News Briefs: Mandaya chieftain, 2 others killed in Davao Oriental attack

Mandaya chieftain, 2 others killed in Davao Oriental attack

TAGUM CITY—A Mandaya chieftain and his two relatives were shot and killed by armed men who barged into a family compound in Caraga town, Davao Oriental, last week, police said. The suspects engaged responding policemen in a shootout as they fled after the attack that killed Datu Copertino Banugan, 53, his younger brother Ramon, 44, and another relative identified only as Benny, in Barangay Poblacion past 11 p.m. on Friday, said Senior Supt. Harry Espela, Davao Oriental police chief. Police recovered a van, believed to be used by the suspects, near Caraga’s border with Manay town. Espela said Banugan was the chieftain of the Mandaya tribe in Sangab, an upland community in the boundary of Caraga and Compostela Valley province. —FRINSTON LIM

Red tide alert up in 9 Visayas areas

The coastal waters of the entire Biliran Island had been added to the list of areas where the red tide alert had been raised following incidents of poisoning that killed two persons in the island province, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) said.

In its latest bulletin, BFAR said the alert covers nine areas in the Visayas, including six water bodies between Leyte and Samar provinces. Earlier last month, the alert in Biliran covered only the waters of Naval town.

The agency said shellfish collected in these areas tested positive for paralytic shellfish poison beyond the regulatory limit. Also covered by red tide alert are Irong-Irong and Cabatutay Bays in Western Samar province; Matarinao Bay in Eastern Samar province; Carigara Bay and Calubian as well as the coastal waters of Leyte province; Dauis and Tagbilaran City in Bohol province; and the coastal waters of Gigantes Island in Iloilo province. The BFAR said all kinds of shellfish and “alamang” (krill) from an area under red tide alert should not be harvested, sold and eaten. —RONNEL W. DOMINGO

NBI urged to probe Olongapo Red Cross building fire

OLONGAPO CITY—Philippine Red Cross (PRC) officials have asked the National Bureau of Investigation to determine the cause of the Dec. 26 fire that razed the old PRC building here.

Lawyer Oscar Palabyab, PRC secretary general, said he found the circumstances surrounding the fire to be “highly suspicious” as the building was the only structure left standing in a complex eyed for a development project.

Palabyab said the Bureau of Fire Protection here has yet to release the result of its investigation, prompting PRC officials to request the BFP national office in Quezon City to step in. Initial reports from the BFP here said the fire broke out at 3:45 a.m. and was put out within 20 minutes. No one was reported hurt. The PRC building was built in the 1970s near the former public hospital. —ALLAN MACATUNO