Rappler Newscast | April 28, 2014

Today on Rappler.

• US President Obama makes no categorical commitment to defend the Philippines over its territorial dispute with China.
• The Philippines and the United States sign a military deal which allows American troops more access to Philippine military facilities.
• A survey shows Filipinos believe the government is not doing enough to ease inflation and poverty.

 

Story 1: NO CATEGORICAL COMMITMENT FROM US ON CHINA DISPUTE
US president Barack Obama is in Manila Monday for a 2-day state visit.
Obama arrives for an overnight stay, with an expanded bilateral agreement meeting on defense and security as his main agenda.
In his meeting with Philippine president Benigno Aquino, the two leaders discuss issues on trade and security cooperation, among others.
We have Natashya Gutierrez on the phone to report on the Obama visit.

For the first time in nearly 11 years, a sitting US President visits the Philippines in an effort by the United States to prove its rebalancing foreign policy to focus on Asia is still intact.
As expected, defense and security issues are the main focus of talks between US President Barack Obama and Philippine President Benigno Aquino.
Just hours before his visit, the two countries sign the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement or ECDA, a military deal that will give American troops wider access to military bases here.
The signing comes amid ongoing tensions between the Philippines and China over disputed territories in the West Philippine Sea.
But at the joint press conference after the two countries’ bilateral meeting, Obama insists the focus is not on China.

BARACK OBAMA, US PRESIDENT: Our goal is not to counter China; our goal is not to contain China. Our goal is to make sure that international rules and norms are respected, and that includes in the area of maritime disputes.

Obama also says it supports the Philippines’ peaceful route to resolve its dispute with China, but he did not say the US would defend the Philippines if it were attacked by China.

BARACK OBAMA, US PRESIDENT: We don’t even take a specific position on the disputes between nations. But, as a matter of international law and international norms, we don’t think that coercion and intimidation is the way to manage these disputes.

His statements are seen to be not as strong as the pronouncements he made in Japan, which is also involved in a territorial dispute with China. In Tokyo, Obama vowed to protect Japan if it were attacked by China.
Aside from security and defense, the two leaders also promise to partner together to help victims of typhoon Yolanda, and help sustain the country’s economic growth.
Aquino describes his meeting with Obama:

BENIGNO AQUINO III, PHILIPPINE PRESIDENT: Our meeting today was comprehensive, historic, and significant–embodying our shared values and aspirations. It accorded President Obama and myself the opportunity to build on the relations between our countries, and discuss our strategic vision for the future of the Philippines-United States relationship—a relationship that is modern, mature, and forward-looking, and one that allows us to surpass challenges, towards the benefit of our peoples, the entire region, and the world. At the end of the day, we do want to strive for the prosperity of our respective peoples. That I think has to be the primordial concern rather than disputes on a few rocks that are not possible to have inhabited.

Obama will spend the second day of his trip with Filipino troops at the military headquarters in Taguig and is expected to visit the World War II American cemetery in the same city before returning to the United States.

Story 2: OBAMA, AQUINO TAKE SOFTER STANCE ON PH ROW VS CHINA
Both President Obama and Aquino take a softer stance when asked about the Philippines’ territorial row with China.
The two leaders say they prefer to resolve issues through diplomacy, rather than coercion and force.
Obama says, even the United States has territorial disputes with its closest allies.

BARACK OBAMA, US PRESIDENT: I suspect that there’s some islands and rocks in and around Canada and the United States…But we don’t go around sending ships and threatening folks. What we do is we sit down and we have some people in the room. It’s boring, it’s not exciting but it’s usually a good way to work out these problems and work out these issues…Why is everybody so eager to use military force?

Aquino takes a similar attitude, saying the territorial dispute is –quote– “the only sour point” in the Philippines’ relationship with China.

BENIGNO AQUINO, PHILIPPINE PRESIDENT: At the end of the day, are not a threat militarily towards any country… we don’t even have a single fighter aircraft in our inventory…I think no country should begrudge us of our rights to be able to defend ourselves, to address our concerns and our needs…There has to be stability. And they in return have responded that the disputes in the South China Sea – West Philippine Sea – are not the end-all and be-all of our relationships. And we have had good cooperation with them in so many different fronts and perhaps one can’t even argue that this is the only sour point in our relationship.

Story 3: PH, US SIGN MILITARY DEAL
Hours before Obama’s arrival in Manila, the Philippines and the United States sign the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement or EDCA.
The EDCA allows American troops more access to Philippine military facilities.
Philippine Ambassador Lourdes Yparraguirre says there is no ceiling for the number of American troops who can visit the Philippines.

LOURDES YPARRAGUIRRE, AMBASSADOR, PH PANEL MEMBER: It’s an initial term of 10 years but there will be a regular consultations between the 2 parties to review the implementation of the agreement.

The EDCA also allows the US to construct facilities, upgrade infrastructure, and store defense and disaster preparedness equipment.
The buildings and infrastructure will become Philippine property.
US Ambassador to Manila Philip Goldberg says the US does not intend to set up military bases in the Philippines.

PHILIP GOLDBERG, US AMBASSADOR TO MANILA: I want to reiterate what it will not do. It will not reopen US bases…The EDCA will increase training opportunities for US and Philippine forces which will contribute to increased interoperability…It will also help in the shared goal of the modernization of the armed forces of the Philippines, and maintain and develop additional maritime security, maritime domain awareness and humanitarian assistance and disaster response.

Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin adds, the deal reflects a maturing relationship between the allies.
The details of the framework agreement will be negotiated and announced at a later date.
Some sectors criticize the negotiations, saying the talks were not transparent.
The EDCA is seen as the most significant part of Obama’s Philippine visit.
The Philippines earlier sought military assistance from the US to boost its weak defenses as the US refocuses its attention on Asia.

Story 4: MILITANT GROUPS PROTEST US, PH MILITARY DEAL
Burning American flags and effigy of Barack Obama – expect these and more during Obama’s two day visit.
Militant groups stage protests against the military deal between the Philippines and the US.
The militant group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan or Bayan says the agreement is –quote– “nothing but a clear one-sided pact for the sole benefit of the Obama administration and not for the Filipino people.”
Environmental groups also hit Obama’s Trans-Pacific Partnership or TPP agenda, which aims to eliminate trade barriers in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment says the TPP will allow the entry of toxic corporations in the Philippines by removing trade, environment, and safety regulations on the entry of foreign investment in member countries.

Story 5: MIRIAM: PH-US DEAL UNFAIR SURPRISE ON SENATE
Sen Miriam Santiago says the signing of the military deal between the Philippines and the United States without Senate approval is a sign of bad faith.
Criticizing what she calls ‘guile in diplomacy,’ Santiago says the agreement should have first been submitted to the Senate.
The deal gives US troops increased access to Philippine military bases, and allows them to construct facilities in these bases.
Santiago says the deal lacked transparency, and that the Senate should not have been kept in the dark.
But the executive branch says the agreement does not provide for US bases and merely implements past treaties and deals.

Story 6: GOV’T NOT DOING ENOUGH TO CURB INFLATION, POVERTY – PULSE SURVEY
A survey reveals Filipinos believe the Aquino administration is still not doing enough to ease inflation and poverty in the country.
Based on the March 2014 Pulse Asia survey, 26% of Filipinos approve of government efforts to control inflation while 34% disapprove of it, for a net approval rating of -8%.
This is an improvement over the December 2013 survey results when the government scored 28% approval and 44% disapproval.
In terms of poverty alleviation, 30% of Filipinos approve of government efforts, while 26% disapprove, for a net rating of +4%.
The administration gets majority approval ratings on two issues – fight against criminality and peace efforts.

Story 7: POPE DECLARES JOHN PAUL II, JOHN XXIII SAINTS
For the first time in Vatican history, two former popes were canonized on the same day.
On Sunday, Pope Francis proclaimed Pope John Paul II and Pope John XXIII new saints of the Catholic church.
Thousands gathered at the Vatican City to watch the historic canonization.
In Manila, Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle led the Philippine tribute to the two new saints.
In his homily, Tagle said the canonization is a proclamation to the world that holiness is real.

LUIS ANTONIO CARDINAL TAGLE, MANILA ARCHBISHOP: For those who say ang hirap magpaka-banal, the canonization of people we know, people who are part of our generation, is a declaration that holiness is real. ‘Yang katabi ninyo, sa maniwala kayo’t hindi, pwedeng santo o santa yan, kahit ganyan ‘yan. (Believe it or not, the person next to you can be a saint despite his shortcomings.)

Tagle also urged Filipinos to treat each other with respect and mercy.

LUIS ANTONIO CARDINAL TAGLE, MANILA ARCHBISHOP: No human society or community, and no nation can be built on any other foundation except mercy, compassion, and love…If you are a recipient of God’s mercy, show that mercy. Do not be unjust. Do not trample on the dignity of children, women, of the poor.

Pope John Paul II visited the Philippines twice.
John XXIII is credited for ushering in a wave of reforms in the Church by convening the Second Vatican Council.

Story 8: THE wRap: YOUR WORLD IN ONE READ
At number 6, the death toll in Saudi Arabia from the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome exceeds 100 on Sunday.
Authorities scramble to reassure the public, as the rapid rise in the number of deaths from the respiratory infection fuels concern.
39 people died in April – over a third of the 102 deaths registered since the virus emerged in April 2012.
As of April 24, the World Health Organization reported 254 laboratory-confirmed cases of infections, 93 of which resulted in death, worldwide.

At number 8, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas says the mass killing of Jews in the Holocaust was -quote- “the most heinous crime” against humanity in the modern era.
The statement comes at a sensitive time for US-led peace efforts, with Israel suspending talks after Abbas reached an agreement with the Islamist Hamas movement to form a unity government.
Although Abbas condemned the Holocaust in the past, his attitude came under heavy scrutiny since the early 1980s when he questioned the number of Jews killed in his doctoral thesis.

And at number 10, George Clooney is off the market.
E! News and People magazine report the 52-year-old actor is engaged to lawyer Amal Alamuddin.
Alamuddin was spotted with a ring on her left hand while vacationing in Malibu.
Alamuddin is a trilingual lawyer who specializes in international law, human rights, extradition and criminal law.
The two have been dating since 2013.

– 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
	Marga Deona
MASTER EDITOR / PLAYBACK	Exxon Ruebe
	Emerald Hidalgo
	Jaene Zaplan
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR / CAMERAMAN	Charlie Salazar
	Adrian Portugal
	Francis Lopez
	Naoki Mengua
GRAPHICS	Jessica Lazaro
	Raffy de Guzman