Rappler Newscast | April 16, 2013

Today on Rappler.

• Two bombs explode near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing at least three and injuring at least 125.
• A 7.8 magnitude earthquake hits southeast Iran, killing at least 40 people.
• Chairman Sixto Brillantes offers to resign after a series of Supreme Court rulings against the Comelec.

Story 1: TWIN BLASTS ROCK BOSTON MARATHON
Two bombs explode near the finish line of the Boston Marathon Monday — Tuesday in Manila — killing at least 3 people and injuring at least 125.
Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis says that at 2:50 pm Boston time — 2:50 am in Manila — two simultaneous blasts occur along the route of the marathon’s finish line, about 50 to 100 yards apart.
News reports say an eight-year-old boy is among those killed in the blasts.
The explosions leave a street littered with blood and debris, as spectators flee the area.
NBC News, citing officials, says the police found “multiple explosive devices” in Boston, raising the possibility of a coordinated attack.
US President Barack Obama goes on national television to say it was not yet clear who was behind the blasts.

BARACK OBAMA, UNITED STATES PRESIDENT: We still do not know who did this or why. And people shouldn’t jump to 3 before we have all the facts. But make no mistake — we will get to the bottom of this. And we will find out who did this; we’ll find out why they did this.

Video footage of the marathon shows the first explosion coming from the left side of the course behind the spectators.
Elmer Cato of the Philippine Embassy in Washington DC says no Filipinos are among the injured as of latest reports.
At least 10 runners from the Philippines participated this year.
The Boston Marathon is one of the biggest annual athletic events in the United States, with nearly 27,000 racers who must qualify to compete.

Story 2: GOOGLE+ HANGOUT: #BOSTONMARATHON
Rappler Social Media producer Ryan Macasero talks to Arland Macasieb, a triathlete who was part of at least 10 Filipinos in the Boston marathon.
Although he finished the race an hour before the explosions, he says the incident comes as a serious shock.

ARLAND MACASIEB, TRIATHLETE: It was kind of like September 11th. You know, you hear something but it’s not til you see the actual video that you believe it…It was just like, disbelief…You’re angry and, you know, why would anyone want to do this?

According to his count, he says more than 17 Filipino citizens joined the race.

ARLAND MACASIEB, TRIATHLETE: In my count, I actually have 18 people cause I took all the people who signed up as Filipino citizens. Those 12 that I knew directly, they were all safe…When you watch the video coverage, you can actually see it did happen in one area and most of the people who were affected were the spectators, not the runners.

Macasieb says the bombings are “sacrilege.”

ARLAND MACASIEB, TRIATHLETE: It’s something you don’t expect. You almost don’t need security in these races…Not for a terrorist attack or a bombing. That’s really out of the norm…It’s a really sad day for the sport because its taken something away from us. The Boston finishing line is like the holy grail for a lot of runners and it’s a sacrilege what happened there.

Despite the incident, Macasieb says he plans to continue joining marathons in the future.

ARLAND MACASIEB, TRIATHLETE: If we don’t participate then we let these guys win. That’s what they want, They want us to live in fear. We need to not let this affect us.

Story 3: US CHOPPER CRASHES NEAR NORTH KOREA BORDER
A US military helicopter taking part in a joint South Korea-US drill crashes near the North Korean border Tuesday.
In a statement, US forces in Korea say the CH-53 Super Stallion helicopter — quote — “executed a hard landing” while on a routine flight in Cheolwon county, which touches on the border with North Korea.
The precise cause of the accident is not yet known.
Five crew members and 16 other service personnel are taken to a US military hospital in Seoul.
The accident occurs at a time of heightened military tensions on the Korean peninsula, partly due to North Korea’s anger over the military exercises, which it sees as an invasion rehearsal.
There are 28,500 US military personnel permanently stationed in South Korea.

Story 4: MAGNITUDE 7.8 EARTHQUAKE HITS IRAN
A 7.8 magnitude earthquake hits Iran in a remote area close to the Pakistan border Tuesday at about 3:44 pm Iran time.
The Iranian Seismological Centre says the quake was located about 81 kilometres north of Saravan in the southeastern province of Sistan Baluchistan.
The BBC reports tremors were felt across the region of the Middle East all the way to North.
Iran’s government-run TV initially estimated 40 killed.
Reuters says Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant is undamaged.
The U.S. Geological Survey report says the depth of the earthquake was 15.2 km.

Story 5: SC STOPS COMELEC’S AIRTIME LIMITS
Voting 9-6, the Supreme Court stops the Commission on Elections from implementing its airtime limits on political ads.
The order comes barely a month before the May 13 elections during the home stretch when senatorial candidates scramble for paid airtime to maximize their name recall.
Under Comelec chair Sixto Brillantes Jr, the poll body set new airtime caps for political ads, to be faithful to the intent of the Fair Elections Act: For all national candidates, an aggregate of 120 minutes in all TV networks and 180 minutes in all radio stations; and for all local candidates, an aggregate of 60 minutes in all TV networks and 90 minutes in all radio stations.
In February, broadcast networks GMA-7, TV5, and the Kapisanan ng Brodkaster ng Pilipinas asked for a temporary restraining order on the Comelec rule.
They say the limit is too “restrictive” and violates the people’s right to information.
In previous elections, the Comelec, under chair Benjamin Abalos, imposed a more liberal interpretation of the law: 120 minutes per TV station, and 180 minutes per radio station.
The nine who concurred are Justices Antonio Carpio, Martin Villarama, Jose Mendoza,Lucas Bersamin, Justices Teresita Leonardo de Castro, Diosdado Peralta, Marvic Leonen, Presbitero Velasco, and Jose Perez.
Those who dissented are Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, Justices Arturo Brion, Bienvenido Reyes, Mariano del Castillo, Estela Perlas-Bernabe, and Roberto Abad.

Story 6: BRILLANTES TO OFFER RESIGNATION
Dismayed by the Supreme Court rulings against the reforms he initiated at the Commission on Elections, chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr says he is thinking of offering the President his resignation.
Brillantes says he is disappointed with the Court’s order stopping the poll body from implementing airtime limits on political advertisements.

SIXTO BRILLANTES JR, COMELEC CHAIRMAN: Nagtratrabaho lang ako rito, I’m making the reforms necessary. Pero kung TRO TRO lang, at saka status quo ante, bakit ko naman pahihirapan ang sarili ko rito? (I am just working here, I’m making the reforms necessary. But if they will just issue TROs and status quo ante orders, why would I make my life difficult here?) And maybe talk to the President, and talk to him and say, ‘Baka ako ang problema. Baka gusto n’yo umalis na muna ako, maglagay na muna ng iba.’ Pag-aralan ko lang, seriously. (And maybe talk to the President, and talk to him and say, ‘I might be the problem. You might want me to leave, and replace me with another one.’ I will just have to study this, seriously.)

Story 7: SC: CONGRESS ONLY HAS ONE SEAT IN JBC
The Supreme Court upholds an earlier ruling limiting the number of Congressional representatives in the Judicial and Bar Council to one.
The JBC is the body that screens candidates for the judiciary.
Voting 9-3-3, the Court junks the motion for reconsideration filed by Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas and Sen. Francis Escudero.
In July 2012, former Solicitor General Francisco Chavez questioned the JBC’s 8-member composition.
The Supreme Court ruled in his favor, saying the JBC should only have 7 members instead of 8, with Congress represented by only one lawmaker.
Concurring with the majority opinion are Justices Antonio Carpio, Bienvenido Reyes, Teresita Leonardo de Castro, Estela Perlas-Bernabe, Jose Mendoza, Jose Perez, Martin Villarama, Diosdado Peralta and Lucas Bersamin.
Justices Mariano del Castillo, Roberto Abad and Marvic Leonen dissent.
The Court says there is no need to have two representatives from Congress, because the reference to it as a bicameral body…
–quote– “refers to its primary function in government which is legislation.”

Story 8: THE wRap: YOUR WORLD IN ONE READ
At number 7, A joint Australian-British study shows summer ice in the Antarctic is melting 10 times quicker than it was 600 years ago.
The research team drills an ice core from James Ross Island in the continent’s north to measure past temperatures in the area.
Visible layers in the ice core indicate periods when summer snow on the ice cap thawed and then refroze.
By measuring the thickness of the melt layers, the scientists are able to examine how the history of melting compares with changes in temperature at the ice core site over the last thousand years.

At number 8, For the first time, 37 French ministers and Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault reveal their personal wealth on April 15, in a move President Francois Hollande hopes will restore confidence in his scandal-hit government.
With the economy stagnant, senior officials admit the move could create resentment by unmasking several millionaire ministers.
It sparks widespread debate in France, where the wealth of public officials has long been considered private.

And at number 9, The “field trip” in North Korea by 10 students of London School of Economics turns into a he-said-she-said saga as journalism ethics, legal and diplomatic issues come to light.
BBC News executives did not heed the students’ plea not to air the Panorama documentary by undercover journalists who accompanied the students while overtly filming in North Korea, which bans journalists.
BBC says the documentary is crucial in understanding North Korea, but the students deny they gave their consent to the Panorama reporters.

– Rappler.com

Newscast production staff

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER / WRITER	Lilibeth Frondoso
DIRECTOR	Rupert Ambil
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER / PUBLISHER	Rodneil Quiteles
	Dindin Reyes
HEAD WRITER / PROMPTER	Katerina Francisco
MASTER EDITOR / PLAYBACK	Vicente Roxas
	Exxon Ruebe
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR / CAMERAMAN	Charlie Salazar
	Adrian Portugal
	Francis Lopez
GRAPHICS	Jessica Lazaro