MARIVELES, Bataan — Authorities here rescued fourteen mountaineers who got stranded in Mt. Tarak near Papaya River due to inclement weather early Wednesday morning. According to Senior Inspector Melanio Santiago of the Mariveles Police, the fourteen mountaineers climbed Mt. Tarak on October 1st and planned to make their descent on October 3rd when Typhoon "Marce" battered their hike. With zero visibility and muddy terrain, the mountaineers from Mapua Institute of Technology were stranded until the Mariveles Emergency Rescue Team, paramedics and Philippine National Police personnel came to their rescue. (Jonas Reyes)

BUG INFESTATION

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga — Thousands of sap-sucking rice black bugs are infesting thousands of hectares of rice fields in the towns of Magalang and Arayat in the province. The black bugs reported invaded more than 27,000 hectares of either newly planted or ready-to-harvest rice in Barangay Turu in Magalang and Turu in Arayat, according to Crispin Guinto, provincial agriculturist.  “The bugs are destroying the planted crops or palay. The farmers are getting restive on the problem as the phenomenal bugs, the size of rosary beads, have infested plants in the fields,” Guinto said. “Farmers should report immediately to concerned agencies of the government for immediate implementation of control and monitoring system that could prevent the spread and destruction that could be made by the pests,” he said. (Franco G. Regala)