Newsbriefs

Boat trips to Visayas, Mindanao open as ‘Gorio’ passes

PASSENGER vessels bound for Visayas and Mindanao resumed their trips while those bound for Manila were still grounded because of the presence of tropical depression “Gorio” in Luzon.

Ensign Cecille Romero, deputy commander of the Philippine Coast Guard-Cebu  Station said trips to Surigao City and Calbayog in Samar resumed at Sunday midnight.

Vessels bound for Hilongos, Bato and Ormoc in Leyte, and Masbate also resumed their trips while the Manila-bound MV St. Pope John Paul II loaded with 1,061 passengers remained grounded.

The vessel was supposed to leave Cebu City’s Pier 5 last Friday evening.

Abraham Geraldo and his daughter said that they were supposed to leave for Maasin, Leyte last Saturday morning but the trips were canceled.

Geraldo said they were not informed about the cancellation of the trips and they were forced to stay in a hotel for the night.

They came to Cebu to have his daughter’s monthly check-up of her thyroid condition at Velez Hospital.

“Demalas jud kaayo among byahe kay wa mi madayon sa check-up kay way clinic unya naabtan pa jud mi sa bagyo (We were unlucky in our trip. There was no open clinic, then our trip was canceled due to the typhoon),” Geraldo said.

Geraldo and his daughter later left Cebu City by boat via Hilongos Leyte.

As of 4 p.m. yesterday, tropical depression “Gorio” was estimated at 230 km west of Dagupan City. Correspondent Joy Cherry S. Quito

Police: Korean talking to countryman before ambush

HOURS before he was ambushed in barangay Banilad, Mandaue City at past 3 p.m last Friday, a Korean businessman was heard arguing with someone over the phone in his native language.

Senior Insp. Ramil Morpos, chief of the Casuntingan police precinct in Mandaue City, said the Korean’s driver heard him talking before driving him off to Banilad where they were ambushed by motorcycle-riding assailants.

The 42-year-old driver named Sonny Ubal was confined at the Gullas Memorial hospital for treatment of a gunshot wound in his right hand. Ubal drove for Yi Sung Jung, who died in the ambush.

The 44-year-old Yi is engaged in car dealing, casino financing and guide services for South Koreans in Cebu.

Morpos said Ubal told him that he heard Yi arguing with a South Korean while inside his sports utility vehicle (SUV).

Yi was headed to Xing Cafe and Restobar in barangay Banilad, Mandaue City to meet his five South Korean friends.

Yi later left and he was tailed by motorcycle-riding assailants to the Adoration Chapel of Divine Peace in Banilad.

They shot Yi, who sat at the passenger side of the vehicle, several times.  Police said Ubal was hit by one of the shots aimed at Yi.

He managed to get out of the SUV while Yi succumbed to multiple gunshot wounds while trying to exit the vehicle.

Morpos said Yi, a native of Su Won City, South Korea, was separated from his Korean wife and had a Cebuana girlfriend.

Six mobile phones were turned over to the Criminal Investigation and Detective Group (CIDG) for examination.

Three of the mobile phones were turned over by Yi’s friends who met him in the  cafe.

Their names were withheld due to the ongoing investigation. Another cell phone belonged to Ubal.

Witnesses said the suspects wore helmets while another one covered his face with cloth.

Police will also examine security cameras of nearby outlets for any footage of the incident. Reporter Jucell Marie P. Cuyos