Newsbriefs

MASS BURIAL FOR PASSENGERS ON SEPT. 25

THE remaining 45 bodies of passengers that were recovered from the sunken M/V St. Thomas Aquinas will be buried in Carreta Cemetery, Cebu City on Sept. 25.

“Initially we planned it to be Sept. 30 but it was moved five days earlier. We found that everything is ready,” said Neil Sanchez, Provincial Disaster and Risk Reduction Management Office (PDRRMO) chief.

Sanchez said the team considered the public cemeteries of Talisay, Carreta and Calamba as burial sites for the victims. However, Carreta still has remaining lots to accommodate the bodies.

Sanchez said the bodies were assigned corresponding case numbers for matching purposes as soon as the results of the DNA laboratory tests arrive.

He said the families of the victims could still claim the remains of their loved ones.

“It’s their option if they want to bury the body here, bring the body to their place or be cremated,” Sanchez added.

As of yesterday, 21 bodies remain missing.

The number of fatalities is pegged at 116. Sixty-nine bodies were already identified by authorities and were released to their respective families.

The 2GO management is also coordinating with the Philippine Coast Guard and the Malayan Towage and Salvage Corp. (MTSC) in siphoning oil from the sunken MV St. Thomas Aquinas.

“We have identified three corners in the ship where there may be trapped oil,” MTSC’s Noel Kimmayong said.

Drilling of the remaining five oil tanks in the ship was completed yesterday, Coast Guard Cebu station commander Weniel Azcuna said. / Correspondents Peter L. Romanillos and Jose Santino S. Bunachita

POWER SUPPLY IN TWO TOWNS, ONE CITY TO BE RESTORED NEXT WEEK

POWER supply will be restored in two towns and a city in southwestern Cebu in a week following the explosion of a power coop’s aging transformer last Thursday.

In a press statement Virgilio Fortich Jr., Cebu Electric Cooperative Inc. (Cebeco III) general manager, said a 10 MVA power transformer ordered from Manila will arrive in six days.

He said they will rent the equipment for P400,000 a month until their new substation powered with a new 20 MVA power transformer will be finished.

Businesses and government offices in Aloguinsan and Pinamungahan towns and Toledo City were paralyzed for nearly four days while residents complained of inadequate water due to the power outage.

Fortich said Cebeco borrowed the 10 MVA power transformer from Carmen town substation and it is now housed in the Toledo power substation of the National Grid and Power Corporation (NGPC).

He said Cebeco had to employ rotating brownouts in order to provide electricity to its affected areas.  /Correspondent Peter L. Romanillos

COURT CLEARS SALUD OF CHARGES

A CEBU City court cleared boxing promoter Rex “Wakee” Salud on charges of deliberately issuing worthless checks worth P10 million yesterday.

Judge Monalilia Tecson of the Municipal Trial Court in Cities Branch 1 said there is no adequate evidence to prove that Salud knew the two checks he issued to Almacita Paray weren’t covered by sufficient funds.

The judge cited the prosecution’s failure to prove that the demand letter from Paray was received by Salud.

“The failure of the prosecution to prove that accused (Salud) was given the requisite notice of dishonor is a clear ground for his acquittal,” she added.

But Tecson mandated Salud to pay the complainant P10 million which represents the face value of the two bounced checks with 12 percent interest per annum starting from the date of the filing of the case in court. Salud was also ordered to pay P100,000 in attorney’s fees.

The boxing promoter was earlier charged with two counts of violation of the Batas Pambansa Bilang 22 or the Anti-Bouncing Check Law.

Paray claimed that Salud was a close family friend for over 15 years. Sometime in Sept. 2003, she said Salud requested to borrow P10 million from her. Salud issued two checks worth P5 million each as assurance.

When the two checks issued by Salud were deposited with the bank, both checks were dishonored since the account had insufficient funds. Despite several verbal demands, Salud allegedly didn’t pay Paray, saying he didn’t receive any notice or demand letter from her. / Reporter Ador Vincent Mayol