Rappler Newscast | August 14, 2014

Today on Rappler.

• President Aquino now says he’s open to charter change and a second term as president.
• A Pulse Asia survey says most Filipinos don’t understand the pork barrel corruption scandal.
• An Asia expert says China needs to embrace the rise of its neighbors in Asia.

AQUINO NOW OPEN TO CHARTER CHANGE, 2ND TERM

Reversing his position, President Benigno Aquino says he’s open to changing the Constitution… a move that allows him to run for a second term.
In an interview with News5, he said his clash with the Supreme Court led to his change of heart.
Aquino said, “The balance between the 3 branches of government seems to be gone.”
He complained, “Congress and the executive, we do our jobs, but anytime, you can be castigated.”
He said the Supreme Court has too much power and is not practicing “judicial restraint.”
The President and the judiciary clashed after the High Court declared parts of the administration’s spending program unconstitutional.
The current Constitution prohibits a president from re-election.
It was drafted in 1987 under Aquino’s late mother Corazon.
Aquino explained, “Of course, my bosses, I have to listen to them,” referring to the Filipino people.
Previous Philippine presidents Fidel Ramos and Gloria Arroyo also attempted to tinker with the Charter, but failed.

LAWMAKERS ON AQUINO 2ND TERM: GOOD MOVE OR POLITICAL SUICIDE?

How are lawmakers reacting to a second term for President Aquino?
Most echo party lines, but some administration allies are shaking their heads.
Liberal Party members in the House welcome Aquino’s proposal to revisit the parameters of “judicial reach…”
while some approve the proposal to lift term limits.
Oriental Mindoro Representative Reynaldo Umali says the President “means well.”
He adds, “Six years is too short for a good president and too long for a bad one.”
But other Aquino allies do not want a second term.
Valenzuela City Representative Sherwin Gatchalian says amending the Constitution to extend Aquino’s term would be –quote– “political suicide.”
Critics, on the other hand, say Aquino’s shift on charter change shows his “true colors.”
Kabataan Representative Terry Ridon calls Aquino “delusional.”
He adds, “Mr. President, the calls for your reelection are coming from your own backyard.
The vast majority of the Filipino people actually want you out.”
ACT Teachers Representative Antonio Tinio compares Aquino to his predecessor
Gloria Arroyo, who reneged on her promise not to run for reelection in 2004.
Tinio says, “This is Aquino’s Arroyo moment.”

FILIPINOS AWARE, BUT MANY DON’T UNDERSTAND, PORK SCAM – PULSE ASIA

A Pulse Asia survey shows 9 out of 10 Filipinos know the people involved in the multibillion-peso pork barrel scam…
but more than half know little about the corruption scandal.
The survey shows 90% of Filipinos know about businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles, whistleblower Benhur Luy, and the senators accused of colluding to divert public funds.
But 56% of respondents admit having “little or no knowledge at all” about details of the issue.
The survey also shows public opinion is split on the believability of the involvement of people in the scam.
34% of respondents believe some of those tagged by Napoles and Luy are “believably involved”…
while 30% say most of those tagged are “believably involved.”
19% of respondents say all of those named are involved in the controversy…
while only 4% believe none of those named are involved.

PALPARAN: THE MAN AND THE MYTH   

Retired Major General Jovito Palparan files an urgent motion to remain at the National Bureau of Investigation or NBI, where he is currently detained, citing security concerns.
Palparan cites military intelligence reports that says an NPA liquidation squad is out to kill him.
The United Nations Human Rights Office for Southeast Asia on Thursday stressed the importance of the Palparan case not only for the Philippines but for the region.
It says “Ensuring justice… will set an important precedent for the Philippines and South East Asia region, where impunity remains.”
Rappler’s Patricia Evangelista followed the story of the 2 missing University of the Philippines students and the military general who allegedly ordered their abduction.
She looks back at the man and the myth and asks: is this the end of the legend of Palparan?

He inspired both fear and awe for more than a decade.
Called butcher by some, hero by others, Jovito Palparan unified both sides.
For the right, he was an incorruptible ideologue, whose iron fist crushed the plague of the world’s longest-running communist insurgency.

JOVITO PALPARAN, FORMER MAJOR GENERAL: Well hopefully ‘yung bansa natin matahimik, kung wala nang insurgency, kung wala nang CPP-NPA.

To the left he was a power-hungry madman, whose very brutality created a common enemy for moderates and progressives.
Through it all, Jovito Palparan Jr. maintained an air of fearless competence, uncompromising and all but untouchable…
in spite of the international outcry against the slaughter of dozens of left-wing activists.
He promised to face the courts and let the law decide.

JOVITO PALPARAN, FORMER MAJOR GENERAL: We are confident that we are not guilty, but as to the decision of the panel, we do not want to preempt their decision.

And yet when the courts decided, Palparan disappeared.
For almost three years he evaded arrest, adding to his legend, until his surprise capture in the slums of Sta Mesa.

JOVITO PALPARAN, FORMER MAJOR GENERAL: Kapag nagtago ka, nandoon ang threat sa’yo anytime din, pero in control ka sa sarili mo, you can evade. Pero nakakatakot kasi di ka na makagalaw, palaging may apprehension. You cannot do things that you used to do.

Palparan by his own admission, ran away because he was afraid of the same enemy he claimed to have crushed.

JOVITO PALPARAN, FORMER MAJOR GENERAL: In public may pronouncement sila na pag-retire ko pa lang eh, naka-banner na sa Inquirer by NPA, Palparan ‘dead man walking.’ So that’s a real threat. Totoo po ‘yun. ‘Yun lang po nag-hold back sa akin.

This is not the Palparan of legend, not the looming giant in the national imagination.
This is a man who failed, because he was afraid.
Patricia Evangelista, Rappler, Manila.


CHIN: CHINA AND NEIGHBORS DISPUTE LIKE ASIAN ‘GAME OF THRONES’

Former US ambassador to the Asian Development Bank, Curtis Chin, says both China and rival claimants to disputed territories need to step back.
He fears some kind of accident may set off an escalation of conflict in the region.
The Philippines, Vietnam, Japan, and South Korea are locked in separate rows with China.
While Chin says the world is trying to adjust to China’s rise, he says it’s in China’s interests to also embrace the rise of its neighbors.

CURTIS CHIN, FORMER US AMBASSADOR TO ADB: My hope for China is that it will also see that it’s in their interest to work together with all their neighbors for a more prosperous region.
It’s almost like Asia’s version of Game of Thrones — contending powers, ancient history intrudes on modern times. We’ll see how Game of Thrones concludes in the book and TV series but my hope is that that story here in this region will be one that will embrace China’s rise, but China also needs to embrace the rest of Asia’s rise.

In recent months, China has been aggressive in staking its claim over disputed waters.
In response, the Philippines filed a historic case against China with an international tribunal.
In Vietnam, a series of anti-China protests broke out in May after Beijing deployed an oil rig in waters also claimed by Hanoi.
Chin says the Philippines’ response against China is limited by its economic and military power.
He adds, a strong military for the Philippines will benefit Asia.

CURTIS CHIN, FORMER US AMBASSADOR TO ADB: I would love to have seen a stronger response by the Philippines, but I also recognize the Philippines is also constrained by its economy, by the state of its own military. So I think in the long run, if we’re talking about long term issues, the Philippines, United States, Asia would be better off with a stronger Philippines, one that’s better able to finance a stronger military.

With continuing regional tensions, Chin says building partnerships among countries is vital particularly in ASEAN.

CURTIS CHIN, FORMER US AMBASSADOR TO ADB: I think these are, perhaps in my lifetime, the most troubled times I’ve ever seen. I read an article by a Newsweek columnist who argued that five decades ago or so things were also very turbulent, a world in flux, this was the Cold War period, Asia was still kind of recovering, Europe was still recovering, contending forces around the world. But certainly these last two or three decades, clearly we have not seen a situation like this, which is why I think things like the US-Philippine partnership is so vital.
   
POPE VISITS SOUTH KOREA WITH ASIA IN HIS SIGHTS

Pope Francis arrives in Seoul Thursday for a 5-day visit.
South Korea is Asia’s fastest-growing Roman Catholic communities.
The Vatican’s Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin says the Pope will bring a message about the “future of Asia”…
and will use his trip to “speak to all the countries on the continent.”
He will meet young Catholics for Asian Youth Day on Friday.
Around a million people are expected to attend an open-air mass Saturday…
to see Francis beatify 124 martyrs persecuted during the early days of the Korean Catholic Church.
The Pope’s visit will also feature a special “reconciliation” mass for isolated neighbor North Korea.

‘FAR FEWER’ STRANDED ON IRAQ MOUNTAIN THAN THOUGHT – US

The United States says its troops found “far fewer” Yazidi refugees marooned on a northern Iraqi mountain and says an evacuation mission is –quote– “far less likely.”
The United Nations refugee agency earlier said up to 30,000 civilians, most of them members of the Yazidi religious minority, remain trapped on Mount Sinjar…
after militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria or ISIS launched a brutal offensive.
But a special force of US soldiers found the Yasidi were only in the thousands, not tens of thousands.
Various countries ramp up efforts to help the trapped civilians and Kurdish troops fighting the ISIS militants with the US launching a series of air strikes since Friday.
But the Pentagon says an evacuation mission isn’t likely.
A spokesman says “The Yazidis who remain are in better condition than previously believed.”

NEW GAZA TRUCE HOLDING AFTER SHAKY START

Israel and Gaza militants uphold a new truce hours after the ceasefire got off to a shaky start Thursday.
Early Thursday, Israeli jets bombed targets across Gaza in response to Palestinian rocket attacks — hours after the two sides agreed to a five-day ceasefire extension.
More than 1,950 Palestinians and 67 people on the Israeli side have been killed in the conflict since July 8.
After days of talks, Egypt successfully brokered what may be the longest period of calm in the five-week conflict.
But a Palestinian negotiator says more time is needed to discuss remaining disputes with Israel over a long-term truce.

THE wRap: YOUR WORLD IN ONE READ

JAPAN ECONOMY SHRINKS DUE TO SALES TAX

Japan’s economy shrinks 1.7% in the 3 months leading up to June… as household and corporate spending slumped after Tokyo raised sales taxes.
Millions of shoppers went on a buying binge on everything — from cars and washing machines to televisions and alcohol — before the increase on April 1.
Demand fell sharply after prices went up.
The decline emphasizes the challenges Tokyo faces to kickstart an economy long plagued by deflation and slow growth.

FOR HUSBAND’S SAKE, CELINE DION CANCELS ASIA TOUR

Celine Dion cancels all her concerts to attend to her husband struggling with cancer.
She was supposed to go on tour in Asia, with a stop in Manila on November 29.
Rene Angelil, Dion’s husband, had a cancerous tumor removed last December.

 

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