Rappler Newscast | January 7, 2014

Story 1: INFLATION AT 2-YEAR HIGH AFTER HAIYAN
The government says devastation caused by Typhoon Yolanda — international name Haiyan — pushes inflation to a 2-year high of 4.1% in December.
Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan says prices of major food items rose across the board, especially in storm-hit areas.
Balisacan adds, “Some food items even reached double-digit inflation in the areas hardest hit by the typhoon.”
Yolanda lashed Visayas in November, leaving at least 8,000 people dead and missing and more than four million homeless.
It also destroyed key infrastructure, which led to gridlocks resulting in artificial supply crunches.
He says December 2013’s inflation is the highest since the 4.2% registered in December 2011.
An uptick on oil prices… and a 40% hike in generation charges imposed by Meralco also added to inflation pressures.

Story 2: GIANT FIRMS ‘ADOPT’ HAIYAN-HIT AREAS
Rehabilitation Secretary Ping Lacson says several big companies pledge to “adopt” areas affected by the super typhoon.
Lacson compares the list of areas to a bridal registry, from which big corporations can pick the local government units to help.
Lacson says the firms adopted more than half of the 24 development areas identified after the typhoon.
These comprise 171 cities and municipalities clustered by the government.
Others pledged to take care of sectors like housing, health, classrooms, and livelihood.
Named the presidential assistant for rehabilitation and recovery in December, Lacson has made public sector involvement a thrust of rehabilitation efforts.
He says companies that adopt LGUs will do this for free, as part of their corporate social responsibility.
Lacson says he wants to avoid the commingling of government and private funds to manage the rehabilitation efforts effectively.
The rehabilitation czar also says he is looking into reports of alleged corruption involving a local official getting kickbacks of 30 to 35% from bunkhouses intended for typhoon victims.

Story 3: MEASLES-FREE PHILIPPINES BY 2017?
Can the Philippines eliminate measles in 3 years’ time? The Department of Health or DOH says there is enough time as it prepares for a nationwide vaccination in September.
This is the long-term solution of the DOH for its target of a measles-free nation by 2017.
Health Assistant Secretary Eric Tayag says, “We’re one of the first countries to target measles elimination.”
He says being measles-free means that in a population of 100 million, the laboratory-confirmed cases should not exceed 100 people.
Last year, the confirmed cases numbered 1,724.
The Philippine population is 92.34 million based on the 2010 census, but the Commission on Population expected the number to reach 97.7 million in 2013.
Tayag says the mass immunization will be conducted for the whole month of September, targeting 13 million children nationwide.
Measles is a viral, highly-contagious respiratory disease.
Infected persons exhibit symptoms such as high fever, red eyes, runny nose and cough. Rashes appear throughout the body after two days.
Tayag urges parents in areas with a measles outbreak to have their children vaccinated.

Story 4: PH TO DOUBLE SIZE OF ELITE ANTI-TERROR TROOPS
The military will double the size of its elite anti-terrorism unit to a regiment composed of 6 companies.
The current Light Reaction Battalion or LRB – which consists of 3 companies or about 300 troops – led over 3,000 soldiers and police deployed in the Zamboanga City siege in September 2013.
Army chief Lieutenant General Noel Coballes says, “We saw the effectiveness of the unit during the Zamboanga City siege. We are strengthening our anti-terrorism efforts.”
The soldiers are trained experts in counter-sniper tactics and can fight in total darkness using modern gadgets and equipment.
In Zamboanga, eight of the 20 soldiers killed belonged to the LRB — 2 officers and 7 non-commissioned officers.

Story 5: SC AFFIRMS DISMISSAL OF NANI PEREZ’ ROBBERY CHARGE
The Supreme Court on Tuesday affirms the Sandiganbayan decision acquitting former justice secretary Nani Perez of robbery with intimidation in a case filed against him in the anti-graft court.
The case comes from a complaint filed before the Ombudsman by former Manila Congressman Mark Jimenez, accusing Perez of extorting $2 million from him supposedly in exchange for not being named a co-defendant in the plunder case against former President and now Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada.
The High Court cites the Ombudsman’s violation of Perez’ constitutional right to due process and a speedy trial as grounds for dismissal.
Perez was appointed justice secretary by former President Gloria Arroyo after Estrada’s ouster.
In 2002, then Bulacan Representative Wilfrido Villarama referred to an alleged bribery involving Perez.

Story 6: LUISTRO: ‘NO COMPELLING REASON’ TO PUSH FOR SCHOOL CALENDAR SHIFT
Education Secretary Armin Luistro says the department is open to the idea of shifting the academic calendar, but adds there is “no compelling reason” to move the calendar in basic education to September-June.
In the current academic calendar, classes begin in June and end in March.
Some of the country’s major universities are considering shifting the start of classes to match neighboring countries in preparation for the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015.
In a statement Tuesday, Luistro says the shift is not a compelling concern for basic education.
He says that there is no common school opening for basic education among ASEAN countries, unlike in tertiary education.
He also says student mobility is –quote– “very limited” among grade school and high school students in ASEAN.
Luistro adds that moving the academic calendar to begin September is not advantageous if the only reason is to avoid typhoons.
If the shift pushes through, he says there could be a “negative impact” on learning during the year’s hottest months: April and May.

Story 7: THE wRap: YOUR WORLD IN ONE READ
At number 4, German Chancellor Angela Merkel is injured in a fall while cross-country skiing in Switzerland, forcing her to cancel meetings and cut back her schedule for 3 weeks.
The 59-year-old chancellor suffers a fractured pelvis from a fall while skiing in the southeastern Swiss region of Engadin over the Christmas holidays.
The injury was initially thought to be just painful bruising, but doctors diagnosed a fracture in the pelvic area after her return to Berlin.

At number 7, Janet Yellen becomes the first woman to lead the US Federal Reserve.
Yellen gets bipartisan support in the Senate with 56 votes.
She replaces Ben Bernanke, who steps down on January 31 after eight years in the job.  
Yellen, a 67-year-old academic economist, has a long-term interest in the impact of joblessness on the economy and has helped keep Fed policy focused on bringing down the unemployment rate.

And at number 8, Japan’s ambassador to Britain hits back at China, a week after a Chinese envoy compared Japan to the Harry Potter villain Lord Voldemort.
In an opinion piece published in the Daily Telegraph, Keiichi Hayashi accuses Beijing of raising tensions in the East China Sea, where both countries have staked claims over disputed islands.
Hayashi says China could abide by the rule of law and seek dialogue or –quote– “play the role of Voldemort…by letting loose the evil of an arms race and escalation of tensions.”
Hayashi’s comments are a response to a piece by Chinese ambassador to the UK Liu Xiaoming, who criticized the visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine.