Newsbriefs across the nation

ISABELA

4 drown in river

Four members of a family in mourning drowned on Friday at the Cagayan River in Sta. Ana town here where they went to ritually cleanse themselves after burying their grandfather in Barangay San Isidro here.

The bodies of the Allayba siblings (Michael, 28, Marlon, 22, Ignacio, 18, and Mildred, 13) were recovered in Enrile, Cagayan, on Saturday, police said.

The victims were required by tradition to take a bath in the closest river after the funeral, but they apparently dove toward a deep section of the river and were swept away by the strong current, according to Chief Insp. Jacinto Tuddao, Enrile police chief. Villamor Visaya Jr., Inquirer Northern Luzon

2 women slain

Two women working in entertainment bars in Isabela were killed in separate cases in Reina Mercedes and Ramon towns last week, police said.

On Saturday, Marisol Villaraza, 26, was found dead under the Napaccu Grande Bridge in Reina Mercedes town. Villaraza, who worked in a beer joint in Cauayan City, had stab wounds in the chest.

Police said Villaraza left the bar on Friday night accompanied by a man identified only as Excel. In Ramon town, police arrested Jesus Paatan, 46, in connection with the killing of Mercydita Palyahay, 28, an entertainer working at the Rose Videoke Bar in Barangay Burgos.

Police said Paatan’s neighbors in Barangay Bugallon Proper heard him and Palyahay fighting on Friday night. By early Saturday, police said neighbors heard gunshots from Paatan’s house. They later discovered Palyahay’s body in a grassy area near the suspect’s house. Villamor Visaya Jr., Inquirer Northern Luzon