NGO, CIVIL Society wants probe on Butuan Airport safety

BUTUAN CITY: A people’s organization and a civil society group asked for an impartial investigation on claims that the Butuan City airport was hazardous after an Airbus A320 overshot the runway and crash-landed on Friday, said the Philippine News Agency on Monday.
Caraga Watch’s spokesman John Stevens Hinayon, and Jun Capillas, said investigators should take into consideration the presence of a military fuel depot near the runway and residents living within the airport’s danger zone.
They said the government should also consider relocating airport residents away from the runway area at Purok 6, Barangay Libertad, Butuan City.
“The near hit of the PAL Airbus A320 on Friday at the big military fuel depot located about five to six meters away from the runway may have caused huge explosions that may have killed all 148 passengers,” they said. (http://mindanao.wowphilippines.com/index2.php)

PAL plane overshoots Butuan runway; all safe

A Philippine Airlines (PAL) plane with 148 passengers on board overshot the airport runway as it made its landing in Butuan City in Mindanao early Friday, but no one was reported injured in the incident.PAL spokesman Rolando Estabillo said the PAL A-320 Airbus flight PR-475 may have sustained damage in the minor accident, but assured families of its passengers that no one was hurt."Malamang ma-delay ang pabalik sa Manila. Titingnan natin kung kailangang ma-cancel (The flight will be delayed in its return flight to Manila. We're still assessing if we should cancel the return flight to Manila)," Estabillo said in an interview on dzBB radio.He said the accident occurred at about 6:07 a.m., as the plane from Manila landed at the Butuan City airport. The plane, which left Manila at 5:05 a.m., overshot the airport's Runway 30.It was manned by Capt. FJ Santos, while FR Balinghasay served as co-pilot, reports said.Estabillo said, however, that the plane's passengers still managed to disembark from the plane. "Walang nasaktan (No one was hurt)," he said.The plane was still at the runway as of 8:30 a.m. Authorities have decided to temporary stop air traffic at the airport.

Caraga records 8 deaths due to dengue

BUTUAN CITY- At least eight people died and 941 others were hospitalized due to dengue from January 1 to September 22 this year, records at the Department of Health-Caraga Region showed.Health officials said the record only reflected from the weekly reports of various private hospitals in the region. It does not include reports from rural health units in the region. DOH-Caraga spokesperson Sunshine Alipayo said the health agency is also closely monitoringthe upsurge of other water-borne diseases.Aside from viral influenza and leptospirosis, Alipayo said: “We are also closely monitoring at present other illnesses such as diarrhea, typhoid, hepatitis A and cholera due to the onslaught of the rainy season."Surigao del Sur recorded 270 dengue cases with four deaths as of September 22, the highest so far. Agusan del Sur listed three deaths from 244 persons affected. Next is Butuan City (243 with no death) followed by Agusan del Norte (71), Surigao City (48), Surigao del Norte (40) and Bislig City ( 25).