NEWSBRIEFS
ZAMBOANGA CITY
Child evacuee raped by boy
A 6-year-old girl was allegedly raped by an 11-year-old boy inside the evacuation camp at Joaquin F. Enriquez Memorial Sports Complex here.
Senior Supt. Angelito Casimiro, city police chief, said the boy was brought to the Children in Conflict with the Law facility in Barangay (village) Culianan on Friday night.
Two camp managers on Friday denied the reported rape. But Zenaida Arevalo, regional director of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, confirmed the report.
The girl and her family are among thousands of evacuees staying at the sports complex after Moro National Liberation Front members attacked the city in September last year, leaving houses in several villages here razed. Julie S. Alipala, Inquirer Mindanao
KORONADAL CITY
Food packs down 137
At least 137 people were rushed to hospitals here when they experienced nausea and stomach pains after they ate packed lunch consisting of rice, egg and chicken at a tribal assembly in Barangay Tablu in Tampakan town, South Cotabato province, on Friday noon.
Carling Sanhay, a B’laan tribal leader, said that during the discussions on small mining activities in their village, people were given food packs for lunch.
An hour after consuming their share, people started complaining one after the other until the number grew, Sanhay said. He said the patients were rushed to hospitals here using any available means.
Authorities at the South Cotabato provincial hospital said they could not determine what caused the illness as of yet. Samples taken from the distributed food were still to be sent to Manila as of Friday afternoon. Williamor A. Magbanua, Inquirer Mindanao
Police officer jailed for gun slay
A police officer is now behind bars after he allegedly shot dead a 24-year-old man and wounded another inside Rizal Park here early on Saturday.
Supt. Querubin Manalang, city police director, said SP03 Maxwell Roble, of the provincial police intelligence division, was immediately taken into police custody after he was identified as the man who shot dead Joare Villarosa Batulat, a resident of Aurora Ext., here around 2:30 a.m. The wounded man was identified as Carlo Cansancio.
Roble was mum when reporters sought his comment. He said he had yet to consult a lawyer. Senior Supt. Michael John Dubria, provincial police director, said he had ordered a deeper investigation of the incident.
A source from the police intelligence community said the slain man was a murder suspect and that Roble might just be doing his job as a police officer. Reports from Orlando Dinoy and Eldie Aguirre, Inquirer Mindanao
