CEBU CITY

About a third of more than 600 inmates of the Mandaue City Jail have suffered from flu-like symptoms since last week, and a health official warned the ailments could spread faster in such congested quarters. Officials from the Department of Health (DOH) in Central Visayas visited the jail Sunday to collect swab samples from about 177 inmates, as a precaution against influenza A (H1N1). Most of these inmates suffer from pre-existing conditions, one factor that has turned an otherwise mild flu into a potentially fatal illness.

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COTABATO CITY, Philippines
The man who was seen leaving a backpack at the roast pig store in front of the Cotabato Immaculate Conception Cathedral before the explosion that left five people dead and at least 40 wounded has been identified.

Rico Aburva, 34, was arrested inside the compound of the Cotabato Immaculate Conception Cathedral right before the bomb went off, said Chief Superintendent Josefino Cataluña, director of Central Mindanao region police. Aburva is now undergoing police interrogation to determine his involvement in the incident. Cataluña said that police will also be looking at footage from the closed circuit television camera from the nearby Central Bank office to possibly identify those responsible for the brutal attack.

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MANILA, Philippines

The committee on health of the House of Representatives will resume on Monday its hearing on the Influenza A(H1N1) virus amid continuing concern over the deadly flu that now afflicts some 1,700 Filipinos. The number of cases has made the Philippines the eighth country in the world with the most number of cases, the World Health Organization had said.

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