Panamanian vessel sinks off Central RP, 4 Koreans, 15 Filipinos; ferry survivor rescued

Photographs released by the military's Western Mindanao Command on Monday, September 07, 2009 show rescuers rushing to the Superferry 9 off Zamboanga del Norte province in the southern Philippines. At least 9 passengers were killed and dozens more are still missing after the ferry went down on Sunday. More than 900 people have been rescued from the ill-fated vessel which was heading to the central Filipino province of Iloilo from General Santos City in Mindanao. (Mindanao Examiner)

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / September 7, 2009) – The Philippine Coast Guard on Monday rescued 19 crew members of a Panamanian cargo ship which sank off Samar province.

Military search team also rescued Monday a passenger, Lita Casumlum, of the ill-fated Superferry 9 that sank off Zamboanga del Norte province over the weekend, said Army First Lieutenant Steffani Cacho, a spokeswoman for the Western Mindanao Command in Zamboanga City.

She said the woman, a native of Iloilo province, was found floating at sea by 505th Search and Rescue Squadron of the Philippine Air Force and brought to Zamboanga City.

“The rescue operation is still going off Zamboanga del Norte,” she told the Mindanao Examiner.

At least 944 passengers and crew members of the Superferry 9 have been rescued since Sunday, but dozens more are still missing. At least 9 passengers were reported killed in the tragedy, including a two-year boy.

In Samar, the Coast Guard said it rescued 4 Koreans and 15 Filipinos from the MV Hera after it sank 11 nautical miles east of Hilaban Island. The crew members were on a lifeboat when they were spotted by two helicopters from the 505th Search and Rescue Squadron.

The Coast Guard said it received a report late Sunday from the Hong Kong Maritime Coordinating Center that the Panamanian vessel was taking water. It was sailing to China’s Jangiagang province from Papua New Guinea when MV Hera listed on its side.

“As of 8:50 a.m. this morning, FB (fishing boat) Pilano-3 with Philippine Coast Guard personnel on board is towing the lifeboat of MV Hera off Tubabao Island with four Korean nationals and fifteen Filipinos on board,” the Coast Guard said.

It was unknown whether the Panamanian vessel hit a reef or not, but the Coast Guard said there is an ongoing investigation and so with the Superferry 9. (Mindanao Examiner)

Broadcaster in Northern Samar slain

A radio commentator was shot dead Tuesday night in San Roque town, Northern Samar in central Philippines. Local police identified the slain journalist as Leo Luna Mila, 35, of Radyo Natin.

Mila was reportedly on his way to work when shot in front the radio station in Barangay Poblacion around 7 p.m. by still unknown gunmen. He suffered from multiple gunshot wounds, according to PNP Provincial Director, Eusebio Mejos.

Mila was known for his hard-hitting commentaries. He is the seventh journalist killed this year, less than a month after broadcaster Arecio Padrigao, of Radyo Natin in Misamis Oriental was also shot dead by two motorcycle-riding suspects.

Of the seven slain journalists, five are radio broadcasters.

His murder raises to 62 the number of slain journalists under President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s watch. (IFJ-NUJP Media Safety Office)

NPA Leader Captured In Leyte Province

CEBU, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 03, 2007) – Government soldiers captured three New People’s Army rebels, including a leader, in Ormoc City in western Leyte province, officials said.

Officials said troops, from the Army’s 19th Infantry Battalion headed Lt. Col. Henry Bumiltac, captured Nicholas Ybañez, Eddie Monticalvo and Gerald Monticalvo at a hideout in the village of Lucso-on over the weekend.

The military said Ybañez is the team leader of the rebel’s Biliran Island White Area Group, while his two companions were NPA couriers. Soldiers seized three handguns and two grenades from the hideout.

In Catbalogan City in nearby Samar province, the military has denied NPA accusations that government soldiers killed 3 people and injured six more after attacking them in a village where rebels are actively operating.

Maj. Othelo Yanez, of the Army’s 8th Infantry Division, said the rebels were behind the attack on Sept. 26 in the village of Calapi. Most of the victims were village officials on their way to report the killing of Ernesto General, a village official in Caranas.

Yanez said the official was also killed by rebels.

Father Santiago Salas, a Catholic priest-turned-rebel leader, said soldiers were behind the killings. (Mindanao Examiner)

Amok Kills 10 In Central RP, Police Say

MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / 02 Jun) – About two dozen people were killed and wounded before sunrise on Saturday after a man ran amuck and hacked his neighbors in the central Philippine province of Samar, police said.

Police said the man was apparently under the influence of liquor or possibly drugs when he went into a murderous rampage on a village in Calbayog City.

Armed with a bolo – a long heavy knife with a single edge – the man attacked everyone on his path and killing ten people and wounding at least 14 others before surrendering.

Police said among his victims were relatives and children, including a pregnant woman who was hacked dead inside her house.

The motives of the attack were unknown and the man has not spoken yet about what he did, police said. (Mindanao Examiner)