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MANILA: Dozens of people were killed after a magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck a central Philippine province, officials said on Wednesday, as they declared a state of calamity in the whole island province of Cebu.

The quake struck off the northern part of the island overnight, with the epicenter in Bogo City — the worst-hit area, where the Office of Civil Defense recorded 30 deaths. The toll of 69 was expected to rise as civilian and army rescuers continued to look for survivors amid the rubble.

More than 200 people were injured in Bogo — a coastal city with a population of about 90,000 — and surrounding towns, including San Remigio — the second worst-affected, where 22 were killed. Since the morning patients were seen waiting outside hospitals, after tremors severely damaged the infrastructure and knocked out 27 power plants.

“We are still within the golden hour of rescue operations, and we’re still receiving reports that some villages need assistance,” Office of Civil Defense Deputy Administrator Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV told reporters.

“Many have been reported trapped or pinned under debris because of the earthquake, so operations are ongoing.”

Footage shared by residents across the region showed cracked bridges and roads, damaged buildings, and people holding onto each other as the tremors started.

In the provincial capital, Cebu City, some 100 km from Bogo, several major structures were damaged, including the University of the Visayas and several commercial areas.

Jayford Maranga, who was trapped in the city’s Nustar Mall when its ceiling collapsed, told Arab News that the tremors felt as if “the world had suddenly stopped” when they started.

“The shaking was extremely strong, especially since we were on the fourth floor of the building ... The shaking was sideways. It was quick but very strong. Then came the aftershocks,” he said.

He was trapped with his friend in the mall’s food court and hid under the table when parts of the ceiling started to fall.

“The table was really sturdy. That’s what kept us safe ... We managed to get out with the help of the mall guards who came looking for us,” he said.

“I couldn’t go home right away because it started raining hard around midnight, and there was some flooding. People were still stranded outside.”

The earthquake was the most powerful to strike the central region of the Philippines in more than a decade. The Philippine seismology agency, PHIVOLCS, said that 722 aftershocks had been recorded and warned that the affected areas might experience more tremors in the coming days.

The whole Cebu province, home to 3.5 million people, was placed under a state of calamity following the earthquake, which came just weeks after the region was hit by two typhoons in a row.

Even though Cebu is outside the usual typhoon path in the country, it still faces strong storms and is prone to earthquakes because it is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire.

In 2013, at least 215 people were killed when a magnitude 7.2 earthquake hit Cebu and the neighboring island province of Bohol.

THE HAGUE: The largest Dutch pension fund ABP said Wednesday that it had divested from US manufacturing firm Caterpillar following concerns about the alleged use of the company’s equipment by Israel in Gaza.
ABP, a major investor in many countries around the world, held a stake in Caterpillar worth approximately 387 million euros  as of late March.
“Our investment approach must ensure good returns while being socially responsible,” said ABP, the pension fund for three million government and education employees in the Netherlands.
“If companies do not meet our criteria, we engage in discussions. If these do not lead to the desired results, ABP will stop investing in these companies,” the fund explained in a statement sent to AFP.
In August, Norway’s sovereign wealth fund — the biggest in the world with a value of nearly $2 trillion — sold its stake in Caterpillar over purported involvement in rights violations in the Israel-Hamas war.
“There is no doubt that Caterpillar products are used to commit widespread and systematic violations of international humanitarian law,” the fund noted.
ABP, for its part, declined to comment on its decisions regarding specific companies “due to competitive sensitivity and confidentiality.”
However, “it is clear that the composition of our investment portfolio is evolving, particularly in Israel-Gaza,” ABP added.
AFP contacted Caterpillar for comment but there was no immediate response.