Wreckage of Aerial Spray Plane (RP-R5388) | Courtesy: PRO XI
An alleged aerial spray plane crashed at Purok 1, Brgy. Mangalcal, Carmen, Davao del Norte on Saturday (April 27) at about 6:45 A.M., police said.
Davao del Norte police and rescuers responded to the report and immediately evacuated the pilot of the plane to Carmen District Hospital for treatment.
However, the pilot identified as Jessie Kevin Roska Lagapa, 25 years old and a resident of Lapu-lapu, Cebu was declared dead-on-arrival.
Initial investigation revealed that the aerial spray plane bearing body number RP-R5388, belongs to Davao Aerowurkz Corporation.
Eyewitnesses recounted seeing the plane lurching in different directions and hitting a power line of NGC NAPOCOR before plunging into a rice field.
Police have cordoned off the wreckage pending investigation by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines.
Save this Sunday for learning essential live-saving skills and a free concert to boot. Join the 4th UNTV Rescue Summit on April 28 at the Marikina Sports Center.
UNTV together with the Marikina City Government organized this public service event in an effort to empower every citizen with basic life-saving skills for every type of emergency situation.
The event will open at 5:00 a.m. with a parade and opening ceremony.
PHIVOLCS-DOST USec. Dr. Renato Solidum will be gracing the event to deliver an important message about the “Big One” — a deadly 7.2 magnitude earthquake that is predicted to hit Metro Manila.
Various rescue units in the country will be showing off their technical skills and team work in a rescue competition.
Participating units are as follows:
Palawan PDRRMO
Ilocos Sur PDRRMO
Camarines Sur PDRRMO
Cagayan PDRRMO
Bulacan PDRRMO
Nueva Vizcaya PDRRMO
Laguna PDRRMO
Balanga CDRRMO
City of San Pedro DRRMO
Attendees of the summit may also avail of the free seminars and receive corresponding certificates. The following trainings will be offered:
Disaster Concept & Management
Family Disaster Plan
Hands-Only CPR
Wound Management and Limb Injury Management
Basic Ropemanship and Hazardous Material Orientation
Various rescue and relief assets of relevant government agencies will also be on display.
Participating in the exhibit are: UNTV News and Rescue, Marikina Rescue 161, Makati City, Muntinlupa City, Pasig City, Valenzuela City, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, Bureau of Fire Protection, Philippine National Police, Philippine Coast Guard and the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
Witness the capability and technical skills of Marikina Rescue 161, BFP and UNTV in a joint demonstration of rescue exercises.
At the end of the day, chillax with a free concert showcasing Sponge Cola, Shamrock, Grace Note, Plethora, Bradz, Wishfuls, Rhea Basco, Mark Michael Garcia and Le Chazz.
The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has allowed pets inside Public Utility Vehicle (PUV).
Based on their amendent of Memorandum Circular No. 2011-004 with MC 2019-019, the LTFRB now allows passengers to bring their pets inside PUVs under following conditions:
The animals are in carriers or cages and placed at the designated animal compartment of the PUV should there be other passengers inside the PUV.
If there are no other passengers, pets may be allowed to be carried by the owner as long as said animals are free from foul odor and that the owner maintains cleanliness and sanitation.
Owners should take responsibility for the damage that the pet may cause, including the cleaning and sanitation of the PUV, as may be necessary.
Over 29,000 individuals participated in the local absentee voting for the 2019 Midterm Elections on Monday (April 29).
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) allows certain individuals to execute their right to vote before the election day on May 13.
According to Comelec Spokesman James Jimenez, these individuals are the ones who need to vote early to be able to perform their duties during elections.
“Ito iyong kaparaanan kung saan kung iyong mga kawani ng gobyerno, (This is the way in which members of the government) members of the military, members of the police, government officials who will be performing duties will be able to vote absentee,” he said.
Over 35,000 submitted their application for the Local Absentee Voting but only more than 29,000 were approved by the poll body.
Comelec expects 50% to 60% voting turnout in the local absentee voting.
“Ang voting turnout natin (Our voting turnout) for [the media] has, I think historically, hovered around 50%. For the rest of LAV medyo mataas naman ang ating voting turnout (Our voting turnout is a bit high) at around 50-60%,” Jimenez said.
For the local absentee voting, voters can only choose the national and the partylist groups. The counting of votes will also be done manually because there will be no vote counting machines to be used.
The ballots for the absentee voting will also be counted after the May 13 elections.—Aileen Cerrudo (with reports from Aiko Miguel)
MANILA, Philippines – The water level in Magat Dam in Isabela has increased by 10 meters from 162 meters on April 1 to 172.93 meters as of 6:00 am today (April 29).
“May pag-ulan
doon sa may bandang Isabela, sa Mountain Province. Kapag doon umulan papasok sa
water reservoir ng Magat,” PAGASA Weather Specialist II Edgar Dela Cruz said.
However, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said this is still five meters short of the dam’s rule curve elevation or normal water level of 177.45 meters.
Other dams like Ipo (101m), Ambuklao (740.44m), Binga (566.27m) and Caliraya Dams, on the other hand, have recorded a slight increase in their respective water level in the past days.
Caliraya dam
collected an additional one meter at 287.13 meters from its water reserve of
286.14 meters on Sunday (April 29).
La Mesa dam has
become stagnant at 68.45m while San Roque (from 250.63m to 250.08m) and Pantabangan (195.10m to 195.05m) dams
suffered slight depletion from April 28 to April 29.
Angat Dam, Metro
Manila’s main source of domestic water requirement, has its water level reduced
from 179.97m to 179.50m as of 6:00 a.m. today.
The National
Water Resources Board (NWRB) said this level is already below Angat Dam’s minimum
operating level of 180 meters.
Nevertheless,
the agency noted that such water level remains above the dam’s critical level
for domestic use. It is critical, however, to farmlands that depend irrigation
from Angat Dam.
The dam is continuously releasing 38 cubic meters per second of water a day for Metro Manila; while the allocation for irrigation has been reduced to 10 cubic meters per second (cms) from 35 cms.
Experts warn that Angat dam might reach the critical level when its water reserve continues to drop to 160 meters.
The lowest level recorded
was in July 2010 when Angat’s water dipped to 157.55 meters.
According to NWRB, the water level in Angat Dam will further recede to 173.52 meters in May.
If this happens, the agency will decide on whether or not to reduce the supply for Metro Manila in order to have enough supply in case of delay in the onset of the rainy season.
“Iko-consider din
natin ang succeeding months kasi for preparation. One of this is baka magkaroon
ng adjustment sa allocation kung kinakailangan if wala pang masyadogn mga ulan
na dumarating,” explained NWRB Executive Director Sevillo David Jr.
(We will consider the succeeding months for the preparation. One of these is a possible adjustment in allocation when necessary is in case the onset of the rainy season is delayed.)
The agency added that the weak El Niño is expected to persist until August but several areas will experience normal rainfall starting May. – Marje Pelayo (with reports from Rey Pelayo)
The Philippine National Police (PNP) is all set for the implementation of security for the May 13 elections.
Two police officers will be deployed per polling precinct in areas with high security threat, according to PNP Chief PGen. Oscar Albayalde.
The deployed policemen will be 50 meters away from the polling precinct. They also cannot enter the polling precinct unless it is allowed by the electoral board.
“We already gave instructions to our police officers to coordinate with the different EBs or electoral board especially so in critical areas so that even before the conduct of the actual voting ay iyong mga pulis natin ay makalapit na (our policemen can come closer to the premises) with permission of the EBs,” Albayalde said.
Albayalde also met with the head of different units to monitor election-related violence and the deployment of policemen in training for election duty.
The PNP also aim to prevent vote buying. Albayalde advise voters to vote for the right candidate and not rely on bribes. He also cited the importance of voters education.
“Kung hindi po mabantayan ng pulisya ang vote buying, tanggapin nalang siguro natin ng tanggapin iyong pera, pero iboto parin natin ang nararapat, I think the best thing here is voters education malaman ng mga tao kung sino ang dapat iboto hindi yung kung sino ang nagbigay ng mas malaking pera sa kanila yun ang iboboto nila (If the police cannot monitor vote buying, maybe just accept the money but still vote for the right candidate. I think the best thing here is voters’ education. Vote for the right candidate and not who will give more money),” Albayalde said.—Aileen Cerrudo (with reports from Lea Ylagan)
MANILA,
Philippines – The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) said on
Monday it is currently looking into Cebu Pacific’s cancellation of more than 40
flights since Sunday (April 28).
CAB executive director Atty. Carmelo Arcilla said they are probing the factors and circumstances that led to the cancellations.
“We are now in the process of evaluating the incident and determine the circumstances that led to this,” Arcilla said.
Cebu
Pacific earlier announced in an advisory that dozens of their flights have been
canceled from April 28 to 30 because of limited operational conditions, particularly in their Manila hub in Ninoy Aquino
International Airport (NAIA).
Cebu
Pacific spokesperson Charo Logarta-Lagamon told UNTV News and Rescue in an
interview that they are facing operational limitations due to different factors,
including several damaged aircraft and heavy traffic that prevented flights
from taking off and landing on time.
Lagamon added that three of their aircraft were damaged due to bird strikes.
The temporary reduction of flights, she said, is necessary to minimize the disruption and to restore the network route to its normal state.
“Yung ruta na tinatahak ng bawat eroplano and because it affects yung nga ruta yung nga timing yung nga schedule nabubulunan ang aming network,” she said.
“Wala kaming ibang choice, masakit man sa
aming kalooban we have to pulldown those flights para hindi na lumaki pa at
lumala pa yung problema ng malawakang mga delay at cancellations,” she added.
At least 9,000 passengers are affected by flight cancellations based on Cebu Pacific’s estimate.
The airline management has
apologized for the inconvenience caused by the cancellations, and assured it is
extending “every possible help” to passengers.
Affected
travelers may rebook flights within 30 days from the original flight schedule, free
of charge; get a full refund or place the full cost of the ticket in a travel
fund.
Passengers may also re-route to and from
alternate airports for travel within 30 days, subject to availability of seats.
Meanwhile, aside from Cebu Pacific, the CAB is also monitoring other airlines that also sought permission to cancel flights. These include Skyjet, Philippine Airlines, and Air Asia. – Robie de Guzman (with reports from Joan Nano)
MANILA, Philippines – The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Cybercrime Division assured that the automated election system (AES) in the upcoming May 13 has safeguards against hacking.
The agency said the data in the system is digitally encrypted which cannot be easily accessed.
“It is
very safe system, considering na wala talagang actual incident na
naimbestigahan ng NBI involving hacking or breach doon sa election system,” explained
NBI Cybercrime Division Chief Atty. Vic Lorenzo.
However, Lorenzo said some problems may still be inevitable such as disruptions in the operations of the vote counting machines that’s why the agency has prepared measures for troubleshooting.
There is also NBI personnel deployed in different regions to ensure smooth conduct of the elections in May.
“Kahit
na hindi deputized ang NBI ng Comelec, we are mandated to implement the law
kapag may hacking incidents, because it’s a criminal offense. It’s a violation
of the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012. Kapag may hacking talaga, we will
respond and we will investigate,” Lorenzo added.
To date,
the NBI has not received any report of hacking in connection with the AES.
Meanwhile, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said the AES will be independent of any other network connections on the day of the elections from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm and any attempt to manipulate the system will be detected promptly.
“The
only time it is connected to the network is when it transmits the election
results, ‘yung transmission na ‘yan is a very, very quick process,” Comelec
Director James Jimenez said.
“The
data pocket being transmitted is encrypted. It’s encrypted with an encryption
strength that is basically at par with online financial transactions which
means it’s safe as money,” he added.
Despite
assurance from the local code reviewers of the security of the AES, Comelec
will remain on guard to maintain the integrity of the AES.
Jimenez noted that compared to the previous polls, the participation of tech provider Smartmatic will be lesser this year as they are limited only to providing technical support. – Marje Pelayo (with details from April Cenedoza)
MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang clarified on Monday
that
President Rodrigo Duterte’s threat to wage war against Canada over the garbage
shipped to the Philippines was just a figure of speech.
Presidential
Spokesperson Salvador Panelo made the statement after Duterte issued a stern warning
against Canada if it fails to take back their garbage that was shipped to the
country nearly six years ago.
During
a Palace press briefing, Panelo said the President was not serious in engaging
Canada in war, but emphasized that Duterte was serious in sending the trash
back.
The
Palace official added that Duterte was just expressing his anger over Canadian
government’s inaction on the waste issue.
“No, bakit
naman irresponsible eh apat na taon mong tinapon ‘yung basura sa bansa natin,
hindi ka magsasalita ng ganoon? That’s an expression of outrage, couched in a
very strong term,” he said.
Last week, Duterte said he wanted the trash shipload from Canada be returned to its shores, even raising the possibility of going to war against the North American country.
The
President was referring to the more than 100 containers of mixed waste shipment
that arrived in Manila in batches from 2013 to 2014.
“The instruction is kunin
nila. Kung hindi niyo kukunin, kami ang mag-babalik sa inyo,” Panelo said.
Following Duterte’s strong remarks, Canada in a statement reaffirmed its commitment to working with the Philippine government “to ensure the material is processed in an environmentally responsible way.”
The embassy added that
the relationship between the two countries “is built on strong people to people
ties, common interest in strengthening political, economic and cultural
relations, and in mutual commitment to peace” and is highly valued as the two
countries celebrate their 70 years of diplomatic relations this year.
During
his visit to the Philippines to attend the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) Summit in 2017, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau vowed to
cooperate with the Philippine government in resolving the offending shipment.
Trudeau, however, said the Philippines and Canadian governments need to settle issues including who will pay for the shipment of the illegal trash to the country. – Robie de Guzman (with reports from Rosalie Coz)
A labor group has filed a petition before the National Capital Region Wage Board seeking a 710-peso wage increase for Metro Manila workers.
The Associated
Labor Union-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP) said the petition,
if approved, will guarantee a minimum wage of P1245 for NCR private sector workers
from the former P537.
“Hindi pwedeng noodles tapos dadamihan ng tubig tapos sardinas isang can dadamihan natin ng tubig. Para dumami para sa lima na miyembro ng pamilya. Ang sinasabi namin dito anong pagkain ng pamilya ang tama, sapat at nakakapagpalusog, [Living on a pack of noodles or a can of sardines added with plenty of water for a family of five is not acceptable. What we are pointing out here is the right, sufficient and healthy food for a family],” stressed Eva Arcos, the national vice president for education and information of the Associated Labor Union.
Luis Manuel Corral, the vice president of the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, also said, “nakikita namin na ang [we notice that the] inflation numbers at [and the] GDP data sometimes don’t relate to the reality of worker’s needs on the ground.”
The group based their petition on the study conducted by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute and the Ateneo Policy Center that stated that a family of four must have a budget of P734 for food per day, while a family of five must allocate a budget of P917 for their whole day’s food consumption.
The
Employers Confederation of the Philippines, however, contradicted the petition
saying it’s only been a year since the Wage Board has approved a salary increase
for private workers.
The group is
confident that the board will not approve the petition.
In November last year, the Wage Board approved a 25-peso salary increase for Metro Manila workers. – Maris Federez(with reports from Mai Bermudez)
Local fuel prices are set to increase on Tuesday (April 30).
In an advisory, Shell Philippines announced that starting at 6 a.m., the price of its gasoline products will increase by P0.75 per liter, while diesel will go up by P0.80 a liter.
Shell will
also implement a P0.90 increase per liter for kerosene.
Other oil firms are expected to implement the same price hike this week.
This is the 4th straight week that gasoline prices have increased. – Robie de Guzman
FILE PHOTO: Various militant groups merged at Liwasan Bonifacio to air their concern in improving the workforce and better labor conditions. (Ramir Tilaon/PVI)
The Philippine National Police (PNP) warns the public against Labor Day rallies.
On Monday (April 29), the PNP Chief PGen. Oscar Albayalde urged the public to be careful in joining Labor Day protests because some groups might instigate commotion and trouble.
“Let this be a warning sa ating mga kababayan na nagjo-join ng mga rally. Hindi po lahat iyan ay cause-oriented. Meron diyan na grupo na mag-i-instigate. I am sure, mayroon diyan na armado na nakatago, (Let this be a warning to our fellowmen who will join rallies. Those are not all cause-oriented. There are groups who will instigate [commotion]. I am sure, there armed men in hiding)” he said during a press briefing.
The PNP said they will deploy enough force to ensure peace and order during the commemoration of Labor Day.
Albayalde also added that the armed men hiding during rallies would want to have casualties in order to blame it to the government.
“Kaya po tayo nagbibigay babala sa publiko na gusto sumali sa rally, ito ang gusto nila na may masaktan na iba. (We are giving warning to the public who wants to join the rally. [Troublemakers] want casualties)They will take advantage of that situation and blame it to the government. They take advantage of people dahil gawain po nila iyan (because that’s what they do),” Albayalde said. —Aileen Cerrudo
Screen capture of the CCTV footage showing the alleged mauling incident in Cebu City.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) has confirmed that the armed men in the viral video who beat up a man in Cebu City are cops.
PNP Chief PGen. Oscar Albayalde made the confirmation, saying that the personalities who assaulted an arrested drug suspect were indeed police officers. However, the PNP still refuse to disclose their identities.
The video, that was posted on Facebook, showed that the armed men were in uniform and were carrying high caliber firearms. The post was said to have been published by the victim’s cousin.
Albayalde also said investigation on the case is underway.
“According to Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management (DIDM) talagang members ng PNP but they are under the custody already. The DIDM is taking the lead in investigating them,” he said. —Aileen Cerrudo (with reports from Lea Ylagan)
Authorities have seized 4,000 firearms and 37,000 bladed weapons from election gun ban violators since the ban was implemented on January 13, 2019.
MANILA, Philippines – More than 4,800 individuals have been nabbed for violating the election gun ban, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said.
As of April 28, 2019, a total of 4,839 persons have been
arrested since the Commission on Elections (Comelec) implemented the gun ban
last January 13.
Of this number, 4,557 were civilians, 38 were police personnel, 17
soldiers, 82 security guards, 76 government and elected officials, 12 law
enforcers, four members of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, and nine
CAFGU members.
Authorities have also arrested 27 persons from threat groups, six
from private armed groups and nine foreign nationals.
The PNP added that so far, more
than 4,000 firearms and more than 37,000 bladed weapons were confiscated.
Authorities
reminded the public that the midterm elections will be conducted on May 13 but
the gun ban will last until June 12. –
Robie de Guzman (with details from Lea Ylagan)
Marinduque Representative Lord Allan Velasco called on the Department of Energy (DOE) and the power sector to guarantee enough power supply during the election day on May 13, as well as during the counting of ballots and transmission of complete election results.
Velasco, the chairman of House Committee on Energy, said in a statement that this is to protect the credibility of election results amid the continuous issuance of yellow and red alert notices in the Luzon power grid.
“What the public wants is a
fair, clean and honest election. If there will be power interruptions, I worry
that it would compromise the results and credibility of the election,” said
Velasco.
“Our energy officials and industry
players must pull all strings to allay fears and meet the public’s
expectations,” he added.
The Luzon grid has been continuously
placed under red and yellow alerts by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines
(NGCP) due to insufficient power reserves as a result of unplanned maintenance or
breakdown of several power plants.
Energy officials have also
indicated that the power supply woes could linger until June because of thin
power reserves.
Although authorities have continuously
assured that there will be sufficient power supply during the election, Velasco
said contingency plans must be put in place to prevent power outages, especially
during the canvassing and transmission of votes.
“They better be ready. We cannot afford to endanger the election processes and the results,” Velasco said.
The lawmaker also urged the DOE to fast-track the implementing rules and regulations of the Energy Virtual One-Stop Shop (EVOSS) to bring down the cost of doing business in the country of potential investors.
The EVOSS law, which was signed
by President on March 14, aims to reduce red tape and simplify the permitting
process in the energy sector. – Robie de
Guzman
Fuel and Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) prices are up starting this week.
Based on oil companies, LPG prices will go up from P0.50 to P1.00 due to the oil price movement in the world market as well as the peso-dollar exchange rate.
Aside from LPG prices, oil prices also soared on Tuesday (April 30). Gasoline prices are up by P.075 per liter, diesel by P0.80 per liter, and kerosene by P0.90 per liter.
Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp., Total, PTT Philippines, PetroGazz, and Seaoil already implemented the price hike at 6:00 a.m. on Tuesday while the rest of the oil companies are expected to follow.—Aileen Cerrudo (with reports from Joan Nano)
Maynilad will implement an emergency water interruption in several areas in Parañaque, Muntinlupa, Las Piñas, and Cavite from Tuesday (April 30) to May 14.
Residents in the affected areas might experience low pressure or no water supply.
Maynilad Spokesperson Jennifer Rufo said they need to clean their water treatment facility because of the increase in algae coming from the Laguna Lake. They want to avoid water contamination.
“If you go to Laguna lake now naging kay green na iyong tubig diyan sa dami ng algae. Because this is somewhat unprecedented we were forced to reduce the production of our treatment facilities kasi kailangan ng more frequent cleaning ang aming filters dahil naka-clog ito so may mga pumapasok na algae from Laguna lake, (If you go to Laguna lake now, the water is green due to the algae. Because this is somewhat unprecedented, we were forced to reduce the production of our treatment facilities as we need to conduct frequent cleaning of our filters because they get clogged and algae would seep in from Laguna lake),” she said.
According to Maynilad, there may be circumstances where water interruptions might extend beyond the schedule.
Meanwhile, Rufo gave the assurance that they have enough water supply for their customers despite the water level in Angat Dam dipping below the minimum.
“We have enough supply to last up through the summer months basta hindi babawasan ng National Water Resources Board (NWRD) ang alokasyon sa Metro Manila mula sa Angat Dam. (We have enough supply to last through the summer months as long as the National Water Resources Board (NWRD) will not lower the allocation in Metro Manila from Angat Dam.)
Maynilad should be able to sustain the needs of its customers,” she said.—Aileen Cerrudo (with reports from Joan Nano)
Fire incidents broke out almost simultaneously in three separate barangays
in Quezon City on Tuesday afternoon (April 30), authorities confirmed.
Initial report from the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) said three separate fires swept through Mendez Road in Barangay Baesa; Sinagtala in Barangay Bahay Toro, and Romblon Street in Barangay Sto. Cristo.
The said fire incidents all started at past 4 p.m.
UPDATE | Fire broke out in two areas in Quezon City: As of 5:00 p.m., fire reaches 5th alarm in Sitio Sinagtala, Brgy….
As of 6:57 p.m., the blaze continued to engulf houses made of light materials along Mendes Road, forcing the BFP to raise the alarm level to Task Force Bravo. The fire at Sinagtala was raised to fifth alarm while the one at Romblon was raised to third alarm.
Meanwhile, two other fire incidents were reported at past 4 p.m. Tuesday in Barangay San Dionisio in Parañaque City and Barangay 167 in North Caloocan. A fire out declaration was issued around 6 p.m.
Authorities have yet to report damage or casualties from the fire incidents. – Robie de Guzman
This is a developing story. Please refresh page for updates.
The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) of Parañaque City has temporarily closed the Pacific Coast Plaza Condominium due to reports of defective fire protection equipment.
An 80-year-old woman was killed while six were injured in the fire that hit the building on Monday (April 29). The fire reached general alarm at around 12:30 p.m. and engulfed six upper floors of the 23-floor building.
The chief of BFP-Parañaque Supt. Robert Pacis said they continue to probe on the incident. They also asked the tenants to temporarily leave the premises while they ensure the safety of the building.
“Ang lower part, papasok pa rin tayo sa fire protection equipment, kapag wala pa ring compliance iyong fire protection equipment. Hindi pa rin pwedeng i-occupy, (The building cannot be occupied unless there is compliance about the fire protection equipment)” he said.
Meanwhile, the engineering department of Parañaque City Hall is also inspecting the structural integrity of the building.—Aileen Cerrudo (with reports from Nel Maribojoc)
MANILA, Philippines – A series of small and moderate earthquakes has been recorded along the Philippine trench off the coast of Surigao del Norte.
On April
26, a magnitude 5.5 earthquake was recorded 70 kilometers southeast of General Luna
on Siargao Island.
Department
of Science and Technology (DOST) Undersecretary Renato Solidum said earthquake
swarms may continue due to the subduction in the Philippine trench.
The
official explained that an earthquake swarm is different from aftershocks.
“Ang
aftershock kasi ay maliliit na paglindol pagkatapos ng isang talagang malakas na
pagyanig, distict na malakas. Ang nangyayari kasi sa off shore ng Surigao del
Norte may magnitude 5.5 pero may mga magnitude 5, 4 point plus. So hindi talaga
isang lindol na malakas tapos puro maliliit na. (An aftershock is a small earthquake after a strong shaking,
distinctively strong. What is happening off the shore of Surigao del Norte is
that, there is magnitude 5.5 but there are magnitudes 5, 4 point plus. So it’s
not a strong earthquake and the followed by small ones,)” the Director of
the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) explained.
Recently,
a series of earthquakes in the area has also been recorded but Usec. Solidum said
the activities have gradually subsided.
PHIVOLCS
monitors the area so that they can immediately warn the public for a possible
tsunami if a strong tremor occurs.
Solidum
said a strong earthquake might not happen but it was a long time ago since the
agency recorded a strong movement in that segment of the Philippine trench.
“Posibleng
mga class magnitude 8 earthquake ang pwedeng maidulot ng pagkilos sa Philippine
trench at pwede itong mag-trigger ng tsunami na pwedeng makaapekto sa baybayin
ng mga probinsyang nakaharap sa Pacific Ocean, (The Philippine Trench may cause class magnitude 8 earthquake and it
may trigger Tsunami that may affect coastal areas facing the Pacific Ocean,)
Solidum said.
The official
said a tsunami might reach the nearest fault in a matter of minutes depending
on the distance of the epicenter to the nearest coast.
Although no swarm was recorded in other segments of the Philippine trench like the Manila trench, Sulu-Negros trench, and Cotabato trench; they may generate a major quake.
The Manila
trench may generate a magnitude 8.3 earthquake and tsunami with a height of 3.5
meters to 5.5 meters.
Areas
facing the West Philippine Sea might be affected including the Manila Bay.
“Kung nasa dalampasigan sila o malapit, mapapansin nilang biglang bumaba ang tubig, mabilisan. At kung nandoon pa sila malapit sa dalampasigan, pwede silang makarinig ng kakaibang ugong at ito ay senyales na ang tsunami ay paparating na sa dalampasigan, (If they are in or near the coastal areas, they will notice the immediate or abnormal drop of seawater. And if they are near the coastline, they would hear a roaring sound and it is a sign that a tsunami is approaching,)” Solidum concluded. – Marje Pelayo (with reports from Rey Pelayo)
