Mayor: Tangingue islet residents not missing

CEBU, Philippines - The mayor of Madridejos town in Bantayan Island has denied the report that over a hundred people who live in Tangingue islet remain missing after super typhoon Yolanda destroyed their houses last Nov. 8.

Businessman Romeo Villaceran earlier told The FREEMAN that 30 houses in the islet, which is under the jurisdiction of Madridejos, were washed away and that there were no signs on the whereabouts of the people living there.

He described the islet as a resting place for fishermen but there were also families who built bamboo houses on stilts there.

Mayor Salvador dela Fuente, however, said he deployed a team of Bantay Dagat and municipal councilors to check and reassess the situation of the residents in Tangingue islet, which is approximately two hectares in land area and and is 15 kilometers off Madridejos, and found out that the previous report was false.

“We even have photos taken to prove that it is not true. Wala’y kamatuoran (There was no truth to it),” he said.

The team, dela Fuente said, found out that instead of 100, there were just 19 people, including three children, in the islet and that all were “safe and sound”.

He said that before super typhoon Yolanda made landfall in Bantayan Island, he already advised all of his constituents to evacuate from their residences and move to the recommended temporary shelters.

He said those living in Tangingue either moved to the evacuation centers or stayed inside the lighthouse that firmly stands near their houses up to now.

Dela Fuente also debunked reports that there was a water surge and that the community in Tangingue was washed away, as the team was still able to see houses standing.

He said that prior to the typhoon, 45 people were temporarily residing in Tangingue to take advantage of the fishing season.

The mayor said that since Tangingue is a marine sanctuary, fishermen come to the islet to live only for a short period of time and on a seasonal basis.

“We have talked with the people who really stayed there. All of them do not live in the area permanently.  They are transient inhabitants in Tangingue and are originally from Kinatarkan Island,” Dela Fuente said.

Kinatarkan Island, composed of barangays Hagdan, Kinatarkan, and Langub, is part of Santa Fe town in Bantayan Island.

Being part of Bantayan, both Kinatarkan and Tangingue were among those hardest hit by super typhoon Yolanda.

Relief aid, however, been pouring into Bantayan shortly after Yolanda made its third landfall on the island after Daanbantayan in Cebu and Guiuan in Samar province. —(FREEMAN)