Rappler Newscast | June 26, 2014

Today on Rappler.

• The anti-graft court enters a not guilty plea for Sen Revilla in his plunder case.
• Senators Revilla, Estrada, and Enrile oppose the creation special courts to try their cases.
• A campaign video backfires for Indonesian presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto.

 

ANTI-GRAFT COURT ENTERS ‘NOT GUILTY’ PLEA FOR REVILLA

The 1st division of the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan enters a “not guilty” plea for Senator Bong Revilla on charges of plunder.

Co-accused Janet Napoles and Richard Cambe also plead not 

guilty.

Revilla allegedly collected the biggest amount of commissions amounting to P224 million or about $5.1 million…

in an elaborate scheme involving the diversion of public funds through fake NGOs set up by Napoles.

Two other senators are charged with graft and plunder over the scam…

Senator Jinggoy Estrada, who has been arrested and is now detained in Camp Crame…

and Senator Juan Ponce Enrile.

The court hearing Enrile’s case has yet to decide whether the case against him has probable cause.

 

SANDIGANBAYAN JUNKS BID TO AMEND ‘PORK SCAM’ INFORMATION

The Sandiganbayan junks the Ombudsman’s bid to amend the plunder information filed against Senator Revilla.

The amended information takes out the phrase saying alleged scam mastermind Janet Napoles used the scheme for her personal gain.

The new phrasing now shows it was the senators who acquired ill-gotten wealth.

Revilla’s lawyer Joel Bodegon says the amendments involve “substantial changes.” 

He say, the change downgrades Napoles’ case to graft.

Napoles faces both plunder and graft cases for the scam.

Napoles’ lawyer Stephen David earlier said his client cannot be charged with plunder because she is a private individual.

But Republic Act 7080 says any person who connived with any public official contributing to the crime may also be punished for the same offense.

Prosecutors say they are confident the original information was sufficient, but had to make amendments to eliminate vagueness.

 

ENRILE, JINGGOY, REVILLA AGAINST SPECIAL PDAF COURTS

Three senators charged in the biggest corruption scandal in recent history oppose the Ombudsman’s request for the creation of special courts to try their cases.

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales earlier asked the Supreme Court to create special divisions in the Sandiganbayan…

citing the special circumstances of the cases and the need to speed up the trial.

But Senator Enrile says this puts an impartial trial at risk.

He says “the highly charged and biased environment” surrounding the cases gives the impression 

the High Court has “joined the clamor for the condemnation.”

In a comment filed before the court, Senator Jinggoy Estrada says creating special divisions shows the administration is targeting the opposition.

Senator Revilla says the Ombudsman’s request is “discriminatory as it is unwarranted.”

He says the proposal violates the Equal Protection Clause in the Constitution that guarantees all the accused speedy justice regardless of the “magnitude and complexity” of the case.

 

CHINA HITS PHILIPPINES FOR SEEKING JAPAN’S HELP

China hits the Philippines for supporting a proposal to revise Japan’s pacifist constitution, which restricts Japan from defending an ally that is under attack.

In his visit to Japan, Philippine President Benigno Aquino said he supports Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s plan.

This comes as the Philippines and Japan remain locked in separate territorial and maritime disputes with China.

The Philippines is challenging China’s expansive claims over the South China Sea…

while Japan is competing with China over the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying says the proposal aims to  “promote the international influence” of the Japanese army.

Having suffered two wars with Japan, China is cautious about giving the Japanese army the ‘international role’ that the Philippines supports.

Japan put up a pacifist constitution after its defeat in World War II, with the dropping of atom bombs on cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

 

LUMBERA: PALACE SHOULD EXPLAIN AUNOR EXCLUSION

National Artist for Literature Bienvenido Lumbera protests the exclusion of veteran actress Nora Aunor from this year’s roster of National Artists.

Observers speculate Aunor was excluded because of run-ins with the law in recent years and drug use.

Lumbera says morality is irrelevant to her achievements as an artist.

 

BIENVENIDO LUMBERA, NATIONAL ARTIST FOR LITERATURE: If morality becomes a criterion then mahirap na pumili ng artist that will be honoured. What will happen is, the likelihood is a mediocre artist, or a less than superior artist will be chosen because he has lived a very conventional life, has even contributed to the  national image of good behavior. The morality issue opens the way for the entry of mediocre artists in the rank of national artists.

 

All honorees are subject to the scrutiny of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, and Malacanang.

Lumbera says the office of President Benigno Aquino should explain its decision.

 

BIENVENIDO LUMBERA: I felt Malacanang would have to explain why Nora Aunor was dropped from the list. Why explain? Because Nora Aunor was not an artist know only to a few people, Nora Aunor had a national following. And for her to be dropped from the list of national artists, this is for Malacanang to go against the sentiment of artists who chose Nora, the fans that Nora had developed over the course of her career as an actress.

 

CHAY HOFILENA: It’s become a political process? 

BIENVENIDO LUMBERA: Yes. Dito sa atin kung sino ang malapit sa mesa yun ang nagkakaroon, nakakain ng masarap na pagkain.

(Here in the Philippines, whoever is near the table is the one who gains, who gets to eat delicious food.)

Those who have no access to table remain in the periphery. So the politics of friendship and service. Caparas had cones some work for Gloria Arroyo. So he was in the favor of the president.

 

Lumbera says there is no organized protest movement yet.

He criticizes President Aquino for neglecting the arts.

BIENVENIDO LUMBERA: We have issued a statement on the matter calling Noynoy arrogant and elitist. 

I don’t think Noynoy has thought about it. Wala siyang concept of cultural heritage, anuman.

(He has no concept of cultural heritage whatsoever.)

 

 

LOW PRESSURE AREA BRINGS HEAVY RAINS, FLOODING

A low pressure area 190 km east northeast of Catarman, Northern Samar brings rains Thursday.

Metro Manila, Central and Southern Luzon, and Western Visayas will experience moderate to occasionally heavy rains and thunderstorms.

State weather bureau PAGASA says these can trigger flashfloods and landslides.

The rest of Luzon and Visayas will have light to moderate rains and thunderstorms, while Mindanao will be partly cloudy to cloudy with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms.

 

Check out Rappler’s Project Agos microsite…

a one-stop shop for educating the public on how to prepare better for disasters.  

Project Agos aims to raise awareness on climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction and management.

It can help people better prepare, respond, and aid in recovery.

Visit www.rappler.com/projectagos.

 

‘NAZI’ MUSIC VIDEO BACKFIRES ON INDONESIA’S PRABOWO

A political campaign goes wrong for Indonesian presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto.

A music video intended to draw youth support backfires, after German magazine Der Spiegel noted the video showed a famous Indonesian rock star wearing a Nazi-style uniform.

The video was uploaded sometime ago, but the German magazine drew attention to it Tuesday when it wrote that the singer’s black uniform jacket was similar to the uniform of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler.

Time magazine called the video “one of the worst pieces of political campaigning ever.”

It added, “It is particularly telling that fascist imagery has been used to drum up support for Prabowo, 

who was discharged from the military in 1998 over the abduction of pro-democracy activists.”

Despite the controversy, Prabowo narrowed the gap against presidential candidate Joko Widodo. 

A Wednesday poll showed Prabowo only 4% behind Widodo. 

 

 

BOY ESCAPES FROM ISIS, RECOUNTS THE TERROR

Terrorist group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria or ISIS kidnapped more than 140 schoolboys in Syria last month.

CNN reports the story of 15 year-old boy named Mohammed, who managed to escape the group.

On May 29, armed men stopped buses carrying children to the town of Ayn al-Arab and took the boys to the ISIS-controlled city of Manbij in northern Syria.

The boys, aged between 14 and 16, remain hostages, except for Mohammed and 3 others who escaped.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says the boys were forced to take daily lessons in radical Islamic theology.

In one instance, they were forced to watch a video of fighters cutting off a man’s head.

The militants told them, “This is jihad for the sake of God.”

Mohammed’s eyewitness account gives the world a closer look into the terrorist group’s operations. 

ISIS has not commented publicly about the kidnapping, but it often recruits children for combat. 

 

THE wRap: YOUR WORLD IN ONE READ

 

 

wRap #5: INDONESIA WARNS AGAINST HAZE IN SINGAPORE, MALAYSIA

Indonesia’s disaster agency warns haze could return to neighboring Singapore and Malaysia.

Disaster officials say the number of forest fires in Riau province, on western Sumatra island, is rising.

Last year, fires in the Indonesian province caused the worst outbreak of haze in Southeast Asia, sparking a heated diplomatic row.

June is the start of the forest fire season, when slash-and-burn techniques are used to clear land quickly and cheaply.

Experts say the El Nino weather phenomenon later this year is likely to fan the forest fires.

wRap #7: FROM GOOGLE TV TO ANDROID TV

Google unveils its successor to Google TV, called Android TV.

It’s a set-top box meant to improve TV viewing experience, using the Google Play store and partners like Netflix and Hulu to provide content.

It also makes recommendations based on users’ viewing habits.

Thanks to this development, Google Play games are also coming to your television. 

wRap #9: DIANE SAWYER TO STOP ANCHORING ABC WORLD NEWS

TV journalist Diane Sawyer steps down as the anchor of the “ABC World News” nightly newscast.

The 68-year-old journalist has been with ABC for more than 2 decades and has been anchoring its primetime newscast for almost 5 years. 

Reuters reports Sawyer will stay with the network in a new role.

ABC’s weekend anchor, David Muir, will replace her.

Before joining ABC, Sawyer worked at CBS news and was a correspondent for “60 Minutes.”

 

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

– Rappler.com

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