Newbriefs

TACLOBAN CITY

Typhoid kills boy

The Department of Health (DOH) in Eastern Visayas has declared an outbreak of typhoid fever in four Leyte towns as the number of people afflicted with the disease has reached nearly 200 and has claimed the life of a 3-year-old boy. Magilda Espinosa, district nurse supervisor at the Carigara District Hospital, said the boy, a resident of Barangay Guindapunan East in Carigara town, died at the hospital on Nov. 4. DOH records showed that 187 people from Barugo, Carigara, Capoocan and Tunga towns have sought treatment for typhoid fever since last month. The DOH’s initial investigation showed that the ailment could be due to the contamination of water supply in these areas. But Dolores Bodo, an employee of the Metro Carigara Water District, said the facility has been conducting monthly tests to ensure a clean water supply. Joey Gabieta, Inquirer Visayas

EVENTS

New SSS amnesty

The Social Security System (SSS) will implement another round of amnesty for unpaid short-term loans. In a statement, Emilio de Quiros Jr., SSS president and chief executive officer, said President Aquino has approved the amnesty plan on Oct. 13 though the SSS has yet to write its guidelines and set the date for its implementation. The statement said the amount of condonable penalties now vary depending on the reasons cited by members in failing to pay. Members can pay in full or through installment in three years at 3-percent annual interest. To avail themselves of these benefits, however, members should have paid at least three monthly contributions prior to applying for the amnesty plan, the SSS statement said. Members filing claims for disability or retirement will have 50 percent of their penalties condoned, said the statement. But members who haven’t paid even once for their loans would not be covered by the program, said De Quiros.

ORMOC CITY

Extortionist falls

Police arrested a former Army reservist on Monday for trying to extort money from his neighbor by using the name of a group of communist rebels. Joselito Solis, a resident of Barangay Cogon here, was arrested after his neighbor, Arlene Abah, sought police help. Abah, in her complaint, said she received a letter from Solis on Nov. 4, asking for P4,500 supposedly on the instruction of the Mt. Amandewin Command of the New People’s Army operating in Leyte. Elvie Roman Roa, Inquirer Visayas

TAGUM CITY

Quake hurts 16

At least 16 people were hurt when a moderate earthquake hit Bukidnon on Monday, disaster response officials said on Tuesday. At least 10 people remained in hospitals due to injuries they suffered after the magnitude-5.2 quake shook Bukidnon at 5:40 p.m., said Arsenio Alagenio, provincial disaster coordinating council chief. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) traced the earthquake’s epicenter some 32 kilometers west of the capital Malaybalay City. In a report by AFP, Winchell Sevilla, seismologist at Phivolcs in Manila, said the quake was caused by a movement of a local fault about a kilometer below the earth’s surface.  “It was very shallow, the energy it generated can cause a lot of damage,” he said. At least 23 houses collapsed or were damaged when the earthquake struck, said Maj. Eugenio Julio Osias IV, spokesperson of the Army’s 4th Infantry Division. Intensity 3 was felt in Malaybalay City and Quezon town, also in Bukidnon; Intensity 2 in Cagayan de Oro City; and Intensity 1 in Camiguin, Phivolcs reports said. Frinston L. Lim, Inquirer Mindanao, and AFP