Rappler Newscast | May 28, 2013

Story 1: 53 ‘INITIAL’ PARTY-LIST WINNERS PROCLAIMED
The Commission on Elections proclaims 53 party-list winners of the 2013 midterm polls.
Comelec clarifies the list is of “initial winners.”
In a resolution, Comelec says it proclaims the groups “without prejudice to the proclamation of other parties… which may later on be established
to be entitled to one guaranteed seat, and/or additional seats.”
The pro-life group Buhay leads the roster of party-list winners, with 1,265,992 votes, winning 3 seats in the House of Representatives.
With 2 seats are A-TEACHER, BAYAN MUNA, 1-CARE, AKBAYAN, ABONO, AKO BICOL, OFW FAMILY, GABRIELA, COOP NATCCO, AGAP, CIBAC…
Proclaimed with 1 seat are ABAMIN, ACT TEACHERS, BUTIL, AMIN, ACT-CIS KALINGA, LPGMA, TUCP, YACAP, AGRI , ANGKLA, ABS, DIWA, KABATAAN…
ANAKPAWIS, ALAY BUHAY, AAMBIS OWA, 1-SAGIP, AVE, ATING KOOP, 1-BAP, ABAKADA, AMA, ANG NARS.
The Comelec, sitting as the National Board of Canvassers, leaves 5 congressional seats vacant.
The party-list proclamations could still be affected if the Supreme Court grants a reprieve to groups disqualified during election season.
One of the most affected groups is Senior Citizens.
It had enough votes to win, but Comelec disqualified it based on new criteria from the SC.
Comelec chair Sixto Brillantes says the SC can still issue status quo ante orders against Comelec.
He adds, these orders could come after at least 5 disqualified groups appealed cases before the SC.
Will a status quo ante force Comelec to recompute the party-list votes and possibly cancel the proclamations of some party-list groups?
Brillantes says quote– “this will entail adjustments. Some groups may even get dislodged.”
He adds if the SC grants a reprieve to the group Senior Citizens the top vote-getter Buhay, which got 3 seats, may lose a seat in Congress.
Other groups on the fringes may also lose their seats.
But veteran election lawyer Romulo Macalintal says he doubts the SC will issue Status Quo Ante orders.
Macalintal adds,  “It would be highly ridiculous if the Supreme Court would still go against the findings of the Comelec when the Supreme Court itself gave it authority to determine if these groups will pass these guidelines.”

Story 2: PCG ALLOWS TAIWANESE TEAM TO QUESTION CREW
The Philippine Coast Guard says it will allow Taiwanese investigators to interview the crew involved in the shooting of a Taiwanese fisherman on May 9. Commodore Eduardo Gongona is confident.
COMMODORE EDUARDO GONGONA, PCG FLEET COMMANDER: All others, wala kaming tinago sa kanila. The Coast Guard is not hiding anything. Everything was transparent. Yun ang sinabi ng commandant namin, na ipakita lang lahat. (All others, we haven’t hidden anything. Our commandant ordered for us to show them everything.)
The Taiwanese team finished its inspection of the Maritime Commercial Service 3001 the vessel involved in the confrontation with the Taiwanese boat Kuang Ta Hsing No. 28.
The Philippine Coast Guard reports the Taiwanese boat was seen
in Balintang island in northern Philippines.
The Filipinos tried to stop the Taiwanese boat from entering Manila’s exclusive economic zone.
The Coast Guard says the fishermen ignored orders for them to turn back and their boat allegedly rammed the coast guard ship.
The National Bureau of Investigation reveals it allowed the Taiwanese to watch the video of the encounter for a second time.
Taiwanese investigators will question the Philippine Coast Guard crew in the presence of the lawyers.
The Taiwanese investigators completed its ballistics examination May 27.

Story 3: ABS-CBN, GLOBE SEAL PARTNERSHIP
Lopez-led ABS-CBN and Ayala-led Globe Telecom seals the second convergence deal of media and telecommunications in the country.
ABS-CBN’s chief finance officer Rolando Valdueza says the partnership allows ABS-CBN to deliver its content on mobile devices.
He adds, “Through the network-sharing agreement, Globe will provide capacity and coverage on its existing cellular mobile telephony network to ABS-CBN Convergence on a nationwide basis.
The parties may also share assets such as servers, towers, and switches.”
The partnership has been in the works for over 5 years.
The Lopez and Ayala business groups quickly followed up the deal with the announcement of a new service called ABS-CBN Mobile.
ABS-CBN chair Eugenio Lopez III says “It’s a separate mobile brand. You have Smart, Globe and, now, ABS-CBN mobile.”
Officials say ABS-CBN mobile is expected to launch second half of 2013.
Its subscribers can make phone calls, send text and use data services.
In a separate announcement, Globe says its unit Innove Communications Inc and ABS-CBN Convergence Inc or ABS-C are the entities that entered into a deal.
Globe says they “will provide network capacity and coverage to ABS-C on a nationwide basis and connect ABS-C’s prepaid and postpaid billing and customer service management system to the network resources to be provided by Globe and Innove.”
This deal follows similar convergence moves by the PLDT Chair Manuel V. Pangilinan whose group acquired TV5 in 2009.

Story 4: MORE COLLEGES TO HIKE FEES – CHED
More private colleges and universities hike their fees in the new school year.
In an en banc meeting Monday, the Commission on Higher Education approves 78% of applications for increases in tuition and other fees.
354 colleges and universities will raise their fees this year, an increase from last year’s 222.
The approved average tuition fee hike per unit is P37.45 or 8.5% nationwide.
CHED chairperson Patricia Licuanan says it is the lowest percentage increase in the last 10 years.
The private schools cited faculty salaries as the main reason for the tuition fee hikes.

Story 5: CALLS FOR AUSTRALIA’S TOP CATHOLIC TO RESIGN OVER SEX ABUSE
Victims of child sex abuse by the Catholic clergy in Australia and their supporters call for the resignation of the church’s top ranking cardinal, Sydney Archbishop Cardinal George Pell.
On Monday, Pell admits to cover-ups by a predecessor, saying he was “absolutely sorry.”
Pell says progress was made as the church became aware of the extent of the problem.
Many in the public gallery of the hearing were unmoved.
Abuse victim Stephen Woods says he’s surprised by Pell’s statements the cardinal had acted in the best interests of victims.
Victims’ campaigner Helen Last says Pell should be removed after admissions the church covered up crimes in order to protect its reputation.
Asked whether he agreed that the Catholic Church had placed pedophile priests above the law, Pell replied: “In some cases, unfortunately.”
The Catholic Church in Victoria admitted there were 620 cases of criminal child abuse dating back to the 1930s.

Story 6: CHINA NEWBORN RESCUED FROM TOILET PIPE
China’s state media reports a newborn baby boy was rescued from a sewage pipe in an apartment building after being flushed down a toilet.
Residents in Jinhua call firefighters after hearing the two-day-old baby boy crying in the fourth-floor squat lavatory.
Attempts to pull him out failed, so rescuers sawed away a section of the four-inch diameter pipe with the baby inside and took him to a local hospital.
The baby suffered some cuts to the face and limbs.
Heart rate was low at one point.
The infant was put in an incubator and is now in stable condition.

Story 7: THE wRap
Let’s now look at Rappler’s “wRap” for today a list of the ten most important events around the world you shouldn’t miss.
At number 8, With the June 6 deadline for the European Union to decide whether to go ahead and impose punitive duties averaging 47% on imported Chinese solar products, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang weighs in for the first time.
He warns an EU investigation into Chinese-made solar panels and telecommunications equipment would backfire by hurting European consumers.
The European Commission argues Chinese firms are unfairly undercutting rivals.
At number 9, The United Kingdom and France are forcing the EU to lift sanctions against war-torn Syria, citing negotiations on the easing of the arms embargo.
The Guardian reports the vast majority of EU states oppose the shift, but assents in order to preserve a semblance of unified policy.
The dispute over how to respond to the civil war in Syria has exposed deep divisions in Europe.
And at number 10, The findings of a study question the little we know of what the Moon is actually made of.
A study published in the journal Nature Geoscience says minerals found in craters on the Moon may be remnants of asteroids that slammed into it and not, the satellite’s innards exposed by such impacts.
It has long been thought that meteoroids vaporize on impact with large celestial bodies.
Unusual minerals like spinel and olivine found in many lunar craters, but rarely on the Moon’s surface were attributed to the excavation of sub-surface lunar layers by asteroid hits.
For the full top 10 visit Rappler.com’s ‘the wRap.’

Story 8: SPURS MOVE TO NBA FINALS AFTER SWEEPING GRIZZLIES
The San Antonio Spurs returns to the NBA Finals after sweeping the Memphis Grizzlies in their Western Conference finals series.
Tony Parker scores 37 points with 6 assists while Tim Duncan posts 15 points and 8 rebounds to lead the Spurs to the 93-86 win giving them a berth in the championship round for the first time since 2007.
The Spurs will wait the winner of the Eastern Conference Finals series where the Miami Heat is leading, 2 to 1, over the Indiana Pacers.

Story 9: CERVICAL CANCER VO
Doctors say prevention is always better than a cure.
Especially for cervical cancer.
Devon Wong reports.

Cancer isn’t a subject that most people want to talk about.
But doctors say it’s buzz that will encourage cancer prevention before treatment.
Cervical cancer is the second highest form of cancer for women in the Philippines.
Many women carrying the disease aren’t diagnosed until they’re in the advanced stages.
Everyday, 12 women die of cervical cancer in the Philippines. It’s been called a “silent killer”.
Advocates believe the time is now for women to screen themselves as early as possible, before symptoms show.
ABBY ARENAS, BRAVEHEARTS COALITION: Filipina mothers are known to be martyrs in life. They’d rather do everything and anything for their loved ones. But this is actually a time to love ourselves.
Cervical cancer is commonly caused by the infection of HPV, or human papillomavirus.
But it’s also one of the most preventable forms of cancer– with HPV vaccines available in the market.
But doctors fear that it’s the price point that puts most women off.
CARRIE PACHECO-PURUGGANAN, DOCTOR: The price is definitely one of the barriers. It’s premium priced. But if you educate people enough (INSERT CUTAWAY) we’re trying to mobilize and lobby so that there can be some sort of funding from the government or partnership with local government units to make this more accessible to women
Doctors believe that the social stigma of HPV as a sexually transmitted disease also plays a role in low pre screening rates.
CARRIE PACHECO-PURUGGANAN, DOCTOR: We try to educate people that human papillomavirus is very common.
So anybody can get it. Even if you’re monogamous, you’re single, you’re a family woman, you‘re in a stable relationship, that’s really not a guarantee that you’re not going to get infected.
The answer to HPV may already be available.
But it doesn’t do much if women aren’t ready to ask questions.
It may not be a glamorous topic, but these doctors hope that HPV screening becomes a more attractive idea to women.
Devon Wong, Rappler, Subic