00:01A Pulse Asia survey says 64% of Filipinos support the passage of an anti-political dynasty law.
00:08After six months of operations, the Independent Commission for Infrastructure ends on March 31.
00:14Cristina Frasco is no longer the Philippines' tourism chief.
00:17The Middle East war causes the biggest oil supply disruption in history.
00:21And Filipino-born chess super grandmaster Wesley Saw wins his first American Cup.
00:34A Pulse Asia survey shows a big majority or 64% of Filipinos support the passage of an anti-dynasty
00:41law.
00:41The survey was held from February 27 to March 2 and released Friday, March 13.
00:46This is 10 percentage points higher than figures in December 2025,
00:50when a small majority or 54% of Filipinos expressed support for the immediate passage of the law.
00:56Support for the measure is highest in Balanced Luzon, that is excluding Metro Manila at 74%,
01:02followed by the Visayas at 73% and the National Capital Region at 69%.
01:07Support is lowest in Mindanao at 32%, statistically the same as the 34% in December 2025.
01:14Among socio-economic classes, support for the law is highest among the well-off class ABC
01:19and lowest among the poorest class E.
01:21On March 3, a day after the Pulse survey period, the House Suffrage Committee approved what is widely considered as
01:27a weak anti-dynasty bill.
01:29This version relaxes the ban from the fourth degree of consanguinity to only the second degree.
01:35After six months of operations, the Independent Commission for Infrastructure, or ICI, announces its operations will end on March 31.
01:42The ICI turns over all documents, evidence, and findings gathered during its investigation Friday, March 13.
01:48It also hands over its investigative methodology to the Office of the Ombudsman to facilitate the seamless transition of the
01:55Commission's investigative work.
01:57ICI Chief Andres Reyes Jr. urges the Technical Working Group for Asset Recovery to continue its restitution efforts based on
02:03the guidance provided by the Commission.
02:05The Commission was tasked by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. with investigating multi-billion-peso infrastructure corruption over the past 10
02:12years.
02:13Before the turnover, Marcos said Wednesday, March 11, the ICI had completed much of their work.
02:19But based on Rappler's review of the ICI's reports and referrals to the Ombudsman, the Commission's job appears far from
02:25over.
02:26While mandated to investigate a decade of corruption across all public infrastructure, most of the complaints filed by the ICI
02:32so far only cover flood control projects.
02:36Cristina Garcia Frasco is no longer the Philippines's tourism chief.
02:40Malacanang confirms Thursday, March 12, Frasco is now the Presidential Advisor for Sustainable and Resilient Communities.
02:47Frasco was a former mayor of Lilluan Town in Cebu Province.
02:51She has been tourism chief since the beginning of the Marcos administration.
02:54In recent months, Frasco received flack for the department's failure to hit its targets, as well as her photos taking
03:00center stage in the department's social media posts and promotions.
03:03Sen. Rafi Tulfo called her out during a Senate Tourism Committee hearing for excessive self-promotion.
03:10Frasco says her face appears often on DOT materials because it shows her doing her job.
03:15The palace also says Thursday, the tourism department will be headed temporarily by Undersecretary Verna Buensuceso.
03:24The International Energy Agency says the war in the Middle East is creating the biggest oil supply disruption in history.
03:30The IEA says global supply is expected to drop by 8 million barrels per day in March, a volume equal
03:36to almost 8% of world demand.
03:38This is due to the blocking of the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow channel along the Iranian coast.
03:43Oil prices continued to rise as Iran stepped up attacks on oil and transport facilities across the Middle East.
03:49Two tankers were ablaze in Iraqi waters on Thursday, March 12.
03:53Footage shows ships engulfed in massive orange fireballs lighting up the night sky.
03:57Iraqi authorities say the vessels were attacked overnight by Iranian boats laden with explosives.
04:02At least one crew member was killed.
04:04The attack comes after U.S. President Donald Trump told a campaign-style rally in Kentucky on Wednesday that we
04:09won.
04:10You know, you never like to say too early you won. We won. We won the bet. In the first
04:14hour it was over.
04:16But three sources tell Reuters Iran's leadership is still largely intact and not at risk of collapse anytime soon.
04:24Finally, the American Cup crown goes to Wesley Soh.
04:27The Filipino-born chess super grandmaster draws with Levin Aronian in their second classical game on Thursday, March 12, Manila
04:34time to rule the 2026 American Cup.
04:37The 32-year-old Soh is a three-time U.S. chess champion but had four failed attempts at winning
04:42the American Cup since 2023.
04:44He bested Aronian in their first classical encounter earlier on the way to bagging $90,000 or nearly 5.4
04:51million pesos.
04:51This includes the $15,000 bonus he got for topping the winner's bracket of the elite eight-man double elimination
04:57event.
04:58In a post-game interview with Chess.com, Soh says,
05:01It feels wonderful. It feels great. I mean, it doesn't happen often that I win a big tournament.
05:06With his solid performance, Soh lands number seven in the World Live rating with an ELO rating of 2754.
05:12The ELO rating system is a method for calculating skill levels of chess players.
05:19And that's a day's wrap. I'm JC Gutinga. Thank you for watching.
05:23Click the link below for the full story. For more updates, download the Rappler app.
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