Chief Justice Renato Corona, and the sin tax law.
Kompre was started by Aquino’s supporters.
It has yet to endorse a candidate come 2016 but says it will support a candidate who will continue the “straight and narrow path” of the administration.

MRT7 CONSTRUCTION TO START BEFORE 2014 ENDS
After years of delay, the construction of the Metro Rail Transit Line 7 is expected to start before 2014 ends.
San Miguel Corporation gets the green light for the construction of the 22.8-kilometer train line, after it finally secured a performance undertaking from the finance department representing a financial guarantee for the project.
The train project will have 14 stations and is expected to serve 2 million commuters.
It will start at Tala, Caloocan City and will end at and pass through Lagro and Fairview, Novaliches, Batasan, Diliman, PHILCOA, before ending at EDSA corner North Avenue in Quezon City.

MAKATI BIZMEN URGED: SPEAK UP ON BINAY ‘HORROR STORIES’
Senators urge Makati businessmen and residents to speak up on the alleged corruption of Vice President Jejomar Binay and his family in Makati.
Binay was mayor of Makati for 21 years.
He and his son, current Makati mayor Junjun Binay, face a Senate probe and a plunder complaint.
Senator Sonny Trillanes earlier filed a resolution to investigate the controversial Makati City Hall Building 2, allegedly overpriced by P2 billion or $45.65 million.
He says he is willing to expand the probe to include allegations that the Binays get condo units in exchange for permits in the financial center.
His colleague, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, adds, “We heard a lot of horror stories of corruption in Makati. My appeal is now is the time to speak up.”
The Binays defend the allegedly overpriced “parking building” and reject the the Senate inquiry, saying it’s politically motivated.

PH WARSHIP ARRIVES IN AUSTRALIA, CROSSES EQUATOR
The country’s biggest ship, BRP Ramon Alcaraz arrives in Australia.
Alcaraz crossed the equator as it sailed from the Philippines on August 17 and arrived on August 23.
Its voyage to Australia is so far its longest overseas deployment overseas.
It is also the first time it is crossing the equator since it was commissioned as a Philippine Navy ship in 2013.
The Crossing the Equator Ceremony is a fun tradition among sailors that dates back thousands of years.
The Philippines is one of 12 countries that will participate in the “Kakadu 2014,” one of the largest international maritime exercise that happens every 2 years.
The war games begin Monday until September 12
One of the weakest in Asia, the Philippine Navy is upgrading capabilities and training of personnel to have a “minimum credible defense” posture in the wake of escalating tensions in the South China Sea.

CALIFORNIA WINE COUNTRY HIT BY STRONG QUAKE
A 6.1 magnitude quake strikes near American Canyon in northern California, about 40 miles or 64 kilometers northeast of San Francisco.
The tremor woke people up as far east as Sacramento and as far south as Santa Cruz.
It severely damaged historic buildings in downtown Napa, cut off electricity, and sparked multiple fires across  Napa, Sonoma and Solano counties.
Roads were closed after the earthquake shifted the ground and cracked highways.
Nearly 100 aftershocks followed, and authorities warn of more aftershocks in the next two weeks.
This is the first major earthquake to hit the San Francisco Bay area in the age of social media and the most powerful in 25 years.
The 6.9-magnitude Loma Prieta earthquake caused widespread destruction in 1989.

CRISIS AS FRANCE’S HOLLANDE ORDERS FORMATION OF NEW CABINET
French President Francois Hollande orders his prime minister to form a new government following internal disputes over the country’s economic policies.
Prime Minister Manuel Valls submits his resignation after accusing economy minister Arnaud Montebourg of crossing the line in his attacks on the government’s economic policies.
Over the weekend, Montebourg criticized the austerity measures pursued by France and blamed Germany for imposing what it calls the “trap of austerity” across Europe.
Hollande accepts Valls’ resignation and orders him to form a new government by Tuesday.

THAI KING ENDORSES COUP LEADER AS PRIME MINISTER
Thailand’s revered king Bhumibol Adulyadej formally endorses army chief General Prayut Chan-O-Cha as prime minister.
In May, Prayut seized power from former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra after weeks of street protests.
Last week, Prayut was chosen uncontested as premier by a national assembly made up mainly of members of the military.
He will remain head of the junta as the military appears to tighten its grip on power.
A junta spokesman says Prayut will pick a cabinet and propose ministers for the king’s approval in September.

OFFICIALS CLOSE TO IDENTIFYING FOLEY BEHEADING SUSPECT
Britain’s ambassador to the United States says officials are close to identifying the man who beheaded American journalist James Foley.
A video posted last week showed a member of ISIS or the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria standing next to a kneeling Foley.
In a CNN report, linguists say the executioner spoke with a distinctly English accent.
Based on his voice, the man sounds younger than 30, appears to have been educated in England and to be from southern England or London.
Britain’s Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond on Sunday said, “It is an utter betrayal of our country, our values and everything the British people stand for.”

U.S. JOURNALIST FREED IN SYRIA AFTER TWO YEARS
An American journalist is freed in Syria nearly two years after he was kidnapped.
Al Jazeera reports Peter Theo Curtis was handed over to UN peacekeepers, who turned him over to the US government.
Curtis was captured in October 2012 and was reportedly held by the group al-Nusra Front or by its allies.

THE wRap: YOUR WORLD IN ONE READ
At number 6, Faced by a tech-savvy ISIS, what is Twitter’s responsibility?
Even though Twitter was founded on the idea of democratizing information, its CEO Dick Costolo found himself condemning posts glorifying the beheading of American journalist James Foley.
Within 10 days, Twitter had purged accounts used by ISIS members.
Analyst Max Abrahms says the company is becoming more aggressive in choosing what its members see and whether a particular message can spread.

At number 8, A British adult retailer apologized Saturday after launching a range of lingerie named ISIS, but said it did not support jihadists in Iraq and Syria and had no plans to withdraw the line.
Ann Summers’ ISIS range includes lacy black and white bras, thongs and suspenders.
The retailer named the range after the ancient Egyptian goddess of fertility.

And at number 9 – Anyone with a radio hooked up to a laptop can hack traffic lights across North America.
CNN reports researchers field-tested the hack, changing the traffic lights in a city in Michigan.
The traffic lights and controllers are made by Econolite, one of the largest traffic management system makers in North America.
Econolite’s traffic lights run on a computer network and communicate using radio signals, but their controllers operate like an unsecured router.
For the full top 10 visit Rappler.com’s ‘the wRap.’

Traffic light image from Shutterstock

BEYONCE GETS MOST NOMINATIONS IN 2014 MTV VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS

Beyonce steals the show with a mega-medley of her hits at the annual MTV Video Music Awards held at Inglewood, California.
She also gets 8 nominations, including Video of the Year, Best Female and Best Collaboration for her self-titled album.
Beyonce is also bagged this year’s Michael Jackson Vanguard Award, an award given to Justin Timberlake last year.
Miley Cyrus won Video of the Year, with Usher, Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift, and Maroon 5 performing onstage.

– 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