Rappler Newscast | January 13, 2014

Today on Rappler.

• “More pronounced” disapproval ratings for Senate President Drilon, House Speaker Belmonte and Chief Justice Sereno in a December survey.
• Flash floods and landslides hit Mindanao killing at least 13 people and forcing thousands of families to evacuate.
• Thousands of protesters occupy major streets to try to shut down Thailand’s capital.

Story 1: DISAPPROVAL RATINGS ‘MORE PRONOUNCED’ FOR 3 TOP OFFICIALS
A new Pulse Asia survey released Monday shows “more pronounced” disapproval and distrust ratings for 3 top government officials: Senate President Franklin Drilon, House Speaker Sonny Belmonte, and Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.
The top issues during the survey period included the devastation from Super Typhoon Yolanda and investigations on the multi-billion peso pork barrel scam.
Drilon’s approval ratings drop 7 percentage points, while his trust rating falls 6 percentage points.
In its September survey, Pulse Asia said the controversy over the pork barrel scam pulled down Drilon’s ratings.
His disapproval and distrust ratings for December are both at 21%.
18% of Filipinos surveyed disapprove of Belmonte’s performance, while 20% don’t trust him.
Sereno gets an 18% disapproval rating and 17% distrust rating.
The survey also shows more Filipinos approve and trust Vice President Jejomar Binay than President Benigno Aquino.
Binay gets an 80% approval rating and 77% trust rating – higher than Aquino’s 73% approval rating and 74% trust rating.
Aquino’s approval ratings also drop from 79% in September to 73% in December.
Of the three key government institutions, only the Supreme Court gets a majority approval rating of 52%.
But none of the three enjoys the trust of most Filipinos, with the Senate’s trust rating only at 42%, the House at 39%, and the Supreme Court at 46%.
Despite Drilon’s drop in ratings, the Senate emerges a big winner in the survey, with a 6-point increase in approval ratings from 39% in September to 45% in December.

Story 2: FLOODS, LANDSLIDES HIT MINDANAO; 13 DEAD
A low pressure area triggers flash floods and landslides in Mindanao, hitting areas still recovering from the devastation of 2012’s Typhoon Pablo.
At least 13 people died and 34 others injured.
The affected areas include Surigao del Norte; the towns of Lupon and Tarragona in Davao Oriental; the town of Monkayo in Compostela Valley, and Barangay Andap in New Bataan.
More than 25,000 families are in evacuation shelters in 16 towns and 2 cities.
At least 33 roads and bridges are not passable, making search and rescue operations more difficult.
The state-run Philippine Information Agency reports 4 towns and one city are now under a state of calamity.
A report from the Philippine News Agency says Davao Oriental may also be placed under a state of calamity.
State weather bureau Pagasa also reports rains in areas recently hit by Typhoon Yolanda or Haiyan.
In its 5pm bulletin, Pagasa says the low pressure area is estimated at 45 km east of Dipolog City.
Visayas, Northern Mindanao and Caraga region will experience cloudy skies with moderate to occasionally heavy rain.

Story 3: COTABATO ARCHBISHOP ORLANDO QUEVEDO NAMED CARDINAL
Pope Francis names Cotabato Archbishop Orlando Quevedo one of the 16 new cardinals Sunday, making him the first cardinal to come from Mindanao.
In the predominantly Catholic Philippines, Quevedo’s territory has endured one of the world’s longest running Muslim insurgencies.
Within his archdiocese, the Church estimates only 51.54% of the population are Catholics – barely a majority.
Quevedo, a former president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, says in a widely quoted paper that the root cause of the conflict in Mindanao is injustice.
Quevedo will formally join the College of Cardinals in a Consistory to be held on February 22.
The new cardinals come from 12 countries in 5 continents.
In his announcement, Pope Francis says the new cardinals –quote– “represent the deep ecclesial relationship between the Church of Rome and the other Churches throughout the world.”
In a letter to the new cardinals, Pope Francis also warns them to remain simple and humble, and avoid “worldliness” and “celebrations.”
He adds, “The post of cardinal is not a promotion or an honor or a decoration. It is simply a service that demands a wider view and a bigger heart.”
The new Filipino cardinal faced controversy in 2011, when critics tagged him and 6 other bishops as recipients of expensive vehicles from the government for personal use.
Quevedo denies the accusation, but admits to having requested a vehicle from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office “to be used by their social action program.”

Story 4: THAI OPPOSITION PROTESTERS LAUNCH BANGKOK ‘SHUTDOWN’
Thousands of opposition protesters occupy major streets in central Bangkok Monday in an attempted “shutdown” of the capital, stepping up their campaign to overthrow Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.
Thousands of flag-waving protesters gather at key intersections in the city, forcing many to leave their cars at home and take public transport instead.
Police say several hospitals, hotels, schools and fire stations are affected by the shutdown.
The protests are triggered by a failed amnesty bill that could have allowed former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra to return from self-exile without going to jail for corruption charges.
The protesters say they want to rid Thailand of the “Thaksin regime.”
Protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban says the rallies are a “people’s revolution.”
The government has not tried to stop the protesters taking over parts of the city, but authorities say they are ready to declare a state of emergency if violence breaks out.

Story 5: THE wRap: YOUR WORLD IN ONE READ
At number 5, Iran will start eliminating its stockpile of enriched uranium and dismantling its nuclear weapons infrastructure beginning January 20.
The move is part of a landmark deal that will lift sanctions on Iran.
US President Barack Obama welcomes the news, but warns of a tough road ahead toward a comprehensive deal.
The deal is a major achievement for President Hassan Rouhani, who won the elections last year by promising a more diplomatic approach with the West.

At number 6, Kyodo news agency reports the US army tested biological weapons in Okinawa, Japan in the early 1960s.
Citing military documents it obtained, Kyodo says the same experiments were also conducted on the US mainland and in Taiwan.
The report says rice blast fungus was released over rice fields and data was collected on how it affected rice production.

And at number 8, French President Francois Hollande’s political and personal problems worsen after his girlfriend was rushed to hospital, following a report he was having an affair with an actress.
Aides say Valerie Trierweiler, who lives with the president in the Elysee Palace, was admitted to hospital on January 10 to undergo tests.
Closer magazine earlier reported the 59-year-old Hollande has been having an affair with actress Julie Gayet.
Hollande threatened a lawsuit but did not deny the substance of the allegations.

Japan rice field image from Shutterstock

Story 6: WINNERS: 71ST GOLDEN GLOBES
The Golden Globes kick off Hollywood’s awards season Monday, with A-list nominees vying for the major honors.
The awards are considered good indicators of which films will likely get the top awards at the Oscars in March.
The historical film “12 Years a Slave” wins the best film drama award, while crime movie “American Hustle” gets the top prize for best comedy or musical film.
American Hustle’s Amy Adams also takes home the best actress award, while crowd favorite Jennifer Lawrence wins best supporting actress.
In the television category, crime drama hit “Breaking Bad” gets the top prize.
The hit TV show also bags an award for star Bryan Cranston.

Story 7: BACKSTAGE FOR WICKED: WITCH COSTUMES, HAIR AND MAKE-UP
The mean, green, evil witch of Oz is coming to Manila for the musical, Wicked. What does it take to bring the mythical land to life onstage? G Tongi joins the production’s wardrobe and makeup heads backstage as they walk through how they make theater magic.

G TONGI, REPORTING: I’m here onstage at the iconic Civic Theater in New Zealand to get to talk to the people behind the magic of Wicked!
Paul Flanagan, Head of Wardrobe talks to us about the costumes for the witches of Wicked and shares some interesting trivia!

PAUL FLANAGAN, ‘WICKED’ HEAD OF WARDROBE: We have 380 costumes and each costume comes with its own shoes and gloves and hats and glasses. This is Glinda’s bubble dress. [It looks heavy.] It is heavy. Here. [Oh my gosh it is heavy!] In designing this, the designer Susan Hilferty wanted to connect Glinda very much to the sky and the stars and rainbows. So all of Glinda’s stuff looks lightweight and it’s frilly and it’s full of layers. Elphaba on the other hand, the Wicked Witch, is heavier and darker and she’s very connected to the earth. Okay the quick change out of this (bubble dress) into her uniform is about 15-16 seconds. [15 seconds to get out of this dress?] 15 seconds to get out of it and into another costume entirely with a wig change at the same time.

So we’re here with Kelly Ritchie, head of hair and makeup.
And you have about 70 wigs in the show?

KELLY RITCHIE, ‘WICKED’ HEAD OF HAIR & MAKEUP: That go onstage every night, yes. These wigs are individually hand knotted and made to fit the performers actual hairline and head and they take 18-40 hours to make one wig. We have a pancake makeup from MAC with landscape green and we have these awesomely huge brushes. We put water in there. The secret is getting the right consistency water to product ratio which can take a little time when you’re learning to do it. So we whip it onto the skin. We have a base, a foundation base underneath as well so it doesn’t grab on too much on the performers skin. [And they can sweat through this?] There are times, their fingertips will come off and rub a bit so then we reapply in interval. [So Kelly tell us, how long does the makeup process take for Elphaba, from start to finish?] From start to finish, it can take about 25 mins to 45.

Don’t miss the Manila tour of the Wicked production to see the bedazzling costumes, elaborate wigs and iconic green Elphaba makeup.
G Töngi, Rappler Manila.

Wicked opens on the 22nd of January at the CCP.

– Rappler.com

Newscast Production Staff

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER / WRITER	Lilibeth Frondoso
DIRECTOR	Rupert Ambil
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER / PUBLISHER	Rodneil Quiteles
	Dindin Reyes
HEAD WRITER / PROMPTER	Katerina Francisco
MASTER EDITOR / PLAYBACK	Vicente Roxas
	Exxon Ruebe
	Jom Tolentino
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR / CAMERAMAN	Charlie Salazar
	Adrian Portugal
	Francis Lopez
	Naoki Mengua
GRAPHICS	Jessica Lazaro
	Matthew Hebrona
3D GRAPHICS	Sten Bautista