Regions Briefs: June 14, 2019

Collapsed dike kills 2 kids in Nueva Vizcaya

BAYOMBONG, NUEVA VIZCAYA—Two children were killed while another was hurt on Wednesday when portions of a damaged dike collapsed at Barangay Macate in Bambang town. Kevin Jose, 10, and his brother Mike Jhon, 8, and Justine Sean Yadao, 4, were playing at the dike when eroding concrete and rocks hit them, according to Barangay Macate head Purificacion Tumacder. The rocks crushed the Jose brothers. On Thursday, Tumacder and the village council decided to regulate entry to the dike, which was damaged in 2017. —VILLAMOR VISAYA JR.

Armed men take P15.6-M gold shipment in Benguet

BAGUIO CITY—A gold bullion, worth P15.6 million, was taken on Monday by suspected robbers in the mining town of Itogon in Benguet province. Radito Quinto and Benny Canor, employees of Itogon Suyoc Resources Inc., were transporting the gold from the mine site at Sitio Bagingey in Barangay Poblacion when their path was blocked by a boulder. Four masked men, armed with rifles and pistols, sprang out and took the bag holding the gold, the employees’ valuables and the vehicle’s key before they fled toward Barangay Ampucao in Itogon. —KARLSTON LAPNITEN

NPA leader slain in Sorsogon clash

LEGAZPI CITY—A New People’s Army (NPA) leader in Sorsogon province was killed in a shootout with policemen in Magallanes town on Thursday. Lt. Joseph Millarez, Magallanes police chief, said Edwin Dematera fired at policemen who were serving him arrest warrants for murder and gun possession cases. Dematera was killed in the five-minute firefight at Barangay Incarizan.  —MA. APRIL MIER-MANJARES