Davao del Sur police now also battles lightning

DIGOS CITY, Philippines – The Davao del Sur police office said it was putting up devices against lightning strikes in areas deemed prone to them and which have killed two people since September.

Senior Superintendent Vladimir Custer Kahulugan, Davao del Sur police chief, said preventing more people from being hurt by thunderbolts was among the police’s primary job as a public safety agency.

“We have to initiate measures to prevent people from being harmed when lightning strikes,” Kahulugan said.

On Tuesday, six people, including three children, were injured when lighting struck the antenna of the TV they were watching in Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur.

Dr. Almer Lumain, attending physician at the Davao del Sur Provincial Hospital here, said the victims suffered burns in various parts of their bodies. Two of the victims, he said, were in critical condition.

On October 12, a high-school student at the Felipe-Inocencia Deluao National High School in the town of Sulop died while two of his peers suffered burns when they were hit by lightning as they waited for a ride home.

In September, Margie Matos, 32, was killed while her four-year-old daughter suffered burns when lightning struck Barangay (village) Managa in Bansalan, Davao del Sur.

Kahulugan said the police planned to put up the anti-lightning devices in towns where lightning strikes have occurred.

“We might have to place [the devices] on top of the hills,” he said.

He did not say how much the police would be spending for the gadgets.