ON NEW YEAR’S DAY
Fire razes Pilar market

BY FELIPE CELINO

ROXAS City — The public market of Pilar, Capiz was razed by fire on January 1.

Some eight market stalls were burned; the damage was pegged at P200,000, according to Fire Officer 2 Marlon Garbo, information officer of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) here.

A resident of the town informed the BFP of the fire that was allegedly caused by a burning cigarette butt thrown to a pile of charcoal, Garbo said.

Different fire stations in the province responded to the incident.

It took the firefighters an hour before they contained the blaze, the fire officer said.

The stalls were made by light materials, the reason why they easily got burned, fire officers said.

However, the arson investigator is still studying the real cause of the fire.

In another story, a 39-year-old was stabbed by a man allegedly suffering from a mental illness.

Joey Bayon of Brgy. Tungo, Panay, Capiz sustained a stab wound on the body, allegedly inflicted by Wilky Borio, 26, also of the same village, police said.

Police said Borio was enraged when he saw Bayon and the girl he was courting having a date in Brgy. Inseñangan, Panitan, Capiz.

The suspect later surrendered to the Panitan police station in Panitan town.

The police eyed love triangle as the motive behind the incident./PN

 
PHO records 22 firecracker victims

ROXAS City — The Provincial Health Office (PHO) has recorded a total of 22 cases firecracker-related injuries from December 21, 2010 to January 2 this year.

Information Officer Jeoffry Espiritu said despite the intensified campaign of the Department of Health (DOH), PHO and other concerned agencies, 22 Capiceños were not spared from firecracker injuries.

Piccolo, which was banned by the DOH, remains the top type of firecracker that caused said injuries, Espiritu said.

On the other hand, kwitis, Rocket bomb, whistle bomb, triangle, and Powder were also included to have caused said damage during the New Year revelries, he added.

Of the total cases, nine were recorded at the Roxas Memorial Provincial Hospital, five in Bailan District Hospital, three in Dao District Hospital, two each in Mambusao District Hospital and Capiz Emmanuel Hospital, and one in Tapaz District Hospital, he said.

Espiritu said most of the eight injured individuals were children who are 10 years old and below, 74 were 11–20 years old, three were 21 years old and above, and the age of the remaining seven individuals were not recorded.

He said 20 of the victims were male and two were female; two were under the influence of liquor.

According to Espiritu, 18 of the victims had blast/burn, two had blast/burns and underwent amputation, and the two others had eye injuries.

Except for one victim who is still confined, the 21 others were discharged by the concerned hospitals after proper treatment.

Espiritu pointed out that last year, the PHO had recorded a total of 30 firecracker-related injuries with piccolo as the top cause of injuries.

Since 2007, the males as well as the 10 years old and below group of children were majority of the victims, he said. (Jemin B. Guillermo/PIA/PN)