Poll Watcher Killed In South RP

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 31, 2007) – A volunteer poll watcher was found murdered Wednesday inside a gymnasium in Butuan City in the southern Philippines, police said.

Police said Geraldine Cabardo's body was discovered by civilians at around 5.30 inside the gym at the San Vicente Elementary School. The body of the 25-year old Cabardo bore stab wounds, it said.

It was not immediately known if the murder was related to the elections, police said.

Other reports said Cabardo worked for the Bombo Radyo's poll watch during Monday's Barangay (village council) and Sangguniang Kabataan (youth council).

"We are still investigating the murder. According to the SOCO (scene of crime officers), the body had multiple incise wounds," Police Officer 2 Ethel Labi told the Mindanao Examiner by phone from Butuan City.

No individual or group claimed responsibility for the killing, Labi said.

More than two dozen people have been killed in poll-related violence in the country, according to the police, but it said the elections were peaceful compared in 2002 where 49 people had died. (Mindanao Examiner)

Airliner Overshoots Runway In Southern Philippines

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 26, 2007) – A Philippine Air Lines (PAL) Airbus A320 carrying 148 passengers overshot a runway in the southern Philippines on Friday, injuring several people.

The plane, which came from Manila, overshot the runway at the Butuan City airport just short of a row of houses at around 6.07 a.m. There were no reports of serious injuries.

Witnesses said the plane landed in the middle of the runway and overshot the runway. “I saw it touched down in the middle of the runaway and the plane went straight and overshot the runway.”

“There were houses on the other end of the runway and it’s just lucky the plane stopped right in front of those houses,” one witness Israel Palero told the radio network dzRH by phone.

He said rescuers rushed some of the passengers to hospitals as smoke billows from inside the immobilized plane. “I saw liquid leaking from the plane. I saw the pilot and he appeared dazed and telling us to evacuate from the plane,” another witness said.

Rolly Estabillo, PAL spokesman, said there is an ongoing investigation into the accident.

“We are asking for apology. We don’t want this to happen. There is an investigation going on,” he said.

The weather was cloudy and windy in Butuan at the time of the accident. “There is low pressure in the area and it could be a factor in the accident. We really don’t know. Let’s wait for the outcome of the investigations,” Estabillo said.

He said the airline would shoulder all the hospital expenses of the passengers. “We are taking care of them,” he said.

PAL currently flies two aircrafts from Manila to Butuan City.

It was unknown whether the accident involving PAL’s A320 was the first in the Philippines, but there had been several accidents worldwide since 1988. Below were some of the recorded crashes involving A320 airplanes, according to the website airsafe.com

June 1988; Air France A320; near Mulhouse-Habsheim Airport, France: The aircraft crashed into trees during an air show maneuver when the aircraft failed to gain height during a low pass with the gear extended. Three of the 136 passengers were killed.

February 1990; Indian Airlines A320; Bangalore, India: Controlled flight into terrain during approach. Aircraft hit about 400 meters short of the runway. Four of the seven crew members and 88 of the 139 passengers were killed.
January 1992; Air Inter A320; near Strasbourg, France: Aircraft had a controlled flight into terrain after the flight crew incorrectly set the flight management system. Five of the six crew and 82 of the 87 passengers perished.

September 1993; Lufthansa A320-200; Warsaw Airport, Poland: Aircraft landed with a tail wind. Landing performance and aircraft design led to a late deployment of braking devices. Aircraft overran the runway. One of the 6 crew and 1 of the 64 passengers were killed.

August 2000; Gulf Air A320; Near Manama, Bahrain: The aircraft was making a third attempt to land at the Bahrain International Airport after a flight from Cairo when the aircraft crashed into the sea about three miles (4.8 km) from the airport. All eight crew members and 135 passengers were killed.

May 2006; Armavia Airlines A320; near Sochi, Russia: The aircraft was on a scheduled international flight from Yerevan, Armenia to Sochi. At the time of the crash, visibility was limited due to darkness, a low overcast cloud layer, and light rain showers. The crew reportedly abandoned the first landing attempt due to the weather conditions. While the crew was maneuvering for a second landing attempt on a different runway, the aircraft crashed into the Black Sea about 6 km (3.8 miles) from the airport. All eight crew members and 105 passengers were killed.

July 2007; TAM Linhas Aéreas A320-200; São Paulo, Brazil: The aircraft was on a scheduled domestic flight from Porto Alegre (POA) to the Congohas Airport in São Paulo (CGH).

According to the airline, one of the two thrust reversers had been deactivated prior to the flight. The aircraft landed at a higher than normal speed and departed the runway. After the aircraft crossed a major road to the left of the runway, it crashed into a concrete building and caught fire. All six crew members and 181 passengers were killed, as well as several people on the ground. (Mindanao Examiner)

Troops In High Alert For Arroyo's Visit In Southern Philippines

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 12 Apr) – Government troops have began security clearing operation in Butuan City in southern Philippines where President Gloria Arroyo is to inaugurate the region’s longest bridge.

Police forces have also been alerted on Arroyo’s arrival next Wednesday to lead officials in the inauguration the P2.1-billion Magsaysay Bridge.

The two-lane, 870-meter long concrete bridge is presently the longest in Mindanao.

Arroyo will be accompanied by Public Works Secy. Emmanuel Bunoan and her peace adviser, Secy. Jesus Dureza, according to the Philippine News Agency.

It said Butuan City Mayor Democrito Plaza II and the Public Works regional director Romeo Momo will lead local officials in welcoming Arroyo.

The bridge, which was constructed in May 2004, spans across the Agusan River.

Arroyo is also to grace the opening and inauguration of the P496.4-million Magsaysay Bridge Viaduct. She will be accompanied by Major Flood Control and Drainage-Cluster II Head and Cotabato-Agusan River Basin Development Project director Philip Menez.

The Magsaysay Bridge Viaduct ground operation started in June 2004. Funds for the viaduct came from Japan Bank for International Cooperation, according to Menez.

Menez said the Magsaysay Bridge Viaduct, which will connect the eastern side levee of the city, will address Butuan’s perennial flooding problem.

"The completion and opening of the 2nd Magsaysay Bridge and Magsaysay Bridge Viaduct will redouble the economic activity in this region," Plaza said.

Security forces in Butuan have intensified patrol. Communist insurgents are actively operating in Butuan and nearby areas. (With reports from Mark Navales and Romy Bwaga)

Earthquake Rattles Mindanao Anew, 2nd In Two Days

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 16 Jan) – A moderate earthquake measuring 4.7 magnitude in the Richter scale was reported Tuesday off Mindanao island, the second to hit the southern Philippines in just two days.

The temblor, which occurred at around 04:36:14.4 UTC (12:36 2007 local time), was traced at 6 km east of Cortez and 16 km north of Tandag towns in Surigao del Sur province, according to a report by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre.

It was also felt in Butuan City in Agusan del Norte province, about 84 km northeast of Surigao. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage to small buildings or structures, but the earthquake was the second to rattle Mindanao.

A 4.9 magnitude earthquake also struck the southern port city of General Santos on Sunday.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said the tremor was traced 212 miles (341 km) southeast of General Santos and was also felt in the cities of Davao and Cotabato.

The areas have been struck by sporadic tremors since November last year and had caused tsunami scares.

On Saturday, small tsunami waves hit northern and eastern Japan after a powerful earthquake in the Pacific.

The USGS said the quake’s magnitude was recorded at 8.2 in the Richter scale and was located in the northern Pacific, 525 km (325 miles) east northeast of Kurilsk, Kurile Islands, and 1,710 km (1,065 miles) northeast of Tokyo.

Tsunami warnings were also prompted in the Philippines, Russia and as far as Alaska, including Guam and Taiwan.

A 40-cm (16-inch) wave was reported at Chichijima in the Ogasawara islands, some 1,200 km (750 miles) south of Tokyo, and several smaller waves on Hokkaido and northern Japan, but there were no reports of injuries and no immediate reports of damage.

Filipino seismologists said the Philippines lies in the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire," where tremors, some caused by volcanic activity, are common.

In March last year, fears of undersea volcanic eruptions and threats of deadly tsunamis have triggered an exodus of people in many coastal towns in the southern Philippine province of Surigao del Norte.

Tsunami is series of catastrophic ocean waves generated by submarine movements, which may be caused by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, or undersea landslides.

Tsunamis usually occur in the Pacific Ocean following earthquakes over magnitude 6.5 on the Richter scale. On August 16, 1976, a tsunami generated by a quake in Mindanao killed more than 10,000 people in the Moro Gulf region -- coastal communities in the Sulu archipelago, Zamboanga Peninsula, Lanao provinces, North Cotabato, Maguindanao, and Sultan Kudarat provinces. (Mindanao Examiner)

Church Leaders, Militant Groups Condemn Police Raid On Convent

BUTUAN CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 04 Nov) — Church leaders on Saturday condemned the police for raiding a convent in the southern Philippine city of Butuan.

Heavily-armed policemen, tracking down a senior New People’s Army (NPA) rebel leader, stormed the Contemplatives of the Good Shepherd (CGS) run by Catholic nuns in the village of Tiniwisan late Wednesday, but failed to find Jorge Madlos.

Madlos is also the spokesman of the National Democratic Front in Mindanao.

Militant groups and human rights advocates denounced the raid and accused the police of desecrating the convent. It said policemen barged into rooms and searched for Madlos even though the nuns denied links with the rebel leader.

The Sisters of the Good Shepherd, founded over two hundred years ago in Angers, France, by St. Mary Euphrasia Pelletier, form one international congregation ministering in 71 countries on five continents. The nuns and volunteers helping the congregation are mostly involved in community works in poor areas. (Mindanao Examiner)