ACROSS THE COUNTRY

La Union town holds Tinubong Fest

BALAOAN, La Union — This largest tobacco-producing municipality of La Union celebrated on Thursday its Grand Panagyaman (Thanksgiving) highlighted by the Tinubong Festival, where more than 20,000 people partook of 3,600 servings of tinubong — rice cakes cooked in bamboo tubes — displayed along a 2.7-kilometer stretch in the town proper.

The tinubong was prepared by residents of the town’s 36 barangays using 50 cavans of glutinous rice, 1,512 mature coconuts, 1,008 young coconuts, 252 kilos of brown sugar (molasses), 504 kilos of muscovado sugar, 720 pieces of bamboo tubes, and 1,500 sacks of rice hulls.

Mayor Joaquin Ostrea Jr. expressed hope that the town’s 2.7-kilometer bamboo rice cake would land in the Guinness Book of World Records. — Jun Elias

Engineer, doctor found dead in Subic

CAMP OLIVAS, Pampanga — An engineer and a physician were found dead inside their quarters at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone last Wednesday, police said. 

Reports reaching the office of Chief Superintendent Ismael Rafanan, Central Luzon police director, said engineer Leonardo Joseph and Dr. Emily Gonzales were found dead with gunshot wounds in the second-floor master’s bedroom.

Probers found four spent 9-mm shells and two live 9-mm bullets and a caliber 9-mm pistol there.

Police said the two had a quarrel before maintenance officer Carlos Catapusan heard gunshots from their quarters. — Ric Sapnu

NPAs raid house of Surigao mayor

CAMP RAFAEL RODRIGUEZ, Libertad, Butuan City — Suspected communist rebels raided and ransacked the house of a town mayor of Surigao del Norte yesterday morning, police said.

Chief Superintendent Antonio Dator Nañas, Caraga police director, said the insurgents carted away two licensed M-16 Armalite rifles from the security personnel of Malimono Mayor Clemente Sandigan Jr., a retired police colonel. — Ben Serrano

Mt. Bulusan still restive

LEGAZPI CITY — Bulusan Volcano in Sorsogon continued to show signs of unrest yesterday with its sulfur dioxide emission reaching 1,600 tons in 24 hours and its steaming ash clouds becoming voluminous.

Seismologists, however, noted a decrease in volcanic earthquakes to 10 from 28 the other day.

Crispulo Deolata, resident volcanologist of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) in Sorsogon City, said Bulusan’s abnormal parameters suggest the possibility of more explosions to come, although alert level 1 is still in effect. — Cet Dematera