Rappler Newscast | January 31, 2014

Story 1: #BASYANGPH: 32 AREAS UNDER STORM SIGNALS

Tropical storm Basyang intensifies Friday as it moves towards Southern Leyte and Surigao del Norte.
As of 6pm, state weather bureau Pagasa says the storm makes landfall over Siargao Island.  
It’s estimated at 90 km East of Surigao City, Surigao Del Norte.
Pagasa warns at least 32 areas to prepare for the storm as it moves west with maximum sustained winds of 85 kph near  the center and gusts of up to 100 kph.
Storm signal number 2 is up over Iloilo, Negros Oriental, Negros Occidental, Siquijor, Guimaras, Cebu, Bohol, Leyte, Southern Leyte, Eastern Samar, Samar, Biliran Island, Camotes Island, Camiguin, Dinagat Province, Surigao del Norte incl. Siargao Is., Northern Part of Surigao del Sur and Northern Part of Agusan del Norte.
Signal number 1 is up over Masbate, Palawan incl. Calamian Group of Islands, Northern Samar, Aklan, Capiz, Antique, Misamis Oriental, Misamis Occidental, rest of Agusan del Norte, rest of Surigao del Sur, Agusan del Sur, Northern part of Bukidnon, Lanao del Norte and Zamboanga del Norte.
Pagasa says those living in coastal areas under signal number 2 should stay alert for storm surges.
The weather bureau also warns areas hit by Yolanda to prepare for heavy rain.
The affected areas include Leyte, the province worst hit by the super typhoon.
A yellow rainfall warning is up over the Southern part of Eastern Samar and Samar; Leyte; Southern Leyte; and Biliran Island.
More than 5,000 passengers are stranded Friday afternoon in 10 ports in Metro Manila, Bicol, the Visayas and northern Mindanao because of bad weather.

Help map reports of flooding in your areas.
Monitor and submit critical Basyang updates with Rappler’s disaster risk management tool, Project Agos.
You can help report any incidents of damage or other critical alerts on the Agos Alert Map.

Story 2: AQUINO WANTS FAST-TRACK WORK ON BANGSAMORO LAW

Philippine President Benigno Aquino urges the transition commission to speed up crafting the Bangsamoro Basic Law to give lawmakers enough time to study it.
The Bangsamoro Transition Commission or BTC was created in December 2012 to write the Bangsamoro law based on the agreements signed by the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front or MILF.
The peace panels signed the final annex on normalization on January 25, signaling a successful end to the first phase of the process.
The government and the MILF say they want the Bangsamoro region to be set up before Aquino steps down in 2016.
MILF panel chairman Mohagher Iqbal earlier said the commission set an April deadline to complete its work.
The President will certify the basic law urgent once submitted to Congress.
If approved, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao will be abolished and an interim Bangsamoro Transition Authority will take over until the election of officials in 2016.

 

Story 3: CHILD SOLDIERS AMONG 53 DEAD IN MAGUINDANAO CLASHES — MILITARY

The Philippine military says 3 child soldiers recruited by Muslim rebels were among the 53 people killed in a week of fighting between the army and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters or BIFF.
Colonel Dickson Hermoso of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division says the military overran 2 BIFF strongholds in Maguindanao, located in the villages of Damabalas in Datu Piang town and Dasawao in Shariff Saydona Mustapha.
Hermoso says soldiers and locals confirmed the 3 child soldiers were among the guerillas buried soon after their deaths.
Hermoso adds, “They are employing child soldiers with guns and camouflage uniforms. When we encounter them, we cannot discriminate if they are children or not.”
The UN special representative on children and armed conflict says it continues to receive “credible reports that the armed group was actively training and providing weapons to children.”
On Wednesday, the military says it captured BIFF strongholds in barangays Ganta and Bakat, both in Shariff Saydona Mustapha.
The BIFF is a breakaway unit of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
Fighting erupted hours after the government successfully ended its peace talks with the MILF in Kuala Lumpur.
The BIFF wants to pursue an “independent Islamic state.”

 

Story 4: PHILIPPINE CLIMATE CHANGE ENVOY LEADS NEW PROTEST

The hunger strike continues for Philippine diplomat Yeb Saño.
The climate change negotiator will lead another fast on Saturday in a bid to maintain pressure ahead of the next UN talks in Peru in December.
The Peru gathering will try to secure a global pact by 2015 that would limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius.
Saño made headlines last year after his 14-day hunger strike, when he drank only tea and water.
His tactics are beginning to attract followers around the world via social media and he expects them to follow his example.
He tells Agence France-Presse, “The objective is to keep connecting with the people who believe in climate justice… I’ve always believed in fasting as an important instrument in provoking change.”

 

Story 5: EGYPT TRACKS SOCIAL MEDIA, THREATENS ARREST

Egypt says it’s tracking users of social media sites like Facebook and Twitter and warns those whose posts incite violence that they could be arrested.
The interior ministry says it’s arrested 10 members of the Muslim Brotherhood for social media posts.
Officials say they use modern technology to track those inciting violence and those posting information on making explosives.
The crackdown began on Morsi’s supporters and the Muslim Brotherhood after the military ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July.
Egyptians used Facebook and Twitter to mobilize people for mass street protests that ended Hosni Mubarak’s regime.

 

Story 6: AMANDA KNOX GUILTY, SENTENCED 28 YEARS

It’s double jeopardy for US student Amanda Knox.
On Friday, an Italian court declares Knox guilty of murder, and sentences her to 28 years in prison for the 2007 murder of British student Meredith Kercher.
Kercher was found with her throat slit in the home she shared with Knox in Italy, where she was on an exchange program.
Knox and her former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were first convicted of the murder in 2009, then acquitted in 2011 on appeal.
A third suspect, Rudy Guede, is also convicted.
In a statement, Knox calls the ruling “unjust,” adding “Having been found innocent before, I expected better from the Italian justice system.”
She faces possible extradition from the United States if the verdict is upheld.

 

Story 7: THE wRap: YOUR WORLD IN ONE READ

At number 1, the United States will seek the death penalty for Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, one of the suspects behind the bombing of the Boston marathon in April 2013.
3 people were killed and about 260 wounded.
Attorney General Eric Holder says “The nature of the conduct at issue and the resultant harm compel this decision.”
If Tsarnaev is executed, he will be the first defendant put to death at federal level since 2001.

At number 7, A new study says nearly half of American children who were obese at age 14 were already overweight at age 5.
The study shows 14.9% of kids entering kindergarten are overweight.
Among 14-year-olds, obesity is most common among black children at 17%, followed by Hispanics at 14%.

And at number 9, the United Nations Children’s Fund or UNICEF reports 1 in every 5 young girls in sub-Saharan Africa endure female genital mutilation.
Genital mutilation is often done on girls between infancy and 15 years of age, causing severe bleeding, difficulty in urinating, infertility, and childbirth complications.
UNICEF says 140 million girls worldwide live with the effects of genital mutilation.
Violence and child marriage also remain widespread among some of the world’s poorest nations.

For the full top 10 visit Rappler.com’s ‘the wRap.’

 

Story 8: DANCING WITH THE GOLDEN DRAGONS

Dragon dancers are a fixture in Chinese New Year celebrations.
They are supposed to bring good luck.
David Lozada follows them as they walk around the streets of Binondo.

 

Even before the sun rises, the Golden Dragon team sets up their props.
They will go around Binondo town performing the traditional dragon dance and collect donations from stores.
Chinese New Year is now a highly competitive market for dragon dancers.
The team leaves early hoping to collect more.

DAVID LOZADA, REPORTING: Chinese worldwide see the dragon dance as a festive way of welcoming the lunar new year. They believe that the longer the dragon, the luckier they get. For dragon dancers, the performance is a way to earn money.

Twenty-four year-old Jason Cedeño makes his living dragon dancing.

JASON CEDEÑO, DRAGON DANCER: Bata pa ako mga 9 years old nagsimula na akong sumali ng grupo. Hanggang sa ngayon. Halos yung mga pamangkin ko ako na rin yung nag-guide sa kanila kung papaano gumawa, sumayaw. Para kahit papaano magkaroon sila ng experience at kumita rin sila.

(I’ve been a dragon dancer since I was 9 years old. I helped my nephews join our dragon team so they’ll have experience and extra income.)

But there are bigger dragons in Binondo that the team can’t take on.
Jason’s nephew Allen Cedeño says it’s difficult for them to compete with other teams since most of their members are newbies.

ALLEN CEDEÑO, DRAGON DANCER: Kapag may iba pong dragon, humihinto na lang po kami. Hindi yung nakikipag-kumpitensiya pa kami Yung ibang grupo po kasi nakikipag-away pa.

(When we see other dragons, we just stop. We don’t want to compete. Some competitive groups assault us just because we’re competitors.)

On lucky days, the golden dragons can earn as much as five hundred pesos each for an entire day’s performance. But sometimes, they go home empty-handed.
This Year of the Horse, Jason and Allen wish the dragon dance will bring them more luck.

JASON CEDEÑO, DRAGON DANCER: Bahagi na ito ng buhay ko eh. Ito na yung buhay ko. Itong pagsasayaw ng dragon dance. Okay lang sa amin kahit gaano kahirap kung paano sumayaw. Okay lang sa amin.

(This my life. Performing the dragon dance is how I make a living. I’ll continue dancing no matter how hard it is.)

David Lozada, Rappler Manila.

 

Story 9: SOCIAL MEDIA POST OF THE DAY

For our social media post of the day, there are mixed opinions on Hong Kong stripping Philippine officials of visa-free access.
Some are outraged, like Tiny Defensor, who says “Let’s all boycott Hong Kong as tourists. We spend 3 to 4 billion dollars a year in Hong Kong.”
But Butch Tan says, “This is a clever move by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to limit the action to government officials or those carrying official passports…”
“Hong Kong’s demand is addressed to the State, the managers of government.”
Fayne Vitan comments: “China and HK are not everything. I hope the government will create more jobs than relying on other countries to give us jobs.”

Story 10: RAK OF AEGIS

The Philippine Educational Theater Association opens “Rak of Aegis” Friday, a rock-musical inspired by the Filipino resilience during times of adversity.
G Tongi reports.

G TONGI, REPORTING: Rappler is here at PETA to see a special excerpt of their upcoming original musical called Rak of Aegis. Rak of Aegis closes Peta’s 46th theater season and is a musical that features the OPM hits of the 90’s band, Aegis.

Rak of Aegis is an original rock-comedy that celebrates the resilience of the Filipino spirit… inspired by the events of typhoon Ondoy.

Director Maribel Legarda collaborates once again with writer Liza Magtoto.

She says original works are important in creating a body of literature for the Philippines.

MARIBEL LEGARDA, DIRECTOR: The larger objective of PETA in doing original work is always really to be able to express what is the Filipino sentiment, whether it’s in music or performance, or whatever it is through art. We cannot be a world class force if we do not have our own originality!

Husband and wife Robert Sena and Isay Alvarez lead the theatrical production with lung powered musical numbers.

ROBERT SEÑA, THEATER ACTOR: Because it’s OPM, Me, I wasn’t here in the nineties so I don’t really know the music of the Aegis but when I heard the music, it’s really OPM!

Isay says the music may not be familiar now but was iconic during the nineties.

ISAY ALVAREZ, THEATER ACTRESS: We don’t really sing the songs of Aegis because for 1, it’s difficult and we’re not always heartbroken. It’s very Pinoy but the arrangement of Myke Salomon really makes the music more interesting…

Aicelle Santos plays the role of Ailene, a breadwinner with hopes of being discovered to help her family out of poverty.

AICELLE SANTOS, THEATER ACTRESS: Yung kwento nito eh, Bukod sa mga kanta, yung kwentong for sure makakarelate lahat ng Pinoy dahil bawat pinoy may pinagdadaanan na hirap eh. You know how Filipino’s are eh, despite all the struggles, the hardships, tomorrow, magiging okay lahat. Filipinos smile, kahit may delubio.

(Aside from the songs, all Filipinos will be able to relate to the story because every Pinoy has gone through hardships. You know how Filipinos are, despite all the struggles, the hardships, tomorrow everything will be okay. Filipinos smile even when there’s a deluge of problems.)

Please come watch Rak of Aegis from January 31 to March 9 at PETA Theater. Please contact Ticketworld at 891-9999 or you may visit www.ticketworld.com.ph or www.petatheater.com.

The Filipino spirit soars high amidst adversity in Rak of Aegis.

G Töngi, Rappler Manila.