News Briefs: Laborer dead in clash with soldiers

DAVAO CITY—A man was killed in a clash with government forces in the town of Lingig in Surigao del Sur on Saturday. Capt. Rhyan Batchar, public affairs chief of the military’s 10th Infantry Division, said four men tried to accost three government soldiers in civilian clothes in the village of Pagtilaan past 9 a.m. The soldiers, from the 67th Infantry Battalion, were in the village to visit Sitio Maria when the incident happened, Batchar said. Citing a report from the Lingig police, Batchar said a soldier tried to approach one of the armed men while they were in the village multi-purpose hall. The gunman drew a handgun while his companions started firing their guns at the soldiers. Batchar said the soldiers returned fire and hit one of the armed men, who had been identified as Ricky Ponciano. Initial investigation showed that Ponciano, 25, was a construction worker residing in the village. Authorities recovered from the scene a .45 cal. handgun and bullets. —KARLOS MANLUPIG

Case of cannibalism reported in Bukidnon

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY—A 35-year-old man from Bukidnon province, who allegedly killed, cooked and ate his neighbor last month is now facing a murder case, police said. Relatives of the victim, 65-year-old Edwin Ma, had filed a complaint at the provincial prosecutors office in Bukidnon, according to Senior Insp. Danielo Bellezas, head of the Bukidnon police’s community relations office. On Oct. 28, authorities recovered the remains of Ma inside a banana plantation in Lantapan town after conducting a search for the victim, who had been reported missing. Parts of Ma’s body had been chopped off and found strewn on the ground and others were found in a pot. After an investigation, Ma’s neighbor, Teddy Boy Villegas, was taken into custody. In a report, police said Villegas, 35, butchered Ma and cooked and ate his flesh. The motive for the killing is unknown. SPO1 Roy Yacapin said Villegas, when arrested, appeared to be “disconnected from reality.” Bellezas said police would have Villegas checked by experts to determine if he has a mental illness. He said it is also likely that Villegas is addicted to drugs. —JIGGER JERUSALEM

The unusually-shaped clouds (photographed by a Phivolcs camera)

Saucer-shaped clouds awe residents

BACOLOD CITY—A cloud formation that took the shape of a flying saucer sent residents here clicking with their cameras away. The clouds were spotted by residents over Mt. Kanlaon, an active volcano, on All Saints’ Day. A photo of the unusual cloud formation was taken by a Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) observatory internet protocol (IP) camera in Canlaon City in Negros Oriental between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. Jay Jamelo, Phivolcs science research specialist, said the IP camera, connected to the Phivolcs computer network 24/7 to keep watch on Kanlaon, had a good shot of the cloud formation which appeared to be an alien spaceship or a ghostly apparition. Oscar Tabada, Pagasa Visayas director, has a name for it—altocumulus cloud, which hovers up to 6,000 meters above the earth and is often associated with changing weather. Tabada said an altocumulus cloud forms over mountain ranges when moist air flows over the mountains and is unable to rise because it is cold at the top. —CARLA P. GOMEZ

Bodies of 2 teenagers fished out of river

ZAMBOANGA CITY—Two boys, aged 14 and 16, had been found dead here with gunshot wounds in the head, the police said. The discovery of the bodies of Junie Turabin, 14, a Grade 6 pupil of Sta. Barbara Elementary School and Alexander Taruc, 16, came on the same day that the bodies of two women, still unidentified, had been found in another place. The bodies of the two boys, who lived at the Masepla Transitory Site, were fished out of the San Ramon River, according to Senior Supt. Luisito Magnaye, the city police director. The boys were reportedly snatched by unidentified men from their homes on Oct. 31. Magnaye said police are investigating if the deaths of the two boys are related to that of the two dead women. The body of one of the women, who wore a hijab and was between 20-30 years old, was found at a drainage in Barangay Limpapa while the other victim, estimated to be between 20 and 25 years old, was also fished out of the San Ramon River in Barangay Talisayan. Magnaye said the two women were victims of violence. —JULIE ALIPALA