INQToday: IS claims responsibility for deadly Mindanao State University bombing

Here’s a quick roundup of today’s top stories:

IS claims responsibility for deadly bombing at Mindanao State University

Islamic State militants claimed responsibility for a deadly bombing at the Mindanao State University in Marawi City on Sunday that killed at least four people and injured 50 others.

The bomb exploded during a Catholic Mass inside the university gymnasium in Marawi, which was besieged by Islamist militants for five months in 2017.

1,692 aftershocks swayed Surigao del Sur after 7.4-magnitude quake

State seismologists recorded nearly 1, 700 aftershocks in Surigao del Sur since a powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake hit waters near the province’s Hinatuan town over the weekend.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said it logged 1,692 aftershocks in the province as of 8 a.m. on Monday, December 4, with strength ranging from magnitude 1.4 to 6.6.

Magnitude 6.8 quake strikes again off Surigao del Sur

Another earthquake, this time of magnitude 6.8, struck 63 kilometers off east-southeast of Cagwait in Surigao del Sur on Monday, just a day after a magnitude 7.4 tremor (initially reported as 6.9) shook the province and nearby areas.

The latest quake, which was of tectonic origin with a shallow depth of focus of one kilometer, was recorded at 3:49 a.m.,  according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).

DoTr to raise MRT 3 minimum fare next year

After the increase in the fares in the Light Rail Transit Line 1 and Line 2 (LRT 1 and LRT 2) in August, passengers need to brace for a hike in fares of the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT 3) by next year.

Timothy John Batan, transportation undersecretary for planning and project development, said the fare adjustment in MRT 3, the busiest among the trains traversing the metro, would be used to subsidize other government programs and projects.