Rappler Newscast | May 16, 2014

Today on Rappler.

• Senator Chiz Escudero slams the justice secretary for submitting the Napoles list to the Senate.
• The Philippines is ready to implement the law against drunk driving.
• A woman in Sudan is sentenced to death for converting from Islam to Christianity.

ESCUDERO: DE LIMA ACTING AS NAPOLES’ LAWYER

Senator Chiz Escudero slams Justice Secretary Leila de Lima for submitting the controversial Napoles list to the Senate.
In a TV interview Friday, Escudero says De Lima should have demanded a sworn statement from Napoles.
He appeals to De Lima to not fall for Napoles’ attempts to muddle the issue.
De Lima says she did not want to submit the list without the affidavit and what she called a “vetting and verification process”
but Senate blue ribbon committee chair TG Guingona insisted the list be submitted Thursday.
De Lima says she hopes Guingona exercised more prudence in handling the controversial list.
Earlier, de Lima wrote to Guingona and asked the list be kept confidential until the submission of a narrative backing it up.
Her request was apparently denied when copies of the list were immediately distributed to members of the press.
In a related story, Senator Miriam Santiago cries foul over her inclusion in whistleblower Benhur Luy’s list.
She says Luy’s former lawyer Levito Baligod is behind the release of the list.
Santiago says “If there is any justice in this world, [Lawyer Levito] Baligod and his backers should be drawn, quartered and their severed heads hung from the highest Rizal Park flagpoles.”
There are 4 known lists of corrupt legislators involved in the pork barrel scam.
De Lima’s list reportedly came directly from Napoles, Panfilo Lacson’s and Sandra Cam’s lists allegedly came from “unimpeachable sources,” and the fourth from Luy.

 

PH-US WAR GAMES END AMID ESCALATING SEA TENSIONS

Philippine and US officials formally close the Balikatan 2014 war games Friday.
Thousands of troops from both the Philippines and  US participated in the war games which included maritime security exercises in beaches facing disputed waters and disaster response exercises in typhoon-hit areas.
The war games this year also saw the participation of Australian troops for the first time.
This year’s Balikatan happens shortly after the Philippines and the US sign a new defense deal before US President Barack Obama’s visit in April.
The deal was prompted by the Philippines’ request for US assistance in the wake of escalating tension with China over claims in the West Philippine Sea or South China Sea.
With the defense agreement, future war games are expected to be more sophisticated.
In his speech, Philippine military chief General Emmanuel Bautista says the complexity of the security environment -quote-“presents challenges that no nation or armed forces can face alone.”
Bautista earlier named 3 military bases that may be offered to the US troops: a naval detachment in Oyster Bay, Palawan; a naval station in San Antonio, Zambales; and Fort Magsaysay, an Army base in Nueva Ecija.

 

IRR OUT FOR LAW PUNISHING DRUNK DRIVERS

The Philippine police and other law enforcement agencies are ready to implement Republic Act 10586 or the Anti-Drunk and Drugged Driving Act.
The drunk driving act was signed into law in 2013.
It allows law enforcers to imprison and fine drunk or drugged drivers.
Violators face a maximum 20 years jail time plus a P500,000-penalty.
The minimum penalty is 3 months imprisonment and a P20,000-fine.
Transportation Secretary Jun Abaya says the new law sets the allowable blood alcohol level at below .05% for most motorists.
Drivers of public utility vehicles, trucks, and motorcycles are not allowed to have any amount of alcohol in their blood.
Holders of non-professional licenses also face a 12-month suspension for their first offense, and a perpetual revocation for a second offense.
For professional drivers, one offense is enough for them to lose their licenses forever.

Drunk Driving image via Shutterstock

CHINA NEWSPAPER BACKS ‘NON-PEACEFUL’ MEASURES

State-run Chinese newspaper Global Times backs the use of “non-peaceful” measures against Vietnam and the Philippines Friday, as it considered the possibility of war in the South China Sea.
The daily says “The South China Sea disputes should be settled in a peaceful manner,
but that doesn’t mean China can’t resort to non-peaceful measures
in the face of provocation from Vietnam and the Philippines.
Many people believe that a forced war would convince some countries of China’s sincerely peaceful intentions.”
China claims almost the whole of the South China Sea. The Philippines provoked its fury by seeking international arbitration in its dispute while Vietnam is experiencing its worst anti-China unrest in decades following Beijing’s deployment of an oil rig to disputed waters.

 

SUDAN JUDGE SENTENCES CHRISTIAN WOMAN TO DEATH FOR APOSTASY

A judge from Sudan sentences a pregnant woman to hang for converting from Islam to Christianity Thursday.
The woman, named Meriam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag, is convicted under the Islamic sharia law which outlaws conversions. She is also charged with “adultery” for marrying a non-Muslim man.
Speaking to an Islamic religious leader Meriam defended herself, saying she did not commit apostasy or the renunciation of her beliefs. She says: “I am a Christian and I never committed apostasy.”
One of Ishag’s lawyers says the defense will seek to overturn the ruling with a higher court.
Ishag’s death sentence triggers a series of protests, from locals to Western embassies expressing “deep concern” over her case.
Sudan’s Information Minister Ahmed Bilal Osman says Sudan is not unique in its law against apostasy, citing Saudi Arabia as an example.

TANAY LGU AND CIVIL SOCIETY WORK FOR DISASTER PREPAREDNESS

A mountaineering group in Tanay leads the way in youth empowerment.
With 230 active members, Tanay Mountaineers is the official disaster response team of the Tanay municipal government.
David Lozada reports.

This 22-year-old regularly trains in disaster response and search and rescue management.
Roxanne Hernandez believes it’s her responsibility.

ROXANNE HERNANDEZ, RESPONDER: yung climate change and global warming is trending and controversial so kino-consider natin siya na national threat.

(Climate change and global warming are controversial and trending topics nowadays.)

Kung hindi natin bibigyan ng pansin yung issue na ito, hindi magiging aware yung mga tao sa epekto nito sa ating bansa.

(If we don’t pay attention to this issue, others won’t be aware of its effects on the country.)

Roxanne is a member of the Tanay Mountaineers or TM, a non-governmental organization focused on disaster risk reduction and environmental protection.
The group started as a youth volunteer and mountaineering organization in 1997.
Because of their expertise in rescue, first aid, navigation and survival operations, they became the official disaster response team of the Tanay municipal government.

DAVID LOZADA, REPORTING: Tanay is prone to various natural hazards including floods and landslides. To answer the need for better disaster response and mitigation, the local government taps ITS youth to promote disaster resiliency and climate change adaptation in the different barangays.

Tanay lacks high-tech disaster response equipment.
But the local government invests in community-level preparedness and mitigation, tapping TM and the youth for these efforts.

Tanay DRRM chief and TM founding chairman Carlos Inofre says the partnership between the local government and civil society is key.

CARLOS INOFRE, TM Founding Chairman: I-utilize nila yung mga NGO sa area kasi dito namin effectively na-train yung communities down to the household level. We combine our resources kaya sa tingin namin disaster resilient na yung Tanay.

(LGUs should utilize local NGOs in their area effectively to train communities in disaster preparedness down to the household level. We combined our resources to make Tanay resilient)

TM trained the town’s 20 barangays and local law enforcers in responding to multiple hazards.
Most of TM’s operations are run by its young members.

ROXANNE HERNANDEZ, RESPONDER: Yung youth kasi yan yung mas may time. Yan yung mas may capacity in terms of physical, mental and intellectual capacity. Yung youth yung mas mata-tap natin nowadays para maging aware yung community paginating sa mga ganitong issues.

(It’s the youth who has the time. They have the physical and mental capacity to understand disaster risk reduction and management. We can easily tap them to make their communities aware of the issues they face)

Tanay’s example shows the lack of equipment and budget need not cost lives.
and that community preparedness is the best way to adapt to disasters.
Tanay Mountaineers will keep training the next generation of Filipino life savers, hoping to see a more disaster resilient Philippines
David Lozada, Rappler, Tanay, Rizal.

THE wRap: YOUR WORLD IN ONE READ

wRap #7: 4 WEEKS BEFORE WORLD CUP: STRIKES, PROTESTS IN BRAZIL

With just four weeks left before it kicks off, the World Cup in Brazil faces a test of its security preparations as people protest the cost of the event.
Protesters say the $11 billion Brazil spent on the World Cup could have been spent on transport, education, housing, and health care.
Although most demonstrations were peaceful, police used teargas against a group of masked demonstrators in Sao Paulo as tensions rose.

wRap #8: VACCINE WIPES OUT WOMAN’S CANCER

US scientists believe cancer can be cured by a single vaccine shot.
A potent dose of engineered measles virus is shown to have completely wiped out a woman’s cancer.
The patient was diagnosed with a kind of bone marrow cancer and given a dose of measles virus selectively toxic to myeloma plasma cells.
The patient experienced some side effects such as severe headache early on but the tumor on her forehead soon disappeared and her bone marrow cleared.

wRap #9: GOOGLE ASKED: FORGET ME

Google receives a series of takedown requests after a European court rules a citizen could ask the tech giant to remove “irrelevant and outdated” search results.
The BBC reports, requests include a former politician running for re-election asking to remove links to stories about past behavior as well as a doctor who wants negative reviews from patients deleted.

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

INDONESIA BANS VIMEO DUE TO ‘PORN’

Indonesia’s Communications Minister Tifatul Sembiring moves to ban video-sharing website Vimeo.com because of pornography.
This puzzles Indonesian Internet users.
Indonesia’s Communications ministry releases a list of keywords said to be used in Vimeo to search porn.
Vimeo spokesperson Jessica Casano-Antonellis says the site “does allow nudity in some non-sexual and creative contexts, but doesn’t allow pornography.”
Vimeo acknowledges Indonesia’s official request Monday on Twitter, a day after the ministry imposed the ban.
Vimeo did not elaborate on the nature of the ban.
Indonesian daily The Jakarta Globe says Sembiring is “a staunch anti-pornography crusader” and “has sought to tighten government control over the Internet” since he took office.

– 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