At least two people were killed and six feared trapped after an explosion and cave-in at a coal mine in Cebu, officials said on Sunday.

Toxic fumes were keeping rescuers away a day after two bodies were pulled out after the accident at the coal mine in Dalaguete, Cebu, Mayor Ronald Allan Cesante told Reuters.

He said a loud explosion was heard before one of seven tunnels, operated by Ibalon Resources and Development Corp., collapsed.

‘’We are still investigating the cause of the blast,’’ Cesante said. ‘’We temporarily shut down the operations to give way to the retrieval operations.’’

In October, more than 30 miners died in an explosion in a gold mine tunnel on the southern island of Mindanao. It took rescue workers more than a week to recover the bodies inside the gold mine due to toxic fumes and debris.

The accidents happened as the country rolls out the welcome mat for foreign investors to revive its moribund mining sector to take advantage of high metal prices.

The government has said the country has $1 trillion worth of unexplored mining reserves, enough to pay off the country’s public sector debt of $95 billion many times over.

Cesante said the coal mine in Dalaguete produces about 3,000 to 3,500 tonnes every month, supplying local cement manufacturers and the National Power Corporation.

Motor vehicle inspectors get tough

The Land Transportation Office (LTO) is stepping up its education campaign by holding more seminars for its motor vehicle inspectors all over the country to be stricter in their work and help reduce the number of road accidents and smoke- belchers this Christmas season and in the coming year.

LTO chief and Department of Transportation and Communications (DoTC) Assistant Secretary Anneli Lontoc said, during the seminar, the LTO’s Motor Vehicle Inspection System (MVIS) inspectors will be taught modern ways in conducting roadworthiness tests for vehicles up for registration.

With these seminars, she said, LTO’s inspectors will have more knowledge in testing vehicles, especially the rebuilt, assembled, and right-hand-drive cars.

"The motor vehicle inspectors will know more how to check vehicles. Stricter registration process will be imposed. Smoke-belching and defective vehicles will have a tough time in registration," Lontoc said.

"This is to ensure the roadworthiness of vehicles. We will not rgister vehicles which endanger motorists and passengers," she added.

MVIS inspectors in Luzon attended their seminar last Dec. 5 and 6 in Subic, while inspectors from the Visayas and Mindanao will have their turn on Wednesday Dec. 14 and Friday, Dec. 15, Lontoc said.

Pesticide traders complain of BIR harassment

URDANETA CITY, Pangasinan - Lawmakers from Eastern Pangasinan were urged to look into the alleged harassment by the Bureau of Internal Revenue here against a group of businessmen in the province.

The Association of Fertilizers and Pesticides Distributors, Dealers and Outlets, headed by Engr. Rosendo O. So, aired the group’s harassment complaint to Reps. Mark O. Cojuangco and Conrado Estrella III of the 5th and 6th districts of Pangasinan, during the association’s Christmas party on Saturday.

So claimed that he has also been sought by the BIR, clarifying, however, that he never gave up because "my business runs in accordance with the law and BIR has found no hidden and anomalous transactions in my business."

So said his members are affected physically and mentally by the alleged harassment as "they are tightly watched every now and then, causing them upset and irritable."

Cojuangco and Estrella III vowed to take appropriate action on the alleged harassment complaints against the BIR here. "We will see to it that every right of an individual is strongly protected and if our traders here are engaged in lawful business, there is no reason why the BIR should go after them," the two said.

Other guests during the Christmas celebration included Gen. Jose Calimlim, Pangasinan board members Raymund Estrella and Danny Uy, La Union board member Pakoy Ortega, Bayambang Mayor Leo De Vera Jr., former Villasis Mayor Monching Mordem, DA-Region 1 and Pangasinan officials. (Fa Sison Almazan)