Rappler Newscast | April 22, 2013

Story 1: PLAYLIST OF HATE
19 year old Dzokhar Tsarnaev, one of the suspected Boston bombers, is in the hospital under armed guards, still unable to speak.  
Authorities say he is facing federal charges for his alleged role in the bombing of the Boston Marathon last Monday, which killed 3 people and injured more than 170.  
Dzokhar’s arrest Friday night ended a 20 hour shut-down of the greater Boston area, following the killing of his elder brother, Tamerlan, in a shootout Thursday.
The brothers Tsarnaev show how the terrorist threat is evolving today.

This is the face of the new terrorist.  
26 year old Tamerlan Tsarnaev is homegrown. He grew up in America, but his Chechen roots may have pulled him into the global jihad.
It’s not the first time it’s happened.
The bombers behind Madrid in 2004 – that killed 191 people – and the London bombers in 2005 that killed 52 — integrated into western society, but they harbored a deep hatred sparked by al-Qaeda’s virulent ideology.
Tamerlan and his 19 year old brother, Dzokhar, seemed like ordinary American boys.
Until you dig a little deeper.
Tamerlan’s YouTube channel shows his support of fundamentalism and violent jihad.  
This video of the black flags of Khurusan taps into al-Qaeda’s secret motivation – when an all-powerful Islamic military force will rise up and defeat the infidels.
His playlist includes a song called “I Dedicate My Life to Jihad” and deleted links to extremist groups in Chechnya – all signs of possible online radicalization.

ROHAN GUNARATNA, AUTHOR, ‘INSIDE AL-QAEDA’: The Internet today is the principal medium of communication by terrorists and extremist groups…We have seen a number of extremist groups that are using the net to reach out to their supporters – to radicalize, to recruit people, to indoctrinate them and to get them to launch terrorist attacks.

Tamerlan may have also gotten training on the ground.
In 2011, Russia asked the FBI to interview him about suspected extremist or terrorist activity.  
In early 2012, he flew to Moscow and stayed there for at least 6 months.
The investigation continues.

MARIA RESSA, REPORTING: The threat continues to mutate today, largely because of law enforcement triumphs since 9/11.  Still, the Boston bombings showed what stayed the same – the indiscriminate killing of civilians on a symbolic day.  The Internet is also another wild card, showing how easy it is to create a playlist of hate.

Story 2: SWS SURVEY: BINAY, VILLAR BREAK INTO TOP 3
A month before the elections, Vice President Jejomar Binay’s daughter, Nancy, and former Las Piñas Rep Cynthia Villar break into the top 3 in the latest Social Weather Stations Survey.
Both gain two percentage points to go up to rank 3-4 from rank 5-7 in the March survey.
SWS says the outcome for the Senate race ranges from 10-2 to 7-5 in favor of Team PNoy.
Sen Loren Legarda maintains her hold on the number one spot.
Re-electionist Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano comes second.
Following Binay and Villar at rank 3-4, re-electionist Sen Chiz Escudero ranks 5th, sliding from rank 3-4 in the March survey.
Team PNoy’s Bam Aquino comes in at rank 6, an improvement from his rank 10 in March.
Sen Koko Pimentel ranks 7th-8th, sliding down from his previous rank of 5-7.
San Juan Rep JV Ejercito shares the 7th-8th spot. He ranked 3-4 in the March survey.
Aurora Rep Sonny Angara is the biggest gainer, climbing to rank 9 from rank 12 in March.
Former censors chief Grace Poe ranks 10-11, sharing the spot with Sen Antonio Trillanes, who drops to rank 10-11 from rank 8 in March.
Cagayan Rep Jack Enrile ranks 12-13, sharing the spot with Sen Gregorio Honasan, who drops to rank 12-13 from 9 in March.
Still in the running for the Magic 12 are UNA’s Migz Zubiri and Team PNoy’s Jun Magsaysay Jr at 14th-15th place.

Story 3: NPA APOLOGIZES FOR HURTING GUINGONA
The New People’s Army apologizes for hurting Gingoog City Mayor Ruthie Guingona in an encounter with her convoy in Misamis Oriental Saturday night.
Police say the mayor and her bodyguards were on their way home when members of the New People’s Army fired at them in Gingoog.
Ruthie is the wife of former Vice President Teofisto Guingona and the mother of Senator TG Guingona.
Her daughter, Marie, is running to replace her as mayor.
In a statement, Senator Guingona says his mother was rescued at dawn Sunday after being trapped inside her vehicle.
The 78-year-old mayor survives the ambush, but sustained shrapnel wounds and broken bones.
Two of her aides died in the attack.
NPA spokesman Allan Juanito says the rebels acted in “self-defense”.
He adds, the group recognizes former vice president Teofisto Guingona’s contribution to the anti-Marcos struggle.
But Senator Guingona says only the police in his mother’s convoy carried firearms.
NPA regional spokesman in Mindanao Jorge Madlos says it will continue to man checkpoints to “impose revolutionary policies” on candidates.
He adds, “[Candidates] should secure permission with our local forces when entering our area.”
On the sidelines of a Team PNoy event in Misamis Oriental, President Benigno Aquino promises to hold the rebels accountable for the incident.

Story 4: BRILLANTES GIVES UP ON PCOS REVIEW
Commissions on Election chair Sixto Brillantes says it’s too late to open the source code of ballot-counting machines for review by local groups.
Dominion Voting Systems blocks the release of the source code of precinct count optical scan machines because of a legal issue with Smartmatic.
Brillantes says the source code is important only for the credibility of the elections, NOT for its legality or legitimacy.

SIXTO BRILLANTES, COMELEC CHAIR: Hindi na ako masyadong interesado. Too late na e. Masyadong close na eleksyon. Miski na ibigay nila yung source code, hindi na mare-review. Kulang na oras e. (I’m no longer interested. It’s too late, too close to the elections. Even if they give us the source code, we can no longer review it. We already lack time.)

Poll watchdog Center for People Empowerment in Governance says a source code review should be able to show that PCOS problems like multiple transmissions and signal jamming are corrected.
But Brillantes cites a source code review done by Denver-based SLI Global Solutions in February that says there is no “malicious code” in the PCOS.

Story 5: COURT ‘WAR’ OVER GARCIA PLEA BARGAIN DEAL
The lone Sandiganbayan justice who dissented in a decision approving the plea bargain deal between the Ombudsman and retired Major Gen Carlos Garcia raises an alleged irregularity in the way his colleagues reached the verdict.
On April 10, the Sandiganbayan Special Second Division affirms the 2010 plea bargain deal that allowed Garcia to walk away from plunder charges in exchange for his pleading guilty to lesser offenses of direct bribery and facilitating money laundering.
The Sandiganbayan also junked the motion for reconsideration filed by the Office of the Solicitor General.
Associate Justice Oscar Herrera Jr dissented, arguing that since the government through the OSG questioned the deal, it should already be nullified.
Sources tell Rappler Herrera confronted his fellow justices last week after he discovered Associate Justices Roland Jurado and Alex Quiroz were appointed to the five-member special division by Presiding Justice Francisco Villaruz.
In an April 15 en banc meeting, Villaruz says he appointed Jurado and Quiroz because they were already familiar with the case.
A source says a heated discussion between Herrera and another justice ensued after Herrera questioned the designation as highly irregular.
Sandiganbayan rules state the designation should have been made through a raffle.
Sources say Herrera is considering filing a complaint against his colleagues before the Supreme Court.

Story 6: ROBREDO REPORT: LIM LIABLE FOR LUNETA BLOODBATH
President Benigno Aquino sat on a recommendation of then Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo to suspend Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim for the Luneta hostage crisis in August, 2010.
The hostage crisis led to the death of 8 tourists from Hong Kong and the hostage taker – a dismissed Manila cop.
Documents provided by Lim’s political rivals show then Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo found Lim administratively liable for the mishandling of the situation that strained relations between Manila and Beijing.
In a memorandum issued May 9, 2012 – almost 2 years after the incident – Robredo recommended to the Office of the President a one-month suspension for Lim.
Records show the memorandum was sent to Malacañang on May 11, 2012.
President Benigno Aquino, a longtime family friend and political ally of Lim, sat on the recommendation.
Three months later, Robredo died in a plane crash.
Some compare the President’s lack of action on Lim’s case to his swift decision in December 2012 to suspend Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia for 6 months.
Garcia, who is allied with the opposition, was found guilty of grave abuse of authority for allegedly diverting the province’s funds to anomalous contracts.
Lim is going against former President Joseph Estrada for Manila mayor.
President Aquino is endorsing Lim for the post.

Story 7: ANOTHER FIRST: PSEI BREAKS 7,100 LEVEL
The Philippine stock market breaks the 7,000 and 7,100 marks for the first time, hitting its 27th all-time high.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index surges 2.35% to settle at 7,120.48 – a fresh record close and intraday peak.
The PSEi’s previous record-high close of 6,957.10 was registered April 19.
Strong corporate earnings results continue to fuel investor interest in Philippine stocks.
The PSEi last flirted with the 7,000 barrier on April 1, the first trading day after the Philippines won its first investment grade from international debt watcher Fitch.

Story 8: #PALARO2013 OFFICIALLY BEGINS
Palarong Pambansa 2013, the biggest amateur sporting event in the Philippines, officially kicks off.

Here are the highlights of today’s games.
Jerremay Rubias of Aklan wins the first gold medal in this year’s Palarong Pambansa.
Rubias, a farmer’s daughter, throws 39.59 meters to lead Western Visayas.
The region got a second gold medal in high school boys shot put moments later.
National Capital Region also breaks into the medal column courtesy of a 6.66-meter jump by Manila’s John Resty Lorenzo.
In basketball, volleyball and football, tournament favorites stamp their class and romp away with easy wins.
Tomorrow, athletics competitions heat up further while medal-rich swimming fires off as Palaro action continues in Dumaguete.

Story 9: REGION 13’S YOUNGEST CHESS PLAYER
An eight-year-old chess player is Region 2’s youngest delegate to Palarong Pambansa.
Devon Wong reports on Ruth Vinuya’s long journey to the country’s biggest sports event.

Ruth may have traveled far from her home in Ilagan city to get to this year’s Palarong Pambansa.
But it’s a small distance when you have big dreams.

RUTH VINUYA, CHESS PLAYER FROM REGION 2: I want to be a doctor and a grand master.

8-year old Ruth is the youngest competitor in the chess tournament at Palaro this year and the youngest delegate from her region.
Organizers even made an exception to sponsor this tiny chess player’s father to come along for the journey.
But if anyone deserves to see Ruth play in her first Palaro tournament, it’s her father Manuel who first taught her the game.

MANUEL VINUYA, RUTH’S FATHER: A lot of people really doubted her, because all the people I know that are good at chess… I let them play with her, and when they play with her, they’ll be surprised because of the level that this child plays.

Manuel took the time out of his job as a tricycle driver to train with Ruth.

MANUEL VINUYA, RUTH’S FATHER: Even when I’m tired, I still find time to play with her. I want to improve her game, and I don’t want her to be discouraged.

Ruth’s mother is just as excited for her daughter, but had to send her wishes from afar.
As an OFW based in Hong Kong, the news was a break from reality.

MANUEL VINUYA, RUTH’S FATHER: She was happy and she was crying when we were on the phone. She was very surprised that her daughter had achieved that much already.

With proud parents both here and abroad, Ruth has all the support she needs in her corner.

DEVON WONG, REPORTING: Ruth plans on making memories, and maybe even history, with her father by her side. It’s only Day 1 of competition, but Palaro marks the first move for this young chess player at the national level. Devon Wong, Rappler, Dumaguete.

(ERRATUM: We previously mentioned Ruth Vinuya is from Region 13. We regret the error. She is from Region 2.)

Story 10: THE wRap: YOUR WORLD IN ONE READ
At number 5, Rescue workers struggle to find survivors from a powerful quake in southwest China Sunday, as the number of those dead and missing rose past 200.
But the rescue operation is hampered by huge queues of traffic clogging roads into the disaster zone.
China’s new Premier Li Keqiang says the first 24 hours are –quote– “the golden time for saving lives.”
More than 1,100 aftershocks followed since the quake struck Saturday morning.
At least 179 people are confirmed dead, 24 are missing and nearly 11,500 injured.

At number 6, The death toll from the H7N9 bird flu virus in China reaches 20, with dozens infected.
State media says the new strain of bird flu is detected in 102 people, mostly in Eastern China.
The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention earlier said 40 percent of patients with H7N9 did not come into contact with poultry, raising questions about how people get the virus.
Experts fear the virus may mutate into a form that can spread from human to human.

And at number 7, US Secretary of State John Kerry says the United States will provide Syrian rebels $123 million in aid, as foreign ministers discuss how to help the opposition in Syria’s civil war.
At a meeting with Western and Middle Eastern ministers in Istanbul, Kerry says a portion of the aid will be used to provide “non-lethal” supplies to the military wing of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces.
The United States’ new aid will add to the food rations and medical supplies it pledged to give the military wing of the Syrian resistance.

Story 11: ZOMBIE RUNNERS RUN FOR CHARITY
A zombie run in Manila redefines the meaning of “charity fatigue” as runners run for fun, mother earth and a killer costume.
Devon Wong returns.
Are you guys ready to run?

DEVON WONG, REPORTING: Running might be an intimidating sport for some, but what better way to start than putting your sweat towards raising money and the dead, for charity?

Seven thousand runners take to the streets of Manila to participate in what can only be described as training for a zombie apocalypse.
Aspiring zombies sent in audition tapes from across the country for the chance to live out the role of a lifetime: playing the undead.
But runners are equally prepared to run for their lives.

CHRIS JOVANOVIC AND BEN GREGORY, RUNNERS/ZOMBIE PREY: We’ll definitely be a lot more tired I think.

The Philippines ranks among the top twenty most generous countries in the world, according to the most recent report by the World Giving Index, and only second to Indonesia within Asia.
The unique event is a creative effort by organizers to get people active about giving. Zombies and runners agree to put their differences aside for a night to raise money for Greenpeace and a common cause they both call home: the earth.

JUDY MALABANAN, RUNTERTAINMENT INC.: Well zombies are scary, but they’re environmentally conscious also. So with earth day coming up, then we didn’t just raise the living dead but we raised money for a green cause.

The event raises endorphins for participants who get to enjoy twice the feel-good factor.

MICAH AND JE MERCADO, RUNNERS/ZOMBIE PREY: It’s actually a fun activity so if the money goes to a charitable institution, we’ll definitely run again for the next Outbreak run.

DEVON WONG, REPORTING: Organizers say they’ll continue thinking outside the box and beyond to get people energized for a good cause.
Devon Wong, Rappler, Manila