PACQUIAO?S KIDS HIDE UNDER TABLE AS TREMOR SHAKES CALIFORNIA
By Alex P. Vidal
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 30 Jul 2008
LOS ANGELES, California ? Manny Pacquiao?s children Jemuel and Michael were ordered to hide under the table inside their apartment at the Palazzo in Park La Brea East, here, after a strong earthquake rocked southern California at around 11: 42 in the morning (L.A. time) July 29.
?Go, hide under the table, c?mon, kids hide under the table,? shouted Danny Halibas, one of the caretakers of the boxing champion?s unit in the penthouse floor of the 4,000-residence luxurious building located on 3rd Street.
The children were in the sala near the dinning table while the Pacquiao husband and wife were in the second floor of the apartment preparing for their flight to Las Vegas at 1 o?clock in the afternoon.
Present in the sala together with the children were former WBC international bantamweight champion Jovy Halog and his wife Gemma and their daughter Jolene, 6; NABF champion Bernabe Concepcion, hospital instrument technician Alex Oreto, this writer, and Halibas.
Minutes later, Jinkee and twin sister Janet came down to report what they felt in the second floor and checked the kids who appeared puzzled and did not understand what was happening. When the shaking stopped, the kids resumed their activity.
Sensing there was no immediate damage in his property and family members, Pacquiao stayed in his room in the second floor.
Oreto, one of the couple?s most trusted assistants and was cooking at the time of the earthquake, warned everyone of the coming aftershocks. ?Watch out for the aftershocks,? he quipped. ?This had happened before here.?
Oreta, who drives the couple when he is not on duty at the White Memorial Medical Hospital, said California experienced the last strong earthquake seven years ago when he was still working as security guard. ?There was also a strong earthquake in Malibu two years ago and in Northtridge,? Oreta said.
The jolt was felt from Los Angeles to San Diego, and slightly in Las Vegas where it was initially reported as ?slight shaking?.
When Pacquiao came down to take his lunch some 15 minutes later, he asked Jemuel and Michael if they have already taken their lunch. ?Upo kumain na kami,? the two chorused.
Preliminary information from the U.S. Geological Survey estimated the quake at magnitude 5.8, centered 29 miles east-southeast of downtown Los Angeles near Chino Hills in San Bernardino County.
Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey said there were not immediate reports of damage or injury in Los Angeles.
The quake struck at 11:42 a.m. PDT. Buildings swayed in downtown Los Angeles for several seconds.
Minor damages in the runway of Ontario and John Wayne were also reported, while Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) reportedly lost one of its radars.
The city council, which was holding a regular session in downtown, called for a 15-minute recess while witnesses reported some crying and moaning in nearby buildings.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Alex P. Vidal.
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