SIARGAO: A 4.3 magnitude earthquake jolted Siargao Island Wednesday evening, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs). In its bulletin, Phivolcs said the earthquake was registered at 9:30 p.m. The epicenter was plotted 43 kilometers (km) southeast of country’s surfing capital of General town, Surigao del Norte province, it said. It had a shallow depth of 7 km. Intensity 3 was registered at nearby town of Burgos, also of that Pacific Ocean facing island of Siargao. Earlier, a 4.2 magnitude tremor was also recorded at 5:47 p.m. on the same day and its epicenter was traced 20 km southeast of that same Pacific Ocean facing town of General Luna, with a shallow depth of only 6 km. Intensity 4 was registered at the town proper of General Luna town and nearby Burgos town while intensity 3 also registered in Surigao City. (Mike Crismundo)
ILOCOS SUR: A woman drowned after allegedly slipping and falling into a fishpond in Barangay Las-ud, Tagudin, Ilocos Sur yesterday. Police said the body of Myrna Lagrana, 48, a resident of Barangay Las-ud, Tagudin, Ilocos Sur, was found floating in the fishpond by his brother. Police said the victim, who is epileptic, apparently drowned when she had a seizure while walking along the fishpond. (Freddie G. Lazaro)
ILOCOS SUR: A retired overseas Filipino worker (OFW) and a charcoal maker died in two separate shooting incidents in the past two days in Ilocos Sur. Police said Jose Perlas, 74, a retired OFW and resident of Barangay Balaleng Amianance, Bantay, Ilocos Sur was shot by an unidentified suspect in front of his house at about 6:35 p.m. on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Selerino Tacsiat, 65, a charcoal maker and a resident of Barangay Lao-ingen, Sto. Domingo, Ilocos Sur, was shot by unidentified men aboard a motorcycle in Barangay Quimmarayan, Sto. Domingo, Ilocos Sur on Tuesday. (Freddie Lazaro)
CEBU CITY: The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources-Central Visayas (BFAR 7) warned the public to refrain from eating a poisonous crab called “kumong-kumong.” The BFAR 7 issued a region-wide advisory following an incident in Barangay Pig-ot, Loon town, Bohol where a man died after eating kumong-kumong (scientific name: Zosimus aeneus L.). Alma Saavedra, information officer of BFAR 7, said that last Jan. 8, the 35-year-old victim, a certain Ronel, cooked kumong-kumong but complained of stomachache after eating it. Ronel was brought to a hospital in Tagbilaran City where he later died. Another family member also complained of stomachache after eating the crab. “The other victim was able to survive after he drank coconut milk that allowed him to throw up the crab he ate,” said Saavedra. (Calvin Cordova)
CARIGARA, Leyte: The oldest town in Eastern Visayas will stage its first official festival on their 448th founding anniversary on Jan. 25. Dale Daniel Bodo, the town’s tourism officer, said that the week-long celebration
of the “Magara” Festival will feature four aspects of their town’s livelihood, culture and heritage. “The first Magara Festival focuses on celebration of the abundance of the municipality in terms of agriculture, products, history and people,” he said. (Marie Tonette Marticio)
