PNP-SAF video, Espina turns emotional, nurse MERS-positive | The wRap

Today on Rappler:

• Police confirm a soldier in an execution video that went viral was one of the SAF 44.
• Acting police chief Leonardo Espina hits the Moro Islamic Liberation Front for the brutal execution of at least 2 police commandos.
• A Filipina nurse from Saudi tests positive for the MERS Coronavirus.

BATTALION CHIEF CONFIRMS SAF MEMBER IN MAMASAPANO VIDEO
Police confirm a soldier in an execution video that went viral was one of the SAF 44.
Acting police chief Leonardo Espina hits the Moro Islamic Liberation Front for the brutal execution of at least 2 police commandos.
A Filipina nurse from Saudi Arabia tests positive for the MERS Coronavirus.
An official of the Special Action Forces confirms a uniformed man in an execution video that went viral was one of the SAF 44.
5th Special Action Battalion Commander Reynaldo Ariño tells congressmen in a hearing on the Mamasapano clash he recognizes the man in the video.
The footage shows a soldier who appears to still be alive, being shot twice at close range.
Acting police chief Leonardo Espina turns emotional during the hearing.
In tears, he narrates how he couldn’t sleep the night he got the medico-legal report.
Espina says the report shows 2 of the men were only shot in the leg.
He asks, addressing the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, “So how did they die? One of them was shot in the head when he was still very much alive.”
“You took off the bullet proof vest of the other one.”
He adds, “My men, I tell you, were still very much alive. You didn’t even let them go home to be with their children.”
Still addressing the MILF, he adds: “It didn’t matter what protocol was violated, we are in peace talks. Why would you do that?”
At this point relieved SAF commander Getulio Napeñas approaches Espina in tears.
The MILF earlier said its response was all in “self-defense.”
Espina’s statement starts an argument among congressmen.
Cebu Representative Gwen Garcia issues a motion to show the video during the hearing.
In tears, Maguindanao Representative Bai Sandra Sema blocks the motion.
Sema says “We are here in Manila. Most of the people here have not experienced war. It’s easy to call for war.”
During the hearing, police chief Alan Purisima was asked about the role of President Benigno Aquino in the operation that targeted top terrorist Marwan.
Purisima declines to answer and invokes executive privilege.
He says “I still need clearance to respond to your question regarding my communication with the President.”
Aquino earlier denied giving the go signal on the day the deadly operation was launched, but admitted being aware of an ongoing operation against Marwan.

FILIPINA NURSE FROM SAUDI TESTS POSITIVE FOR MERS-COV
The Department of Health or DOH announces a Filipina nurse from Saudi Arabia recently tested positive for the MERS Coronavirus.
The 32-year-old nurse arrived in the Philippines February 1 without symptoms but felt sick the day after.
She was confined Tuesday.
The MERS or Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus is a highly fatal, influenza-like illness characterized by fever, cough and diarrhea.
The nurse is being treated at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine or RITM.
She is the first MERS-CoV case diagnosed in the Philippines.
Authorities are tracking down everyone she was in contact with including 225 other passengers in her flight to Manila.

‘IMMINENT’ TERROR ATTACK FOILED IN AUSTRALIA
Australia thwarted an “imminent” terror attack by radicalized jihadists.
Police arrested two men and seized an ISIS or Islamic State of Iraq and Syria flag, a machete and a video detailing the alleged plot in a raid in Sydney Tuesday.
The men, Omar Al-Kutobi, 24, and Mohammad Kiad, 25 were charged with preparing for a terrorist act.
They were refused bail Wednesday.

NBC NEWS SUSPENDS BRIAN WILLIAMS FOR 6 MONTHS
NBC News suspends main anchor Brian Williams for 6 months after the controversy surrounding his embellished Iraq war story.
Williams repeatedly told the story of how a rocket hit a helicopter he was riding while news-gathering in Iraq, a claim proved false by people involved in the incident.
Williams later apologized for embellishing the story.

APPLE NOW WORTH OVER $700B
Tech giant Apple is the first company to reach a market value of $700 billion.
Shares rose by 1.9% to close at $122.02, lifting Apple’s market value to $710 billion.
Despite this, analysts say there’s more room for Apple to grow.
Apple CEO Tim Cook says the company has taken its mobile operating system iOS and extended it into “critical parts” of people’s lives.

For those on desktop, click on the links on your screen.
You can also click on the tabs below to go to a story in the video.
And for those on smartphones and tablets, the links can be found below the video. – Rappler.com

Click here for audio-only version: 

Production Staff