4.8-magnitude quake stirs panic in Agusan town
ASG sub-leader captured in Sulu
ZAMBOANGA CITY – A senior Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) sub-leader, who had a R600,000-bounty on his head, was arrested while eight soldiers were reportedly wounded when an Improvised Explosive Devise (IED) exploded during a clearing operation at an encounter site in Patikul, Sulu.
Sulu Provincial Police Office Director Sr. Supt Pablo Labra identified the ASG-sub leader as Suaib Hayudini who was arrested by police authorities Sunday noon near a money transfer remittance center in the town proper of Jolo in Sulu.
Wanted “dead or alive”, Hayudini is facing charges of kidnapping with ransom, and kidnapping with murder and frustrated murder.
He was in the Department of National Defense (DND)-Department of the Interior and Local Governments (DILG) most wanted personalities with an offer of R600,000 for his capture.
Labra said Hayudini had two standing warrant of arrest – the infamous kidnapping in Sipadan Beach Resort in Malaysia in 2001, and the 2001 Balobo massacre incident in Basilan province.
In a related development, at least eight soldiers were wounded when an IED exploded during a clearing operations conducted at an encounter site with the ASG in Barangay Bangkal, Patikul, Sulu about 2:40pm, June 23.
The wounded soldiers are now confined at the Kuta Heneral Teodulfo Bautista Station Hospital in Busbus, Jolo, Sulu, according to Joint Task force- Sulu (JTF-Sulu) Commander Brig. Gen. Divino Rey Pabayo.
TUBAY, Agusan del Norte – Residents in the 13 barangays of this town, which has a population of more than 25,000, were thrown into panic when a moderately strong 4.8-magnitude struck late Sunday afternoon.
“Hinay-hinaya apan kusog, ma-o nanggawas mi sa among abalay” (The shaking was slow at first, but became strong. That’s why we ran outside our home),” said a father of four, who resides near the municipal hall here.
And as the villagers ran outside their houses, farm animals were also observed to have been stirred by the quake, which was found to be tectonic in origin.
Despite the mild panic, a rescue team and members of the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council reported no damage or injuries.
“Residents already know where to go in time of this kind of situation, and the drop, cover and hold was also used during the earthquake,” a member of the MDRRMC here said.
As of press time, the rescue team and personnel of the MDRRMC were still roaming around the different barangays to assess the condition of the residents.
In its bulletin, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said the tremor was recorded at 5:41 p.m. Sunday, with its epicenter located seven kilometers northwest of this town. It also had a depth of only five km., the state agency said.
Phivolcs registered intensity-5 in the town proper here, and the neighboring city of Cabadbaran. Intensity-4 was recorded in the neighboring municipalities of Jabonga and Santiago of the same province, as well as the capital city of Butuan.
Intensity-2 was recorded in the municipalities of Mainit and Placer, both in Surigao Del Norte; Gingoog City in Misamis Oriental, and the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Surigao.
Magnitude refers to the energy released at the source of the earthquake, while intensity measures the strength of the shaking caused by the tremor, as well as its effects on people, human structures and the natural environment.
At 1:57 a.m. yesterday, a magnitude-3 earthquake shook this town anew, but authorities said there was no damage or injury recorded.
Agusan del Norte Gov. Ma. Angelica Rosedell Amante-Matba mobilized other departments of the provincial capitol to monitor the condition of residents in the northeastern part of the province, particularly in this town where the epicenter was plotted by the Phivolcs.