CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga – Residents of Sitio Dalisdis in Barangay Ascomo, Guagua, aired Saturday their appeal to the government to arrest soil erosion in their area since the eruption of Mount Pinatubo. Barangay Captain Angelo Layug said that some 40 hectares of farm lands had been eroded in Sitio Dalisdis due to perennial flooding, aggravated by the swelling of Porac River during the rainy season. Layug said residents are afraid that if soil erosion is not stopped, a time will come when their entire village will be inundated by the river. Governor Lilia Pineda acknowledged the problem, saying that the Porac River is now heavily silted and needs to be unclogged of lahar deposits to prevent soil erosion. (Franco G. Regala)

Gov. Vi peeved at coal mess

THE CAPITOL, Batangas City – Governor Vilma Santos-Recto and the Provincial Board are growing impatient as involved parties in the coal spill on the coast of Nasugbu have apparently acted too slowly on cleaning up the mess. The Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) called a joint committee hearing last Wednesday to pressure the involved parties to act swiftly to avert any further environmental impact of the coal spill three weeks ago. Representatives of resorts in the area reported that the area near the spill site, which covers around 4,000 square meters, has already shown murky to blackened water. Commodore Cecil Cheng of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) admitted that the clean-up operations had been delayed by bad weather conditions and technical problems. The owner of the Singapore-based barge that spilled the coal was to shoulder all expenses. (Ferdinand F. Castro)

Fire and rain

IMUS, Cavite – Officials of the Cavite Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) have called on residents in the province to be wary of fire incidents and preventive measures even during the rainy season. The call was made after four persons, including three children, died in fires that struck Bacoor and Noveleta towns within the first five days of August, the second month of the rainy season. A 21-minute fire last Thursday night killed two young siblings – James, 8, and Alyssa Camarillo, 6 – trapped in their shanty in Noveleta. The night before, a teenage girl (Vanessa Libid, 13) and a relative (Lorelie Libid, 46) were charred beyond recognition when a two-hour fire razed two houses in Poblacion, Barangay Camposanto, Bacoor. “We have to be aware about fire prevention year-round, not only during the summer or hot season when fires are prevalent. Fires also strike in Cavite during rainy or cool days,” said Senior Fire Officer 2 Elpidio Urbano. (Anthony Giron)