Rappler Newscast | April 1, 2013

Story 1: ERAP: WE WILL RESURRECT MANILA
Former President Erap Estrada and Manila Vice Mayor Isko Moreno launch their campaign for the Philippine capital – Manila.
Ayee Macaraig reports.

ISKO MORENO, MANILA VICE MAYOR: Umuusok, may puting usok ang city hall. Habemus mayor! May bago nang alkalde. Si Erap! (There’s smoke, there’s white smoke from the City Hall. Habemus Mayor! There’s a new mayor. It’s Erap!)

It’s not a conclave. It’s Easterada Sunday!
Former President Joseph Estrada formally launches his bid to be mayor of the country’s capital, turning what’s supposed to be a religious day to a political extravaganza.
Estrada says he will now refrain from personal attacks against ally-turned-rival Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim, but in one of the country’s hottest local races, it seems nothing is sacred.

JOSEPH ESTRADA, FORMER PRESIDENT: Basta puro loko-loko ‘yun kaya gusto nilang April Fools’.  This is the pagkabuhay ng Panginoong Hesukristo. Bubuhayin naming muli ang Maynila that’s why we timed it with Easter. (They are crazy that’s why they want to start on April Fools’. This is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We will resurrect Manila.)

The so-called resurrection of Manila is the theme of the proclamation of Estrada and running mate Manila Vice Mayor Isko Moreno.
The former San Juan mayor criticized for being an interloper unveils his plan to bring back Manila’s old glory.
Estrada says Manila is decaying under Lim’s leadership, vowing to focus on peace and order, investments, jobs, fiscal transparency and urban renewal if elected.
Armed with reports from the Commission on Audit, Interior Department, police, and newspapers, Estrada paints the city as bankrupt and a criminal haven.

JOSEPH ESTRADA, FORMER PRESIDENT: ‘Di ko matiis ang lungsod kung saan ako sinilang ay magiging ganito. Lungsod na ‘di lang lubog sa baha pero lubog sa utang. (I cannot stand for the city where I was born to turn out like this. A city that’s not only submerged in flood but also submerged in debt.)

Moreno also goes on the attack, using his own brand of wit.

ISKO MORENO, MANILA VICE MAYOR: 21 years ago is there such thing as Entertainment City in Paranaque? Nakapunta na ba kayo Solaire? (Have you been to Solaire?) Ano ang meron 21 years after ang siyudad ng Maynila? Anyare mayor? Nganga! (What happened mayor?)

While Estrada and Moreno envision the future of Manila, Lim reminds voters of Estrada’s past.
The former President thinks it’s a non-issue.

JOSEPH ESTRADA, FORMER PRESIDENT: Dinamay pa niya ang plunder, I was convicted, that’s beside the point. (He even brought up plunder.)

Estrada and the opposition also slam Lim for his reputation as “Dirty Harry” and an alleged “kotong cop,” showing that in Manila’s two cornered-bout, each candidate has his own demons.

AYEE MACARAIG, REPORTING: Jobs, investments, peace and order.
Estrada says it’s time to focus on these issues instead of personal attacks.
But Lim is quick to point out Estrada’s tainted record is a legitimate issue.
Manila’s voters have a month left to weigh not just the candidates’ platforms but also their backgrounds.
Ayee Macaraig, Rappler.

Story 2: LIM: DECAYING MANILA? ERAP MUST BE DRUNK
Incumbent Manila mayor Alfredo Lim responds to attacks from his rivals during his campaign launch for re-election.
He calls Estrada a liar, a drunk and a plunderer.
Natashya Gutierrez reports.

ALFREDO LIM, INCUMBENT MANILA CITY MAYOR: Anong sentensiya? Habangbuhay, at isoli raw ang salapi na kinuha sa bayan. (
What’s the sentence? Lifetime, and return the money that was taken form the people.)

Both the scorching sun and the fiery words make Mayor Alfredo Lim’s proclamation rally a heated affair.
Lim doesn’t hold back from slamming former president Joseph Estrada who is running against him for mayor of the country’s capital.
On stage, he calls Estrada a liar.
On the sidelines, he says Estrada must be drunk to think Manila has decayed under his rule.

ALFREDO LIM, INCUMBENT MANILA CITY MAYOR: Baka nakainom siya. Kaya ayun ang sinasabi niya. Look at Manila, look at the tall buildings. Is this rotting to you? (Maybe he’s tipsy, if that’s what he’s saying.)

He outlines his platforms, and refutes all of Estrada’s points, saying he has provided Manilenos with accessible education and healthcare.

ALFREDO LIM, INCUMBENT MANILA CITY MAYOR: We are the only city with 6 hospitals in over 140 cities here in the whole country. We have 2 free colleges, zero tuition. Registration is free, so is the library, laboratory and clinic. Zero! Not even one cent. Your children will be able to finish college, they will become professional.

The war over Manila is expected to be one of the hottest local races come May.
Estrada says he will restore Manila’s glory if elected, but Lim is bent on serving his third and final term.
The 83-year-old Lim is confident of his chances and boasts of President Benigno Aquino III’s endorsement.
Lim, a longtime ally of the Aquino family, enjoys the President’s support after the former supported his mother’s presidency.
Aquino says Lim proved his loyalty the people when he sided with his mother over dictator Ferdinand Marcos during the People Power Revolution.
He does not criticize Lim’s opponents but makes it clear he trusts the re-electionist.

BENIGNO AQUINO III, PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES: Bakit mo sisirain kung ayos? Bakit mo papalitan kung magaling? (Why will you ruin something that works? Why will you something good?) Wala po tayong sinasabi sa mga kalaban ni Mayor Lim pero malinaw po sa pamumuno ni Mayor Lim sa Maynila, hindi po tayo kailanman nahirapan makipagugnayan sa kanya at nangunguna siya sa paglilingkod sa mamamayan. (We’re not saying anything about those running against Mayor Lim, but it is clear that under his leadership we never had a problem with coordination and he is always at the forefront of serving his citizens.)

The rally of Team PNoy gathers over 7,000 supporters clad in yellow but it is nowhere close to “Easterada Sunday,” the event of Estrada and his slate a day earlier with 75,000 attendees.
Estrada is allied with the opposition, the United Nationalist Alliance.
But the number that matters is the 950,000 registered voters.

NATASHYA GUTIERREZ, REPORTING: Will the city choose an insanely popular former president who finished second to Aquino in 2010, or will it side with a well-loved sitting President and his bet?
Manila isn’t the only thing at stake.
A Lim victory is an important political statement for the President, symbolic of his influence not just in the next 3 years but arguably over the 2016 presidential elections.
Natashya Gutierrez, Rappler Manila.

Story 3: FINALLY, DEAL OPENS PCOS TO SCRUTINY
A US-based firm agrees to release the source code of ballot-counting machines for review by Philippine authorities.
Critics say it will ensure election transparency.
Commission on Elections chair Sixto Brillantes Jr says Dominion Voting Systems has –quote– “basically agreed” to release the source code of PCOS machines.
Brillantes says in Filipino, “There’s a 95% chance it will push through. We just have to fix a few details.
The Comelec chair adds, “There is a small chance of disagreements that will prevent a source code review.”
The Comelec is required by The Automated Election System Law  to promptly make the PCOS source code quote — “available and open to any interested political party or groups which may conduct their review thereof.”
A legal battle between Dominion and Smartmatic stalled the source code review for months.

Story 4: PH DEMANDS PAYMENT FOR REEF DAMAGE
The Philippines on Sunday welcomes the removal of a US minesweeper stuck on the Tubbataha reef for 10 weeks.
But the Philippines stresses the US must pay for the environmental damage.
Salvage teams contracted by the US Navy Saturday extract the last remaining piece of the USS Guardian from Tubbataha reef.
Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma says, “We maintain there must be accountability and we will enforce our existing laws.”
Initial investigation shows the ship damaged about 4,000 square meters of the reef.
Tubbataha is a protected marine park under Philippine law and is off limits to any vessel without permission from park authorities.
Officials say fines can reach up to $585 for every square meter damaged.
An all-Filipino team is ready to start assessing the extent of the coral reef damage caused by the grounding of the USS Guardian.
WWF-Philippines Vice Chair and CEO Jose Ma. Lorenzo Tan says the assessment will help ascertain the fines that should be imposed on the US navy.

Story 5: SOUTH KOREA VOWS ‘STRONG’ RETALIATION
South Korean President Park Geun-Hye vows quote — “strong retaliation” to any provocation by North Korea after Pyongyang declared it is at war with Seoul.
In a meeting with military officials, Park says she took the threats from the North “very seriously.”
Park says, “I believe that we should make a strong and immediate retaliation…if (the North) stages any provocation against our people.”
Military tension between the two countries have been running high for weeks.
Pyongyang last month ended the armistice agreement between North and South Korea, in protest over the joint South Korean-US military drills.
It also threatens to strike South Korean and US targets.
Seoul and Washington warn of repercussions in the event of any aggression, with the US deploying stealth bombers over South Korea as a “deterrence.”
On Monday, the US military says it deployed F-22 Raptor stealth fighters to South Korea as part of an ongoing military exercise.
The jets reportedly flew out of the US air base in Okinawa, Japan.
On Sunday, North Korea vows it would strengthen its nuclear weapons and says it would never trade its atomic deterrent for aid.

Story 6: PH READY TO EVACUATE PINOYS FROM KOREA
The Philippines’ foreign affairs department prepares to bring home Filipinos in South Korea in case tension escalates.
DFA spokesperson Raul Hernandez says they have raised Alert Level 1 for Filipinos there and identified exit points.
He says Filipinos will be relocated for eventual repatriation either by plane or ship.
On Saturday, North Korea says it is at war with South Korea and threatens to close a border industrial zone.
Manila calls for an end to provocative actions that would raise tensions in the Korean Peninsula.

Story 7: NORTH KOREA APPOINTS NEW PRIME MINISTER
North Korea appoints former premier Pak Pong-Ju as its new prime minister.
Pak is sworn in at the annual meeting of the Supreme People’s Assembly Monday.
He replaces Choe Yong-Rim.
Pak previously served as prime minister from 2003-2007, but was sacked from the post in 2007 after backlash against his pursuit of economic reforms.

Story 8: PURISIMA: PH REMAINS UNDERRATED
Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima says the recent credit upgrade from Fitch does not reflect how foreign investors view the Philippines as an investment destination.
On March 27, global credit rating firm Fitch upgrades the Philippines’ credit rating from BB+ to BBB-.
But Purisima says other credit rating agencies already rated the Philippines investment grade years ago.

CESAR PURISIMA, FINANCE SECRETARY: The market rates us two notches above investment grade. We’re probably the most underrated country in the world. I think we deserve the investment grade. When you look at it from an external standpoint, we’re net creditor country already. When you look at our fiscal situation, our deficit is well under control. In fact our debt to GDP is down to 40.9%.

Purisima says the big 3 international credit rating agencies — Fitch Ratings, Standard & Poor’s, and Moody’s Investor Service — lag behind the foreign investors’ credit risk assessment of the country.
Tune in to www.rappler.com on April 4 for the full interview.

Story 9: THE wRap: YOUR WORLD IN ONE READ
At number 4, Pope Francis prays for peace in the Korean peninsula in his first message on Easter Sunday.
Delivering his speech from Vatican City, the Pope says, “May disagreements be overcome and a renewed spirit of reconciliation grow.”
On Saturday, North Korea declared war against South Korea, increasing military tensions on the peninsula.
The Pope also prays for peace in Syria and for victims of human trafficking, drug trafficking, and natural and man-made disasters.

At number 5, Kenya’s Supreme Court upholds Uhuru Kenyatta’s presidential election victory, saying the March 4 polls were fair and credible.
The ruling paves the way for Kenyatta, the son of Kenya’s first president and one of Africa’s richest men, to be sworn in as head of state on April 9.
Six judges dismissed petitions filed by outgoing prime minister Raila Odinga, who claimed there was a series of irregularities that skewed poll results.
Official results show Kenyatta won 50.07 percent of the votes.
But he still faces charges of crimes against humanity in the International Criminal Court.
Kenyatta is accused of helping incite violence after Kenya’s last elections in 2007.

And at number 10, Louisville guard Kevin Ware suffers a gruesome leg injury during their match against Duke on March 31.
With the Cardinals up by four with 6:40 left in the opening half, Ware challenges Blue Devil Tyler Thornton’s three-point attempt.
But Ware lands hard on the court, grimacing in pain as part of his bone protruded from his skin.
The injury leaves Ware out of the games for at least a year.
The Cardinals rally around their teammate and dismantle Duke, 85-63, to advance to the Final Four against Wichita State next week.

Story 10: YOUTUBE, TWITTER, GOOGLE PULL OF APRIL FOOLS PRANKS

On April 1, question what you see on the Internet — it might just be a joke.
It’s April Fools’ Day, and YouTube, Twitter and Google launch several pranks to add to the dozens of sites joining the fun.
On Sunday, YouTube, the world’s most popular video-sharing site, announces in a 3-minute video that it was shutting down.
It said it would review all the video submissions uploaded on the site and announce the best one in 2023.
Google also pulls an early prank, with Google Analytics telling website administrators they are getting traffic from the International Space Station.
Popular microblogging site Twitter — known for its 140-character limit — announces it’s removing the use of vowels.
Calling the “new” service Twttr, the company says
vowels can be purchased and used in its “premium” Twitter service for five dollars a month.

Newscast production staff