15 MORE BODIES FOUND IN REAL;
DONATIONS POUR IN
[PHOTO
AT LEFT - Real, Quezon survivors (from left) Estela Marie Sor, 3; Modesto
Manuguid and Ian Carl Bungug, both 14, rest at the Quezon Memorial Hospital in
Lucena City yesterday. The three were buried for 10 days in a resort destroyed
by a landslide. - Photo By Ber Bayot]
MANILA, December 11, 2004 (STAR) By Jaime Laude - Rescuers recently buoyed by finding four people who survived 10 days of being buried under a collapsed building in Quezon instead found 15 more bodies yesterday, a senior military official said.
The Repador building, which collapsed when a landslide hit it last Nov. 30, has become a symbol of hope for the storm-ravaged northeastern Philippines as the death toll from the past week’s four typhoons rose to nearly 1,600.
But chances of finding more survivors appeared remote, with rescuers hearing no more voices from under the rubble of the collapsed resort building.
"Some of us were at the site overnight hoping to hear voices but we heard nothing ... just the wind," said rescue chief Capt. Gerry Sultan.
The four successive typhoons have affected over 13 million people — more than the population of Metro Manila. The typhoons destroyed 15,529 houses and damaged 31,711 others, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) reported.
Damage to crops, fishing and infrastructure is estimated at P4.69 billion. It will take weeks to restore power to the worst-hit areas, clear roads and rebuild bridges.
In Barangay Tignoan, Real, specialist rescuers from local mining firms used picks and shovels to dig into the rubble of the building, braved the stench of rotting flesh and handled dead bodies with their bare hands. A shot of gin helped some rescuers bear the stench.
They had labored for days before hearing voices from the ruins of the two-story building in this coastal town, buried under a landslide after about 135 villagers took shelter in it during last week’s heavy rains. The building is part of a former resort.
Sultan said the survivors, who subsisted on prayers and water seeping through the rubble, were found in a cavity just a few feet deep of what was once the ground floor of the collapsed building.
"A roof beam measuring just a few feet is all that saved them," he said. "They had just enough room to crawl around despite the mud that seeped in through the rubble."
"There were five people alive in the cavity initially but one of them, a woman I think, died a few days after the collapse. All they had was dirty water and a few scraps of food. I still can’t believe it."
President Arroyo visited the four survivors at the Quezon Memorial Hospital in Lucena City late Thursday, and promised them the government would shoulder all their expenses and provide additional financial aid.
Brig. Gen. Efren Orbon, a local military commander, admitted chances of finding anyone else alive were slim.
But "our miners still have high morale. So do the soldiers" who are helping them, he said, adding that two generators were being sent to the site so that excavations could go on through the night.
The workers, wearing hardhats, jeans and T-shirts spoke to each other in their tribal dialect as they continued the grim work, digging through mud and breaking through concrete slabs with backhoes and cutting equipment.
Around the excavation site, scores of curious bystanders mingled with relatives of the missing, fearfully waiting to see if their loved ones were among the dead.
About 30 bodies found at the site since the Army began retrieval operations last Dec. 3 were swiftly covered in lime to mask the smell, and placed in black body bags.
"We are looking for about 60 or 70 people still trapped inside the building," Orbon said. "I have a strong belief that there are more survivors. We are hopeful that we could recover more."
Sultan said one of the bodies retrieved was that of a man still clutching his child, members of a family of six found lying close to one another in the mud.
Any relatives who could identify the bodies were allowed to take them home but many others were buried quickly, without ceremony, in a makeshift cemetery at the beach resort, their graves marked only by two crossed sticks carved from hundreds of logs that line the shore.
"This is very painful for all of us. A lot of people I know are now dead," said Danilo Tatad, a town official in Real. "But we have to go on. This is just a test from the Lord."
Meanwhile, two Chinook helicopters heavily loaded with food, medicines and clothing, started flying mercy and relief missions yesterday from Villamor Airbase in Pasay City to the typhoon-devastated towns of Real, Infanta and General Nakar. The helicopters were provided by the United States, which also sent at least 600 servicemen to assist in the recovery and rehabilitation of Quezon and Aurora.
The Philippine Navy, on the other hand, started clearing operations along the highway that connects the towns of Real and Infanta.
Navy spokesman Capt. Geronimo Malabanan said two Navy teams from the Naval Construction Brigade, in coordination with the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC), are clearing the highway to facilitate the transport of heavy equipment for the rebuilding of the Agos River Bailey Bridge.
The bridge, destroyed by flashfloods last week, linked Infanta and General Nakar.
Donations Pour
In The Department of Public Works and Highways will need an estimated P517 million to completely repair and rehabilitate roads in Aurora and parts of Nueva Ecija, P5 million for roads in Bataan, and P54 million more to repair damaged infrastructure in Quezon.
Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman said search and rescue operations, as well as the stress debriefing of typhoon victims, will continue. She also said the work of rebuilding houses and schools may start in at least three towns — Dingalan in Aurora, Roxas in Mindoro Oriental, and Gabaldon in Nueva Ecija.
"We would do our food-for-work and cash-for-work, and cleaning as part of our rehabilitation efforts by December 16. The distribution of relief goods and assistance to those affected would go on up to January 2005," she said.
Soliman said Mrs. Arroyo instructed that all logs found in the debris left by flashfloods will be used to build houses and school buildings in affected areas. Social workers are currently coordinating with non-government organizations to help rebuild houses for typhoon victims.
A total of P36 million in relief goods have been deposited at the NDCC’s Warehouse 9 at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City as of Dec. 9. Of this amount, P23.8 million have been released for distribution to affected provinces.
Soliman said donations from the private sector — including network and print media foundations — that were directly given to the typhoon victims amounted to P44.2 million.
Foreign governments and foundations have also contributed P210.57 million in cash and pledges as of Dec. 5.
The US government has secured an additional $300,000 last Dec. 9 to support ongoing emergency assistance efforts, health surveillance, quick impact grants and livelihood activities. As of yesterday, the US has donated $543,840 in various forms of assistance for the typhoon victims.
Canada has pledged an initial P12 million in assistance, which will be channeled to international aid organizations affiliated with the Canadian government.
The governments of Japan and China have donated another P31 million worth of relief aid for the typhoon victims. The Chinese government gave P2.8 million last Nov. 26 for relief efforts.
Mirant Philippines has allotted P6 million in assistance to communities affected by the typhoons, of which P3 million has been released for emergency relief operations. The company has also mobilized 50 of its employees to package and distribute relief goods in affected areas.
Mirant has formed a 15-man team of "certified first aiders" to help in rescue and rehabilitation efforts.
Political Purge
Administration lawmakers, on the other hand, urged political leaders not to take advantage of the country’s fiscal problems and recent natural calamities to destabilize the Arroyo administration.
In a joint statement, House Majority Leader Prospero Nograles and Zamboanga del Sur Rep. Isidro Real deplored reports of an alleged destabilization plot against the current administration and a reported purge of members of the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats from government offices.
The lawmakers, both Lakas stalwarts, issued the statement in reaction to reports of an alleged plot codenamed "Oplan Mid-year Crisis" that aims to unseat Mrs. Arroyo by next year, and an attempt to tie the plot to a "purge" of Lakas stalwarts holding public office.
Real explained that the alleged purge, peddled by those with vested interests, stemmed from Mrs. Arroyo’s moves to reorganize government offices and change officials to improve the delivery of public service. — With Katherine Adraneda, Marvin Sy, Paolo Romero, AFP