MANILA: Two people died, while hundreds were displaced in renewed fighting between government soldiers and leftist rebels in Negros Oriental, a military official said yesterday. According to Captain Cresencio Gargar, spokesman for the Army’s 302nd Brigade, troops from the 79th Infantry Battalion were on a combat operation when they caught up with New People’s Army (NPA) rebels in San Pedro village around 10am yesterday. Gargar said the firefight lasted about an hour, leading to the death of Pfc Quin Banas and one still unidentified NPA rebel. He said that at least 300 residents, including children and infants, were evacuated to safer grounds.
Mass for limo fire victims
MANILA: A memorial mass has been held in the US for a Filipina bride and her four friends who died in a limousine fire in San Francisco earlier this month. The Philippine consulate in San Francisco organised the mass, celebrated by Fr Marvin Felipe at the Cathedral of St Mary of the Assumption. The Consul General, Francisco Marciano Paynor Jr, also addressed the mass, and thanked them for the support they had shown to the families. The Filipino Catholic League and the Philippine Nurses’ Association of Central California also held a memorial mass for the victims at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Clinton Avenue, in California.
AGENCIES
