Rappler Newscast | May 22, 2013

Story 1: TAIWAN DATA RECORDER REJECTS PH CLAIM
Taiwan says satellite records dispute the Philippines’ claim that the fisherman shot by coastguards illegally entered Philippine waters.
On Tuesday, Taiwan releases a satellite record of the route of the Taiwanese boat that shows the fisherman was within Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone.
Taiwanese authorities say the ship was positioned at 122 degrees and 55 minutes east and 19 degrees and 59 minutes north when it was attacked.
The economic zones claimed by each country overlap.
Earlier, Philippine coastguards say the boat intruded into the country’s territorial waters and tried to ram their vessel, forcing them to to open fire.
Taiwan’s Fisheries Agency says the Philippines should release the video records from the coastguard boat that allegedly support the Philippines’ claim.
But Justice Secretary Leila de Lima says the video will be released — quote — “in due time” as part of the report of the National Bureau of Investigation.
De Lima says the NBI team is waiting for clearance to go to Taiwan and ask for a re-autopsy of the body.
She adds, the video is quote — “revealing” and “helpful to the investigation.”

Story 2: PH ON TAIWAN ISSUE: ‘WE ARE MOVING HEAVEN AND EARTH’
Manila Economic and Cultural Office Chairman Amadeo Perez says the Philippines is doing everything to protect its workers in Taiwan after reports of attacks against Filipinos because of tensions between the two countries.
In a television interview Tuesday, Perez says the killing of the Taiwanese fisherman caused damage and tension for the 90,000 OFWs in Taiwan.
He adds, “We are moving heaven and earth to fix these things.
There is only one at fault but thousands are suffering.”

Story 3: P75-B BOOST FOR PH NAVY TO RESIST ‘BULLIES’
President Benigno Aquino announces a P75-billion military upgrade to help defend the Philippines’ maritime territory against –quote– “bullies.”
In a speech marking the Navy’s 115th anniversary, Aquino says the armed forces will be given the resources to protect Philippine sovereignty.

BENIGNO AQUINO, PHILIPPINE PRESIDENT: Malinaw ang pahiwatig natin ngayon sa buong mundo: Ang sa Pilipinas ay sa Pilipinas, at kaya nating pumalag at ipagtanggol ang sarili tuwing may sisindak sa atin sa loob mismo ng ating bakuran. (We have a clear message to the world: The Philippines is for Filipinos, and we have the capability to resist bullies entering our backyard.)

Aquino says by 2017 the Philippines will add two new frigates, two helicopters capable of anti-submarine warfare, three vessels for coastal patrols and eight amphibious assault vehicles.
The announcement comes on the same day the Philippines filed a protest against China over the — quote — “illegal and provocative” presence of Chinese vessels at a Filipino-claimed shoal in the disputed South China Sea.
Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez says, “The intrusions and the activities… in our (waters) is part of the Chinese projection of their claim which we believe is excessive and in violation of international law.”

Story 4: BRILLANTES: CF CARDS MAY HAVE BEEN CORRUPTED
Commission on Elections chair Sixto Brillantes says the compact flash cards used in the midterm polls may have been corrupted to delay the transmission of results.
On Tuesday, Brillantes says the poll body found damaged CF cards.
The Comelec is looking into the possibilities the CF cards may have been already defective when supplied by Smartmatic International Corp, or the cards may have been deliberately destroyed by some individuals to corrupt the data.
The CF cards contain the encrypted election results transmitted to Comelec servers.
When PCOS machines are unable to transmit results, election inspectors may take the CF card out and bring it to municipal canvassing centers where it can be read.
Brillantes says some individuals may have damaged the CF cards to manipulate the results.
Brillantes warns those who will be found responsible:
“If you destroyed the CF cards, that is actually destroying an election paraphernalia. It will fall under election offense.”

Story 5: SENATE PRESIDENT DRILON? IT’S ALL SET, SAYS LP
A senior official of the Liberal Party tells Rappler the next Senate President will most likely be Team PNoy campaign manager Sen Franklin Drilon.
The official says negotiations between Drilon and individual senators start Tuesday, although Drilon has yet to talk to President Benigno Aquino.
The LP source says the numbers are in favor of Drilon’s leadership to replace Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile.
12 of his colleagues are expected to vote for Drilon.
A minimum of 13 votes in the 24-person chamber are needed to elect a new Senate President.
The LP source says the votes for Drilon could be as wide as 18-6, or as narrow as 13-11.

Story 6: ROBREDO: RIVALS USED 3 METHODS OF VOTE BUYING
Congresswoman-elect Leni Robredo says her rivals employed three methods of vote buying in Camarines Sur.
Robredo won against Nelly Villafuerte, member of the political clan that ruled the region since 1978.
Three days before the midterm polls, Robredo filed disqualification cases against the Villafuertes for alleged vote buying.
She says she was shocked at the scale of systematic vote-buying.

LENI ROBREDO, CAMARINES SUR REPRESENTATIVE: They had 3 kinds of lists. The first list was people who were already their supporters. They would still be bought so that they won’t change allegiances. The second list was people who were for their opponents. They would buy them with bigger amounts. They called it “vote conversion”; so that they would change sides. And the third was loyalty votes of the opponents. They would buy them in bigger amounts and they would just ask that they (voters) would not vote at all. And they were doing this in a very systematic manner.

Robredo says she will pursue the case despite warnings from her supporters.
Leni, widow of much-loved Naga City Mayor Jesse Robredo, says she chose a bottom-up approach to organizing for the elections.

LENI ROBREDO, CAMARINES SUR REPRESENTATIVE: My husband organized the basic sectors, but not just during the campaign. These basic sectors are actually empowered working sectors. And those who will emerge from them will be the leaders. So the organization was from ground to top.

Before running for public office, Robredo was a community organizer.
She says it is important to understand the needs of a community before providing help.
She says that people look for a connection to their elected officials.

LENI ROBREDO, CAMARINES SUR REPRESENTATIVE: I think that politicians do not exactly understand that money is not the biggest motivational factor for people to vote for them. All my meetings were done in street corners, under the tree, inside houses. I had small meetings. I was very diligent. I worked very hard. I woke up at 5 AM and ended at midnight or 1 AM, only to wake up again at 5, only to make sure that I visit every barangay, every sitio, every zone. I think people are more concerned with how personal their relationship would be to the candidate. It is not really important if they get something. What they need is hope. Everyone has my cellphone number. Everyone can text me anytime. Everyone can visit me anytime.

Robredo also comments on the way power works in the Philippines.

LENI ROBREDO, CAMARINES SUR REPRESENTATIVE: Both my husband and I always looked at power as a means of changing a lot of things. But power also diminishes character. When power gives you so many privileges you become attached to it and you use it for personal gains.

Story 7: UNA VOWS TO EXPOSE ‘PRACTICES OF THE PAST’
The United Nationalist Alliance says it will continue its role as “constructive partners” of the administration.
In a statement Wednesday, the opposition coalition congratulates the winners of the midterm polls, but says it will continue offering alternatives to the administration to ensure that economic growth trickles down.
Only 3 UNA bets — Nancy Binay, JV Ejercito, and Gringo Honasan — won in the polls.
The coalition adds, “Rest assured that our senators shall stay true to our principles of being responsible fiscalizers and constructive partners in nation building.”
In its statement, UNA also raises issues about the conduct of the midterm polls, citing the slow transmission of election results and early proclamation of the top 6 Senate bets.

Story 8: EXPERTS: MAY 20 OKLAHOMA TORNADO A RARITY
Experts say the three-kilometer wide tornado that swept through an Oklahoma City suburb is a ‘rarity.’
Meteorologists say tornados rarely reach the size and brutality of Monday’s twister.
A weather official says the tornado was a top category EF5 system with winds over 321 kilometers per hour.
Revising a previous higher death toll, local officials on Tuesday say at least 24 people — including nine children — died in the disaster.

Story 9: THE wRap: YOUR WORLD IN ONE READ
At number 4, voting 13-5, a US Senate panel backs the immigration bill which offers citizenship to millions of illegal immigrants living in the US.
This follows the withdrawal of a plan allowing people to sponsor same-sex partners for permanent legal status.
The bill is widely seen as the biggest overhaul of US immigration policy in more than a quarter of a century.
The full Senate will now debate the proposal next month.

At number 7, ‘Abenomics,’ or the economic survival plan for Japan, needs a boost from ‘womenomics,‘ a set of measures aimed at closing the gender gap in the Japanese workforce.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says women in Japan are the most underutilized resources, with about 70% of Japanese women giving in to cultural pressure to leave the workforce after having a child.
The International Monetary Fund forecasts Japan’s population will shrink by 30% by 2055, with the population getting older and workers who pay for the pensioners getting fewer.

And at number 10, 30 years after French researchers discover AIDS, the cure remains out of reach.
But in a 3-day conference in Paris, big names in medicine are set to give an upbeat assessment of the war on AIDS.
Scientists will pay tribute to the astonishing success of AIDS drugs and highlight steps being taken towards a cure.
Since its discovery in 1983, AIDS has killed an estimated 30 million people.
Roughly 34 million people are infected with HIV worldwide, and about 1.8 million die every year.

Newscast production staff