Rappler Newscast | July 8, 2014

Today on Rappler.

• Indonesian presidential candidate Jokowi maintains a slim lead on a message of change against his rival Probowo’s message of a strong leadership.
• International artists Sting, Jason Mraz and the lead guitarist for Guns N’ Roses throw their support for Jokowi.
• A Philippine bishop says it’s okay to use marijuana to ease the pain of the terminally ill.

 

JOKOWI HOLDS TO SLIM LEAD, PRABOWO ENJOYS YOUTH SUPPORT

On the eve of the Indonesian elections, 3 different survey groups say Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo, or Jokowi, holds on to a slim lead of less than 5 points over his rival Prabowo Subianto.
A survey from Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting gave Jokowi a 2.7-point lead over the former general,
while Charta Politika Indonesia’s latest survey gave him a 4.1-point lead.
Both were released on Tuesday.
On Monday, Indonesian Survey Circle released its own survey, showing a 3.6-point lead for Jokowi.
Bloomberg also reports that Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite index rose to a one-year high on speculation that Jokowi will win the election.
International musicians throw their support behind Jokowi, bolstering his message of change and image as a man from the masses.
Heading the list is Sting, Jason Mraz, the English band Arkarna, and Guns N’ Roses’ lead guitarist Ron ‘Bumblefoot’ Thal.
Sting posted on his Facebook account “Use your rights, every vote counts.
Jason Mraz tweeted, “To my friends in Indonesia, this week you are empowered with your vote! Get involved in democracy and be heard!”
Arkarna’s band account tweeted, “Vote Jokowi now for a better and stronger future for Indonesia”
And Bumblefoot tweets, “Best of luck to @jokowi_do2.  I Support Jokowi.”
All of their posts are punctuated with the hashtag #Jokowi9Juli.
Jokowi is a fan of heavy metal music and was even given a signed bass guitar by the band Metallica after their concert in Jakarta in 2013.
Not to be counted out is his rival Prabowo who made an impressive comeback from a 20 point lag 3 months ago.
He enjoys a surge in youth support, with many admirers rejecting accusations of historical amnesia.
The Nikkei Asian Review reports, some highly educated Prabowo voters say their view takes into account the political instability in 1998, when dictator Suharto was toppled from office and Indonesia experienced democracy for the first time.
His supporters say, the Suharto system was not created by an individual.

INDONESIA ELECTIONS EXTENDS TO TWITTER, FACEBOOK

The 2014 Indonesian elections is being fiercely fought online, as much as it is being fought offline, using traditional campaign methods.
Ayee Macaraig is in Indonesia covering the run-up to the elections, and she filed this report.

It’s not Flappy Bird, it’s Go Jokowi!
In the country with the world’s number one Twitter city, this is the new campaign stage.
The heated race for Indonesia’s presidency plays out online in games, music videos, and hashtags.
Want to know the platform of Jakarta Governor Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and former special formers general Prabowo Subianto?
There’s an app for that!
Flap Jokowi Man shows Jokowi dodging offers of cash, while Prabowo has “Our 6 Actions” depicts his policies and programs.
Both camps know they need to engage young netizens, with one-third of Indonesia’s 190 million voters aged 17 to 30.
But the negative campaigning offline becomes even more viral online.

FADLI ZON, PRABOWO TEAM: Social media is influential especially for young and first-time voters. So far we’ve been using social media for campaigning but too bad there are still a lot of black campaigns, especially through fake, anonymous accounts. It makes social media unreliable.

Social media also reflects realities on the ground, with Prabowo having a slick, top-down online army, while Jokowi has a less organized campaign.

ANIES BASWEDAN, SPOKESMAN, JOKOWI CAMPAIGN: It has become a new battleground for the campaign, and Indonesians were so exposed to social media nowadays that engagement in that area is very important.  Our teams are also working on this.  In terms of size, I think we have dominated.  In terms of message, our message often not focused. This is perhaps the first election where social media played an important role.

But Indonesian youth are taking their own lead.
Youth movement Ayo Vote or “Let’s Vote” reaches out to young voters by gathering them to view election debates a la World Cup.

DISNA HARVENS, AYOVOTE: That’s the main problem it’s because in the past, politics from the New regime is dirty and people think politics is dirty and far from them. We try to educate by using pop culture like using social media. We play a game.

TV networks are turning off many young Indonesians with biased coverage of the candidates their owners are supporting.
But the success of events like Ayo Vote’s viewing party shows the youth are passionate about their country’s future.

JOHNSON PARDOMUAN: I’m not optimistic at first but now I see the young people in Indonesia participate more in politics, want to know more about politics, put their hearts and concerns in politics. We really hope there is hope for the future.
Indonesia’s youth are using social media not just to promote their candidates, but also to ensure their votes will be counted on election day.

AYEE MACARAIG, REPORTING: On the eve of Indonesia’s so-called social media elections, the youth turn to the Internet and their mobile phones to help them decide who their next leader will be. Despite partisan traditional media, young voters are engaging in the polls by channeling their creativity and hope online.
Ayee Macaraig, Rappler, Jakarta

EXPECTED HIGH VOTER TURNOUT IN INDONESIA

Rappler is in Indonesia to cover this election that will choose the leader of Southeast Asia’s largest economy for the next 5 years.

Indonesia is a key Philippine partner in economic growth and security, a close neighbor who is expected to lead the region to an integrated ASEAN by 2015.

Ayee Macaraig joins us live from Jakarta to give us the latest updates on what Jokowi and Prabowo are up to, the day before elections.

FILIPINOS: ARCHITECTS OF BUSINESS IN INDONESIA

It’s a common sight in Filipino communities abroad.
Every weekend, they gather for a meal and meet in church.
It’s the same in Indonesia, but with a difference.
Over breakfast, they swap stories about their latest business ventures and golf.
Filipinos in Indonesia call themselves architects of business. They’re a key part of the success story of the world’s fourth most populous country.
Ayee Macaraig reports.

Filipinos feel right at home in Indonesia, where they built lives and a reputation for professionalism.
Southeast Asia’s largest economy draws 15,000 Filipinos, known here as good English speakers, and skilled workers.
Starting with Filipino accountants in the eighties, the community grows in a country Filipinos consider the Philippines’ best friend.

THELMA VICTORIO, INVESTMENT OFFICER: If you see an ordinary English-speaking Indonesian kid in the mall who will be very proud in speaking in English and chances are, when you ask him, “Who is your teacher?” So even the Filipino educators now have penetrated the market.

From tackling the South China Sea at the diplomatic table, to talking rubber and palm oil in the boardroom, Filipinos and Indonesians are longtime partners.

AYEE MACARAIG, REPORTING: Professionals in banking, finance and education. Filipinos here contribute to the economic development of Indonesia. But it’s not just business they’re into. They’re also closely following this crucial presidential election.
The tight race for the presidency gets Filipinos talking not just about the future of the two countries, but also their past.

Pinoys say former general Prabowo Subianto becoming president is like a Marcos comeback.

JAMIL MAIDAN FLORES, JAKARTA GLOBE COLUMNIST: Neither the Indonesians nor the Filipinos have a long political memory. So it’s a failure of collective memory so that they can look upon candidates as if they have a clean slate.

WENCE SINGZON, LEGAL & BUSINESS CONSULTANT: They have Suharto, we have Marcos. So if you look at Philippines, we are actually ahead of Indonesia in terms of our economy, in terms of development but you will notice Indonesia is catching up very rapidly. So are we saying now that they are managing well than the Philippines? That’s the question.

While the Philippines and Indonesia share a dark past under dictatorships, things aren’t the way they were in two of Southeast Asia’s youngest but most vibrant democracies.

THELMA VICTORIO, INVESTMENT OFFICER: Today from the time I was here, the regime of President Suharto, things have really changed. People have been very proactive and the social media today is very evident and is being accessed to by everyone who has a mobile phone with an Android. I feel it’s a sense of belonging for any Indonesian people.

In their home away from home, Filipinos say the Philippines and Indonesia have much to learn not just from their past, but also from each other.
Ayee Macaraig, Rappler, Jakarta.

For all news related to the Indonesian elections visit www.rappler.com/indonesia.
Follow live updates from Rappler Indonesia – @RapplerID on Twitter.

VOLUMINOUS EVIDENCE VS ESTRADA DELAYS BAIL HEARING

Senator Jinggoy Estrada’s bail hearing on Tuesday is delayed because of over 1,000 documents to be used as evidence.
Defense lawyers said they were concerned over the amount of evidence to be used by the prosecution, who are expected to block Estrada’s petition for bail.
Estrada’s lawyer Jose Flaminiano notes the bail hearing is not supposed to exhaustively go into trial evidence.
Stephen David, counsel for alleged pork scam mastermind Janet Napoles says the prosecution’s strategy is to delay bail hearings so the accused remain in jail.
Among the evidence to be presented is the 452-page Commission on Audit report on lawmakers’ Priority Development Assistance Fund or PDAF and the November 18 complaint executed by the Ombudsman Field Investigation Office.
Estrada allegedly pocketed kickbacks amounting to P183 million for allowing Napoles-controlled NGOs to divert his PDAF.

GIGI REYES’ DETENTION WOES EXPOSE POOR JAIL CONDITIONS

What was supposed to be a simple hearing on the detention of former Enrile aide Gigi Reyes turns into a call for reform of the country’s jail system.
On Tuesday, anti-graft court Sandiganbayan’s 3rd division hears Reyes’ motion to transfer to the Philippine National Police Custodial Center.
Reyes is one of Senator Juan Ponce Enrile’s co-accused in a case over the siphoning of public funds to bogus projects.
Quezon City jail warden Elena Rocamora explains to the court the QC jail female dormitory, where Reyes was ordered to be detained, is 800% over its capacity.
In a report to the court, the Quezon City Bureau of Jail Management and Penology or BJMP says its female dormitory has 504 detainees instead of its capacity of 56.
Justice Samuel Martires points out the congestion in the QC BJMP violates the UN-prescribed 4.07 square meters in space per detainee.
He adds, the Commission on Human Rights has not been inspecting the jails.
In the meantime, Reyes is detained in a cell for women at the basement of the Sandiganbayan building.

CBCP REJECTS NAPOLES REQUEST FOR CUSTODY

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines or CBCP rejects the request of scam mastermind Janet Napoles for the bishops to take her under their custody.
CBCP president Archbishop Socrates Villegas on Tuesday says bishops “face obstacles from both Church and State laws.”
The CBCP released this statement after reports on Monday said Napoles requested the CBCP to take her under its custody.
Napoles is detained at Fort Sto Domingo in Sta Rosa, Laguna, for serious illegal detention charges.
In rejecting Napoles’ request, Villegas says taking Napoles into the CBCP’s custody will establish a precedent.
Villegas earlier granted one of Napoles’ requests – for him to visit her “for prayers and blessings for fast recovery.”
The CBCP president did this, but “told her the blessing will only give healing if she tells the whole truth without being selective.”
Villegas has been a vocal critic of the fund diversion system.
Shortly after Villegas’ rejection, Napoles’ camp denies sending a request for custody to the CBCP.
Her spokesman Bruce Rivera says lawyer Stephen David might have been quoted out of context when he said Napoles would be “safer with the clergy.”

YOUTH GROUPS FILE PLUNDER CHARGES VS ABAD OVER DAP

Youth and student leaders file plunder charges against Budget Secretary Butch Abad over the administration’s Disbursement Acceleration Program or DAP.
The petitioners say Abad “systematically misappropriated, converted, misused, and malversed public funds” through DAP, a scheme initiated in 2011 to transfer unused funds from slow-moving programs of one department to fast-moving projects of another.
Kabataan Representative Terry Ridon says the Supreme Court’s decision on DAP leaves public officials involved in the scheme “open for investigation for their criminal, civil, and administrative liabilities.”
Petitioners also cite Janet Napoles’ affidavit where she alleges she learned to use bogus NGOs for public funds through Abad.
Ridon says the group is also readying its impeachment complaint against President Benigno Aquino.

BILL SEEKS TO BAN HAZING IN AND OUT OF SCHOOLS

Valenzuela City Representative Sherwin Gatchalian files a bill seeking to end hazing in the Philippines.
Gatchalian says, hazing must be recognized by the law as a “barbaric criminal act compromising the integrity of any organization that employs it as a means of initiation.”
Gatchalian says the present Anti-Hazing Law is ineffective in deterring hazing in the country.
The proposed bill, House Bill 4714,  imposes a maximum penalty of life imprisonment and a fine of P3 million or $69,000 if the hazing results in death, rape, sodomy, or mutilation.
Fraternities, sororities, and organizations not based in schools are also covered by the bill.
Also known as the “Servando Act,” House Bill 4714 is named after college student Guillo Cesar Servando, who died after a hazing ritual conducted by members of the Tau Gamma Phi fraternity.

CEBU PRIEST APOLOGIZES FOR CHASTISING UNWED MOM

A video going viral on Facebook shows a priest castigating an unwed woman who wanted her child baptized.
The priest, later identified as Father Romeo Obach, gave the woman a mouthful in Cebuano saying,
“What you did was worldly. You allowed yourself to sleep with a man who isn’t your husband? Have you no shame?”
He adds, the child may inherit the consequences of his mother’s sin.
The video was uploaded Sunday by the baby’s grandmother Jieve Daitol Frias of Mandaue City.
It earned the ire of netizens, who compared Obach to Pope Francis who earlier this year baptized the child of unmarried parents at the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City.
Obach issues a public apology Tuesday.
In a letter posted on The Freeman Twitter page, Obach sought forgiveness for his actions.
It reads, “I am now making a public heartfelt apology to the mother of the child and her immediate family. The words I said and the rude attitude that I showed… was indeed unbecoming.”
He apologizes not only to the woman and her family, but also to those who witnessed the incident and the outraged netizens.

NEOGURI: JAPAN ON HIGHEST TYPHOON ALERT

Japan braces for one of its worst storms in years, as typhoon Neoguri or Florita moves toward Okinawa.
Its national weather agency issues its highest alert, urging nearly half-a-million people to take shelter.
The top-level warning means a threat to life, as well as the risk of storm surges, landslides, and massive damage from the typhoon
packing gusts of up to 250 kilometers or 155 miles per hour.
Waves could reach as high as 14 meters or 45 feet.
This photo of Neoguri was taken by astronaut Alexander Gerst from outer space, showing how massive it is.
About 6,500 Okinawan households had no power early Tuesday.
The storm comes less than a year after typhoon Haiyan or Yolanda tore across central Philippines, packing the strongest winds ever recorded on land, with more than 7300 people killed or left missing.
The storm could reach Kyushu island by Wednesday.
Neoguri has been downgraded from super typhoon status and moves north at about 20 km or 12.4 miles per hour, but still poses a serious risk of landslides and flooding.

THE wRap: YOUR WORLD IN ONE READ

wRap #2: MARIJUANA OK FOR TERMINALLY ILL – PH BISHOPS
On Monday, the head of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines said using marijuana to ease the pain of the terminally ill should be fine.
Archbishop Socrates Villegas says, “We are not promoting the use of marijuana. We are only referring to terminally-ill patients who are in severe pain.”
Philippine laws call for life imprisonment for the possession of just 500 grams of marijuana.

wRap #3: ‘BISHOPS WILL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR NOT PROTECTING YOUTH’
Pope Francis ensures Catholic bishops who failed to protect children from sexual abuse “will be held accountable.”
In a homily, Francis said “all bishops must carry out their pastoral ministry with the utmost care in order to help foster the protection of minors, and they will be held accountable.”
Considering Vatican officials have been reluctant to act against bishops accused of hiding sexual abuse, it is the pope’s strongest acknowledgment of the cover-ups in the clergy.

wRap #8: REMOTE CONTROL CONTRACEPTION POSSIBLY AVAILABLE BY 2018
A contraceptive computer chip implanted under a woman’s skin has been developed in Massachusetts.
The microchip releases a small dose of hormone every day for 16 years until stopped using a wireless remote control.
The BBC reports Microsoft’s Bill Gates backs the contraception project and will be submitted for pre-clinical testing in 2015.
Dr Robert Farra of the MIT says, “The ability to turn the device on and off provides a certain convenience factor for those who are planning their family.”

 – Rappler.com

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