Ineng’s onslaught leaves 35 dead, missing

MANILA, Philippines - The death toll from the heavy rains brought by Typhoon Ineng (Goni) went up to 15 yesterday as rescuers retrieved four bodies among the miners trapped in a landslide in Mankayan, Benguet.

The Benguet provincial police said a total of 18 people went missing in the landslide, which happened early Saturday.

Two more remain missing in Bontoc, Mountain Province since Friday.

Seven shanties used by miners at Sitio Elizabeth in Barangay Taneg were reportedly washed out by a flood and buried by a landslide at around 3 a.m.

Cordillera regional police spokesperson  Superintendent Cherry Fajardo said the body of Crispin Ablao was retrieved Saturday night.

Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) – Cordillera regional director Andrew Alex Uy said Ablao’s body was fished out from the Basig River while the remains of three others identified as Felimon Adcapan, Armando Dayao and Jasper Olivarez were retrieved yesterday morning.

The Cordillera police identified the missing miners as Ronaldo Angel, Paulita Angel, Ronald Paul Angel, Jonie Foster, Marpety Tumalban, Crisanto Ablao, Nardo Mocnangan, Marvin Baturi, Harold Baturi, Rocky Mangrubang, John Aluyan Jr., Jose Aluyan, Mark Balicdan, and Efren Balicdan.

The OCD–Cordillera said combined search and rescue teams from the police, local government units, civilian volunteers and personnel from the Gold Rich Expo International Mining Co. and Lepanto Mines were still conducting search and rescue operations as of yesterday afternoon. Officials said poor visibility and heavy rains posed challenges to the rescue teams.

The OCD-Cordillera also reported the body of a certain Julius Gumisa was found yesterday in Suyang, Tabuk City. The victim, who was missing since Friday in Barangay Caluttit in Bontoc, Mountain Province, drowned.

Rescuers are still searching for Neil Cayangiw and Francis Castro, both missing since Friday after they were swept by the strong currents of the Chico River in Bontoc.

The OCD Cordillera report and the landslide incident in Mankayan were not yet reflected on the official report released by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) yesterday morning.

The ten other fatalities were identified as Herminio Taguyo, 47, who was hit by a mango tree in Ilocos Norte last Friday and landslide victims Markin Celo, 21, Erwin Celo, 26, Michel Felix, 58, Glen Poloc, 27, Michael Lagasan, 59, Nova Tuazon, 17, Nole Lubante Jr., 21, and Jorie Catubing, 1, all from Benguet; and Ycher Mayon, 10, from Mountain Province.

Other persons who went missing apart from those who figured in the Mankayan landslide were Jay-Ar Mallari, 24 of Ilocos Norte, Jubert Bumatay, 21, of La Union, and Francis Castro, 17, of Cagayan.

The NDRRMC said the heavy rains and winds brought by Ineng also left ten people injured.

A total of 32,648 persons or 7,470 families were evacuated in the Ilocos region, Cagayan, Calabarzon (Cavite-Laguna-Batangas-Rizal-Quezon), and Cordillera.

Of the evacuees, 3,327 families or 13,159 persons were inside evacuation centers while 4,143 families or 19,489 individuals were with their families or friends.

The amount of agriculture and infrastructure damage caused by Ineng hit P125.82 million. Infrastructure sustained P121.48 million in damage while agriculture damage reached P3.34 million.

The typhoon also damaged 197 houses in Ilocos, Cordillera and Cagayan.

A total of 36 roads, six bridges, and one spillway have been affected in Ilocos Norte, Cagayan, Central Luzon, Mimaropa (Mindoro-Marinduque-Romblon-Palawan) and Cordillera.

Ilocos Norte was placed under a state of calamity as several areas in the province remained impassable due to flooding.

Despite the heavy rainfall, the regional disaster council in Central Luzon gave
assurance that the dams in Nueva Ecija and Bulacan are not at spilling level.

This developed as the state weather bureau lifted all storm warning signals in Northern Luzon areas yesterday as Ineng moved further away from the country.

As of 4 p.m. yesterday, the eye of Ineng was spotted at 430 kilometers northeast of Basco, Batanes, packing winds of 140 kilometers per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 170 kph.

The typhoon slightly accelerated from 13 kph on Saturday to 15 kph yesterday as it moved north northeast toward Japan, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).

If it maintains its present speed and track, Ineng was forecast to exit the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) last night or early this morning.

However, monsoon rains would still prevail over the western section of Luzon, including Metro Manila, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Ilocos region, the Cordillera and the provinces of Zambales, Bataan and the islands of Calayan and Babuyan in the next few days, PAGASA said.

The weather bureau warned residents of these areas against possible flashfloods and landslides.

It also continued to warn fisher folk against venturing out to the seaboards of Northern and Central Luzon and the western and southern seaboards of Southern Luzon due to big waves generated by Ineng and the southwest monsoon.

PAGASA weather forecaster Jori Loiz said improved weather condition is expected in the country by Wednesday. – With Raymund Catindig, Artemio Dumlao, Helen Flores, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Eva Visperas, Ric Sapnu, Ariel Paolo Tejada