A MAGNITUDE 4.5 aftershock shook parts of Luzon early Wednesday morning as people were still reeling from the 6.1 earthquake that struck on Monday.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology’s (Phivolcs) monitoring showed the aftershock’s epicenter at 15 kilometers northeast of Castillejos, Zambales, with a depth of 11 kilometers below the ground.

The quake was felt in parts of Luzon, including Metro Manila, but there was no immediate report of damage.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported on Wednesday that the number of injured people in the Luzon quake has risen to 86, and 14 remain missing.

Phivolcs also monitored on Wednesday a magnitude 4.7 earthquake off Banganga, Davao Oriental and magnitude 4.5 off Sarangani, Davao Occidental, but both were far offshore to be felt on mainland Mindanao.

On the magnitude 6.5 earthquake in the Visayas on Tuesday, the NDRRMC said 10 people were reported to have suffered injuries.

Messages of condolences from the international community have been sent out, among these from Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Koji Haneda, who also offered assistance.

“We would like to extend our sincere condolences to the families of the deceased and express our sympathies to all those afflicted… As a country that has been tackling with earthquakes, Japan is ready to provide assistance needed by the Philippines to the extent possible. We sincerely wish for the early recovery of the disaster-affected regions,” he said in a statement.

CLARK AIRPORT
Meanwhile, the Clark International Airport resumed operations Wednesday afternoon after a shutdown prompted by last Monday’s tremor.

The Department of Transportation (DoTr) said in a statement the airport was ready to operate as of 4 p.m. as the structural damage sustained by the airport was restored after clearing and repair works were initiated Tuesday.

It added that the power supply, flight information systems and security cameras at the airport were all functioning.

The DoTr secretary earlier ordered officials of Clark International Airport Corp. to implement an emergency procurement, which means no public bidding is required, for the necessary materials and services to fix the damaged facilities of the airport, with an estimated cost of P30 million.

Local carrier Cebu Pacific started flying out of Clark Wednesday evening. Philippine Airlines said it will resume operations Thursday, and AirAsia Philippines did not announce further flight cancellations aside from those scheduled Wednesday. — Vince Angelo C. Ferreras and Denise A. Valdez

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