Quake jolts Masbate town

MANILA,Philippines — A magnitude-4.2 earthquake rocked the town of Pio V. Corpuz in Masbate shortly before noon yesterday.

The temblor occurred at 11:04 a.m. five kilometers northwest of Pio V. Corpuz, formerly Limbuhan, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.

The quake was felt at Intensity 1 in the cities of Legazpi and Masbate, Phivolcs said.

No damage or aftershocks were expected from the quake.

Meanwhile, some 33,000 families affected by the recent earthquakes in Cotabato will receive financial assistance.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD  said it has started releasing the P3,000 in cash assistance for the quake victims. 

The beneficiaries included affected families in the towns of Arakan, Kabacan, Makilala, Magpet, Matalam, M’lang, President Roxas and Tulunan as well as Kidapawan City.

The cash aid is funded through the agency’s assistance to individuals in crisis situation  program, a measure that supports the recovery of individuals and families affected by crisis.

The program provides survivors the flexibility to use the cash to buy food and other commodities they need, the DSWD said.

Aside from the P3,000 cash assistance, the DSWD is also assessing families who will qualify for the emergency shelter assistance (ESA) program.

Under the ESA program, families whose houses were destroyed by the quake will receive P30,000 or P10,000.