Newsbriefs

WHALE SHARK PLANS

BEFORE taking another step, Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama wants to validate reports about the presence of whale sharks in the city’s coastal areas.

Rama said the city will be drawing up plans to protect and preserve the sharks but only after they have ascertained their presence.

“We have to validate their presence with pictures.  I am calling a meeting with Bantay Dagat to discuss the matter,” Rama said.

He  added that they should not be  “overeager” of the presence of the whale sharks.

Retired police colonel Ranulfo Sebusa, head of the Bantay Dagat, said in a press briefing on Tuesday that fisherfolks have seen two whale sharks in the city’s coastal waters.

They come out at nighttime and early morning.

Sebusa said these creatures were first spotted about 10 years ago but disappeared when illegal fishing became rampant.

Now that they have curbed illegal fishing, the whale sharks are back as the uyap, which is their food, is now abundant./Correspondent Edison Delos Angeles

SPECIAL REGISTRATION

THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Mandaue City will be holding a special registration for senior citizens and person with disabilities (PWD) on March 10.

It will be held at the  City Social Welfare Services (CSWS) building in barangay Centro Tribunal, Mandaue City.

Election Assistant Imelda Camilo said the Comelec Regional Office issued a memorandum  instructing them to hold a registration solely for senior citizens and PWDs.

On July 21, another special registration for them will also be held.

“We are doing this to show that we give them priority,” Camilo said.

Comelec also holds offsite registration every Saturdays in barangays.

Since December, they had been to Banilad and Subangdaku.

This Saturday, they will hold it in barangay Paknaan.

As of Jan. 22,  Camilo said the registered voters for the 2013 elections in Mandaue City already reached 167,023, and they expect the number to grow until the deadline of registration on Oct. 31./Correspondent Fe Marie D. Dumaboc

SINKHOLE OBSERVATIONS

Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia is calling on the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) to have a more definitive observations and recommendations on the sinkhole in Dumanjug town.

She also calls on the townsfolk to follow basic precautionary measures and stay away from the sinkhole.

Garcia, who visited the site last Saturday, said she understands the limitations of MGB.

“They are hampered for lack of equipment, personnel, (and)  data.  I understand that they cannot immediately give a definitive opinion about it,” she added.

A geologist from MGB said they need a ground-penetrating radar to determine the geometry of the sinkhole’s cavity, its maximum length and width.

Jun Lucero said the MGB-7 may consider renting an equipment from a Manila-based firm.

Without the equipment, Lucero said they can’t determine the extent of the sinkhole and the possible cavities that interconnect underground.

For now, what they can do is monitor the area and measure the sinkhole./Correspondent Carmel Loise Matus

SHIP JUMPER

A 25-year-old Cebu City resident drowned after he jumped off a passenger ship en route to Cebu City from Manila last Tuesday afternoon.

Marvin Andales, 25, of barangay Inayawan, Cebu City, was found dead more than an hour after he jumped off the MV St. Joseph the Worker near Gigante Island, Iloilo City, at 1:25 p.m.

The ship’s crew scoured the area hoping to rescue Andales but at 2:07 p.m., they found and recovered his body. They tried to revive him but failed.

The ship’s doctor, Jinnefer Picardal, said that Andales died of asphyxia secondary to drowning.

Helen Andales, Marvin’s mother, told Cebu Daily News that she earlier received a text message from  Marvin informing he was experiencing palpitations and loss of appetite.

The victim’s mother said that his son was returning after a two-year-stay in Cavite where he worked as a helper of his aunt’s store./Correspondent Chito O. Aragon