Let's Adventure to Mindoro!

A breaking news has been spreading in the entire Philippines that a 6.0 magnitude earthquake hit the northwestern place of the archipelago early Thursday afternoon.

The quake struck the Mindoro region at exactly 01:29:30 PM at epicenter which is located 86 miles (139 km) from the capital, Manila, and was about 72 kilometers (45 miles) deep. This according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

As of the moment, there were no casualties reported yet. If you are in the Philippines and was able to feel the shake this afternoon, please report any casualties if there is any. Please stay tune for updates



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SAN JOSE, Occidental Mindoro— Lakas-Kampi-CMD candidates vying for national posts led by presidential bet Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro Jr. and his running mate, Edu Manzano, intensified their campaign activities in this city and other remote towns of Mindoro island that were rarely visited by political candidates in past elections because of threat of insurgency.

Unfazed by the reported presence of New People’s Army (NPA) rebels, Teodoro and Manzano – on two separate teams – campaigned in this city and Mamburao town to drum up their platform of government as they vowed to prioritize giving more support to local government units to allow them to pursue development programs to benefit the people of Mindoro.

Speaking before a crowd of about 9,000 people at the Occidental Mindoro State College here, Teodoro said the national leadership should be capable of understanding the needs of every community so it can effectively address the particular needs of these localities.

Last Saturday, the 45-year-old Teodoro landed at the San Jose City airport at 3 p.m. while Manzano touched down at Mamburao Airport 10:30 a.m., tagging with them their senatorial candidates that included former justice secretary Silvestre “Bebot” Bello III, incumbent Binalonan (Pangasinan) Ramon “GetsKo” Guico, lawyer Raul Lambino and veteran broadcaster Rey Langit. “Dapat ang leader natin should be capable of understanding the needs of communities to effectively address their respective problems and then give the best solutions,” Teodoro said.

Among the local leaders present at the state college were Deputy Speaker Amelita Villarosa; her husband, former Gov. Jose Villarosa; Mayor Voltaire Villarosa of Mamburao; Vice Mayor Nestor Perez of Rizal; and mayoral bets Renato Paulino in Calintaan and Eleonor Fajardo in Magsaysay.

Former Gov. Villarosa said some 9,000 people listened to Teodoro as he tackle the issue of greater support for LGUs at the college, where the Lakas presidential bet, his running mate Manzano, and three of the ruling party’s six senatorial bets proceeded to in the afternoon following a motorcade from the airport. These senatorial bets are Bello, Lambino and Langit.

The other Lakas-Kampi-CMD senatorial aspirants are reelectionist Senators Ramon Revilla Jr. and Lito Lapid, and Guico


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A mild predawn magnitude-3.8 quake rocked parts of Mindoro Island in southern Luzon Monday, but state seismologists said there was no damage expected.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said the quake was recorded at 5:30 a.m., with the epicenter 87 km northwest of Mamburao, Occidental Mindoro.

It said the quake was tectonic and was felt at Intensity II in Lubang in Occidental Mindoro.

Phivolcs said no damage or aftershock was expected from the quake. - RSJ, GMANews.TV

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MANILA, Philippines - Ramdam na ang epekto ng El Niño sa lahat ng bayan ng Mindoro Occidental. Tinatayang umabot na sa mahigit P90 milyon ang pinsala sa mga pananim doon.

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MANILA, Philippines—A suspected communist rebel who took part in an ambush with Army soldiers in Oriental Mindoro was arrested about 10 hours after the gun battle, a military spokesman said Tuesday.

Armed Forces spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Romeo Brawner, Jr. said troops from the 4th Infantry Battalion arrested New People’s Army fighter Heyo Idlaw, alias "Itag", at around 3 p.m. Saturday.

"Yesterday, he (Idlaw) went through paraffin test and we are waiting for the result of the test from the crime laboratory," Brawner said.

He said Idlaw was chanced upon by government troops pursuing fleeing rebels following a three-hour firefight in the village of Panaytayan, in the southern Oriental Mindoro town of Mansalay on Saturday.

Eleven members of the 23rd Division Reconnaissance Company died while seven others were wounded in the ambush.

It was the Army's biggest loss in a single encounter with the rebels this year.

Brawner said that Idlaw, who was undergoing debriefing, has admitted being involved in the clash.

Private Juralp Culili, a member of the 23rd Division Reconnaissance Company, identified Idlaw as one of the rebels the soldiers encountered last Saturday.

Pursuit operations against the communist rebels were ongoing in Oriental Mindoro, said Brawner, quoting officials from the 2nd Infantry Division in Oriental Mindoro.

"The pursuit operations are still ongoing and we believe that we will be able to catch up with the group within the next few days," Brawner said.

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LUCENA CITY, Quezon, Philippines – Top official of the military’s Southern Luzon Command based here in Camp Nakar did not discount the possibility that Army troopers committed tactical mistakes when they ran into a fortified camp of New People's Army rebels in Oriental Mindoro that resulted in the deaths of 11 soldiers Saturday morning.

“If our troops committed some tactical blunders, we are also investigating so that we could pinpoint responsibilities and prevent more blunders in the future,” Lieutenant General Roland Detabali, said in a phone interview Sunday.

He said the loss of lives in Oriental Mindoro would only strengthen the resolve of the government to win the war against the communist insurgency.

“Rest assure that we will strive harder, double our efforts and sacrifice if need be to do what we are mandated to do (to defeat the enemy),” Detabali said.

The military said the soldiers were conducting “clearing operations" through security patrols in preparation for the upcoming campaign period for local government officials on March 26 when the ambush happened.

According to Detabali, the rebels who staged the attack were reinforced by communist guerillas from nearby Romblon Island.

“I believed all NPAs from Romblon retreated to Mindoro to reinforce the Island, particularly when the STPRC (Southern Tagalog Regional Party Committee of the Communist Party of the Philippines) was located there during the capture of Buan (Army Major Noel Buan),” the Solcom official said.

Buan, an Army intelligence officer, was held as a “prisoner of war” by communist guerillas in Mindoro for 22 months. He was released to the humanitarian and peace mission led by Senator Loren Legarda in April 2001 in a remote village in Mansalay town.

Detabali said the withdrawal of the Army’s 68th Infantry Battalion from Mindoro and its eventual deployment to Mindanao to join the battle against the Moro Islamic Liberation Forces two years ago also affected the momentum of the government state security forces against the communist insurgents.

“We were then at the height of our clearing operations in Mindoro and were fast gaining ground,” he said.

Detabali maintained that Mindoro Island which consists of two provinces, Oriental and Occidental, was a big area for only two Army Infantry Battalions.

“Now, we have redeployed one company from Quezon province to Mindoro but we’re still hoping that the 68th IB would be returned to Mindoro to fast track our efforts. We have already discovered arms cache of the NPA rebels in Mindoro,” he said.

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