One of oldest town halls damaged by Cebu quake; no one hurt

CEBU CITY — The roof of the old municipal hall in Argao town, southern Cebu, was damaged on Monday afternoon after a mild earthquake rocked parts of Cebu and neighboring Negros Oriental.

No one was reported injured since the second floor of the structure built in the 1800s had been cordoned off since February in preparation for its renovation, said Vip Semilla, former administrator and now member of the Argao Search and Rescue Team.

The epicenter of the magnitude 3.1 earthquake was traced to the waters off Basay town, Negros Oriental, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.

It was tectonic in origin and was recorded at 3:37 p.m. on Monday.

The earthquake was felt at Intensity 2 in Argao, about 70 kilometers south of Cebu City. Intensity usually means that the earthquake is felt by people at rest or on the upper floors of a building.

Argao Mayor Edsel Galeos said that during the mild tremor, some ceramic tiles of the roof of Casa Real slid down since nails had been loosened due to the scheduled rehabilitation work.  The trusses, however, remained intact, he added.

While the second floor has been closed down, the ground floor is  still being used to house the offices of the civil registrar, municipal treasurer and agriculturist as well as the  Commission on Elections (Comelec) offices.

The two-story building was supposed to be due for renovation but actual work has been delayed by the process of securing the approval of the National Heritage Council of the Philippines (NHCP), Galeos said.

Built during the Spanish era, Casa Real is one of the oldest municipal buildings in the country.  SFM