Seismic gear near Mayon Volcano stolen

Science and Technology Secretary Mario Montejo. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Cables and batteries of critical seismic equipment near the Mayon Volcano were stolen last month, disrupting transmission of vital volcano monitoring data to the central station in Quezon City, the Department of Science and Technology bared Wednesday.

Science Secretary Mario Montejo described as “murderous” the theft of cables and five 12-volt batteries at unmanned seismic relay stations of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology  in Sto. Domingo, Albay.

“These unscrupulous individuals are not only thieves, they could also qualify as murderers,” said Montejo in a statement. Tarra Quismundo