October 16, 2013 Edition

A 7.2 magnitude earthquake that struck Central Visayas on Tuesday, October 15, has claimed the lives of at least 107, with some 2.8 million people affected. According to the military, the number of dead in Bohol alone has reached 97. In Cebu, 9 are reported dead, while one fatality was recorded in Siquijor. In Bohol, where the epicenter of the quake was located, at least 18 people were killed by landslides in the coastal town of Loon. Other towns that reported deaths in Bohol include Getafe, Clarin, Buenavista, Calape, Tubigon, Balilihan, Inabanga, Batuan, Sagbayan, Baclayon, Loay, Alburquerque, Maribojoc, Bilar, Cortes, Catigbian and Antequera, as well as Tagbilaran City, according to Bohol police chief Senior Supt Dennis Agustin. Authorities said the death toll could still climb, with authorities struggling to assess the extent of the damage in the worst-hit areas of Bohol where roads were impassable and power was cut. The provinces of Bohol and Cebu are currently under a state of calamity. President Benigno Aquino III will visit the two provinces today, October 16.


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At least 10 historic churches in Bohol and Cebu were heavily damaged by the earthquake that struck central Visayas on October 15. They include the Church of San Pedro Apostol in Loboc – the second oldest church in Bohol – and the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño in Cebu. Both churches sustained severe damage to its bell towers and facades. Many of the churches have remained untouched since their construction under the Spanish colonial era, without a modern support structure that could have minimized the damage. Three government agencies – the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) and the National Museum (NM) – will be leading efforts to rehabilitate and restore the heritage structures damaged by the quake. “We express our commitment to rescue and, later, rehabilitate, damaged heritage structures, many of them churches that have been part of the life of the people for centuries, in collaboration with the Catholic Church, local government officials and communities,” said the NCCA Board of Commissioners in a statement released after a meeting convened to address the disaster.


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The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) says at least 9,150 Bohol residents were displace less than 12 hours after a 7.2 magnitude quake hit Central Visayas on Tuesday, October 15. As of Monday night, the government set up 13 evacuation centers in the province of Bohol alone to serve as temporary shelter for the displaced. But many victims of the earthquake preferred to stay in makeshift shelters in open spaces or transfer to homes of relatives not affected by the quake, out of fear that aftershocks could cause more damage during the night. The DSWD has readied some P98 million in relief assistance for the victims of the quake. Region VII, the hardest hit, got the lions’s share with over P10 million in standby funds. On Tuesday, President Benigno Aquino III admitted the government’s disaster response could be further improved. However, he said, this latest disaster could be a chance to improve how assessments are made, even to possibly include citizens in the process. Aquino said the earthquake also caused him to ask about the compliance of cities with the Building Code of 2010, which ensures buildings are able to withstand strong earthquakes.


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A recently released Social Weather Stations survey showed the number of Filipinos who are dissatisfied with President Benigno Aquino’s performance climbed 7 percentage points to 19% in September, up from June’s 12%. Aquino’s net satisfaction rating for the third quarter of 2013 was at 49%, down from 64% in June. But President Aquino appeared unfazed by the recent drop in his satisfaction ratings. “I’ve always said, we should not govern based on numbers. We should govern based on what is right. That should be the basis of our decisions,” he said. The President said he believed the pork barrel scam affected his ratings, even if he was not yet in Malacañang during the years a lot of the corruption happened. Aquino gave assurances his government will continue to pursue justice in these corruption cases.


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A typhoon described as the “strongest in 10 years” was closing in on Japan on Tuesday, October 15, on a path that will take it towards the precarious Fukushima nuclear power plant. Typhoon Wipha, packing winds of nearly 200 kilometers (125 miles) per hour near its centre and bringing heavy rains, was in the Pacific south of Japan Tuesday evening, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. It was forecast to reach an area off the Tokyo metropolitan area by early Wednesday, October 16, and later in the day would be off the coast of Fukushima, where the crippled nuclear power plant sits. “It is the strongest typhoon in 10 years to pass the Kanto region (Tokyo and its vicinity),” Hiroyuki Uchida, the agency’s chief forecaster, told a news conference. As the weather agency issued warnings of torrential rain and strong winds, the operator of the Fukushima plant, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), said it was bracing for the storm after a series of leaks of radiation-polluted water. Earlier this month the company announced 430 liters (114 US gallons) of polluted water had spilt from a tank as workers tried to remove rainwater dumped at the plant by recent typhoons.


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Around two million Muslims converged on Mina, Saudi Arabia Tuesday, October 15 to symbolically stone the devil, the final stage of the annual hajj pilgrimage that has so far gone off without incident. The occasion coincides with the first day of Eid al-Adha, the feast of sacrifice, which is celebrated by Muslims around the world. The Saudi public statistics department said there were a total of 1.98 million pilgrims. Of those, 1.38 million came from 188 countries, a 21-percent slide, while there were 600,700 domestic pilgrims, a massive drop of 57 percent.


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The Church of Sweden announced on Tuesday, October 15 that it had elected a woman as its leader for the first time in the institution’s history. The Bishop of Lund, Antje Jackelen, won 55.9% of the votes from the 324-strong ecclesiastical college and will replace the current archbishop Anders Wejryd.  The 58-year-old bishop is married to a priest and has two children. About two thirds of Swedes are members of the Lutheran Church of Sweden, which separated from the state in the year 2000.


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Britain’s only female giant panda is believed to have suffered a miscarriage, Edinburgh Zoo said on Tuesday, October 15. It was a doubly sad day for British zoos, after London Zoo also announced Tuesday that the first tiger cub born there in 17 years had drowned. Edinburgh said its panda Tian Tian, who is spending a decade in the Scottish capital on loan from China with her male companion Yang Guang, had been displaying all the signs of pregnancy but is now thought to have lost her cub.


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The Philippine Azkals successfully defended their Peace Cup title after beating Pakistan, 3-1, in the last match of the 3-nation meet on Tuesday night, October 15 at the Panaad Stadium in Bacolod City. The Azkals fell behind early, but recovered just in time to dominate the Pakistanis in the second half to retain the championship in front of thousands of boisterous fans at the venue. With the win, the Azkals finished tied with Pakistan and Chinese Taipei with a 1-1 card, but emerged on top due to higher goal difference.


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Tina Fey and Amy Poehler will return to lead the Golden Globes ceremony in 2014 and 2015 after receiving rave reviews in January when they hosted for the first time. The US duo – long-time friends – replaced Ricky Gervais, who hosted for three years despite his caustic humor aimed at star guests and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the show’s organizer. Although the pair met on network variety show Saturday Night Live, Fey is now best known for her long-running hit sitcom “30 Rock” and Poehler for hers, “Parks and Recreation.”


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