THE GLORIETTA 2 explosion on Oct. 19 killed 11 people and injured more than 100 others. It was a shocking and tragic event that authorities are now saying was an accident “likely caused by a gas buildup in the Glorietta 2 basement.”

Ayala Land, the owner of the Glorietta mall, however, has refuted the theory that “the combination of methane from the sump pits and fumes from the diesel tank in the basement caused the blast.”

Here is a 3D walkthrough showing the layout of the Glorietta 2 basement, including the location of the sump pits and diesel fuel tank. Video provided by Ayala Land.

Online Videos by Veoh.com

WE had fun doing the audio and video podcast interview with new Microsoft Philippines managing director Rafael “Pepeng” Rollan, who shared his thoughts on Windows Vista, software piracy and open source.

The podcast session also gave us a chance to catch up with Microsoft execs Sam Jacoba and Mae Rivera-Moreno, as well as Joy Mirasol of their PR firm Perceptions. Special thanks to Mae for making sure we could set up our equipment properly at the Microsoft office and rearrange the furniture as needed. And to all Microsoft employees there that day, our sincerest apologies. If you were wondering why the centralized aircon in your office was suddenly turned off, we’re to blame heh The aircon was too loud in Pepeng’s office during the podcast and we asked if it could be turned off before we realized that it was centralized. D’oh!

Anyway, check out Episode 4 of The Newsmaker Vidcast, hosted by INQUIRER.net executive editor Leo Magno. INQUIRER.net reporter Lawrence Casiraya took the video, while I produced the vidcast.

Click here for the audio podcast.

UPDATE: Added comment on auto-play.

HERE’S a cool Philippine video site that shows how TV networks can make the transition to the Web. Visit ProbeTV.com. (Well, OK, except it seems the videos are on auto-play, which can be pretty annoying, hmm.)

Check out these clips.

Kudos to Probe TV. And thanks to Karen Borbon for the heads up