AGUSAN DEL SUR — About 200 officials and workers of the Agusan del Sur Electric Cooperative (Aselco) planted some 1,000 rubber tree seedlings on the buffer zone of the endangered Mt. Magdiwata watershed in San Francisco town on Saturday.
The tree planting to help preserve the 1,652-hectare watershed was also held as part of the cooperative’s 37th founding anniversary celebration on Aug. 26, said Emmanuel Galarse, Aselco general manager. It will allay fears from residents on the effects of pollution of the 5-megawatt, bunker-fired power plant inside the Aselco compound when it starts operating in the third quarter, he said. Chris V. Panganiban, Inquirer Mindanao
Car falls into ravine
MAGUINDANAO –Two persons were killed while three others were injured when the car they were riding in fell into a 35-meter-deep ravine in Sultan Kudarat town on Sunday.
The passengers of the ill-fated Mitsubishi car were on their way to Pigcawayan town, North Cotabato province, to join a basketball competition sponsored by the Iglesia ni Cristo when the accident happened in Barangay (village) Ladia shortly before 3 p.m., Senior Insp. Ismael Madin, municipal police chief, said in a phone interview.
Killed on the spot were Ariel Rizaldo, 42, of Parang town, Maguindanao province, and Freddie Etak, 40, both INC preachers. One of their injured companions was identified as Jay Rubio.
Rizaldo lost control of the wheel while trying to overtake a speeding motorcycle on a sharp curve, Madin said. Charlie C. Señase, Inquirer Mindanao
3-vehicle collision
LAGUNA–One person was killed while four others were hurt in a three-vehicle collision along Maharlika Highway in Barangay (village) Milagros, Calamba City, at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday.
The accident involved a UV Express van, a Mitsubishi Lancer car and a Ford Fiera driven by the lone fatality, Ramos Liquido Jr., 43, of Calamba City, said PO1 Ulysses Steven Afuang of the Calamba police.
Liquido was heading toward Batangas when his vehicle hit the approaching van and car. His companion, a Jimmy Maiquez, and three members of a family on board the van were injured, Afuang said. Maricar Cinco, Inquirer Southern Luzon