DAVAO CITY—The death toll to the 6.9-magnitude earthquake in Davao del Sur rose to five as rescue personnel retrieved a third body from the collapsed department store in Padada town, the epicenter of the fourth major quake to hit southern Mindanao since October this year.
The latest fatalities were taken out from the concrete rubbles of Southern Trade commercial center, according to the Provincial Information Officer Hiru Gustavo Undalok.
The number of people still trapped inside could still not be ascertained yet but authorities believed there could be more. The quake struck at 2:11 p.m., Sunday.
Army troops, police, firefighters and volunteers, armed with sound and motion detectors, located a third body in the rubble of the building in Davao del Sur province’s Padada town but could not immediately extricate the remains pinned in slabs of cement, Padada Mayor Pedro Caminero said.
Reports said that five people died in Sunday’s 6.9-magnitude quake that struck Padada and outlying rural towns, cities and provinces in a region that has been battered by three deadly earthquakes in recent months. A child died after being hit by a collapsed wall in her house and a woman in her 70s died from a heart attack during the quake, officials said.
“We’re looking for about seven more,” Caminero said by phone from Padada.
Distraught relatives waited in a cordoned area as rescuers worked overnight in search of their relatives.
Several shoppers managed to dash out of the building, which housed a grocery store, as the ground shook, including a number who were escorted out with injuries.
A total of 84 people were injured in the quake, officials said.
A city and four towns near the quake’s epicenter were still without power Monday, and classes were canceled in a broad area to give time for inspections of school buildings.
The Davao region has been hit by at least three powerful earthquakes in recent months, causing several deaths and scores of injuries and badly damaging houses, town halls, hotels, malls and hospitals.
The Philippine archipelago lies on the so-called Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of faults around the Pacific Ocean where most of the world’s earthquakes occur. It’s also lashed by about 20 typhoons and other severe storms each year, making the Southeast Asian nation of more than 100 million people one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries.
In Davao City, traffic authorities opened the Mahayahay Bridge in Matina Pangi-Carlos P. Garcia Road after it was initially closed at 4 p.m., Sunday due to cracks found at the structures.
The Center Point overpass in Barangay Matina Crossing was also cordoned off when major cracks showed after the quake.
Eight families were evacuated to the Barangay Gym in Matina Crossing after a two-story house collapsed and seven other houses were partially damaged.
A medium-rise condominium building in Maa, the Palmetto, also showed cracks although its entire Building 2 and 3 were already abandoned since the last earthquake in late October. The five residents who refused to leave were finally forced to evacuate.
Based on the report of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) in Quezon City, at least 13 public structures, which included municipal hall and school buildings and police stations were damaged from the latest earthquake in Davao del Sur.
Private structures, which included churches and hospitals in the two regions were also damaged, including the Gaisano Mall in Digos City.
NDRRMC Spokesman Mark Timbal said at least 350 houses were, likewise, damaged.
Glimpse
The UP National Engineering Center (UP-NEC), in news statement, said the Davao del Sur, as well as those in North Cotabato and nearby areas last October and November, give us a glimpse of what could happen if a major earthquake strikes the Metro.
“It’s hard to imagine just how bad things can get if the Big One does happen to Metro Manila. However, there are lessons to be learned from the current situation in Davao del Sur and North Cotabato: it’s time to take disaster resilience and preparedness seriously,” UP-NEC said.
“While no one can stop an earthquake from happening, we can take steps to minimize the damage and casualties in the aftermath of an earthquake,” it added.
Work suspension
JUSTICE Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Monday said he has recommended that prosecutors suspend their work in the Davao provinces following a 6.9-magnitude earthquake last Sunday afternoon.
Guevarra said the work suspension is intended to give way to the inspection of the prosecutors’ office to ensure the safety of their prosecutors and other personnel in the area.
“I have advised the regional prosecutor covering the Davao provinces to abide by any directive of the building official to temporarily stop work until the Hall of Justice and other structures housing our prosecutors’ offices have been inspected and cleared,” said Guevarra.
“We have been informed that the inspection is already being done today,” he added.
He said he is optimistic that the inspection would cause long delay in the progress of the prosecutorial work.
P300-million aid for workers
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Monday said it still has an available P300-million fund to provide emergency assistance to workers displaced from the 6.9-magnitude earthquake, which struck Davao del Sur last Sunday afternoon.
Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III said he already mobilized DOLE-Region 11 to assist the affected workers.
“Even without instructions from the President, I have directed our DOLE RD [regional director] to provide emergency employment to workers in Davao del Sur,” Bello said in an SMS.
Available funds
IN an interview, DOLE Financial and Management Service (FMS) Director Warren M. Miclat confirmed to the BusinessMirror they could still extend aid to the said workers, but not through their usual Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) program.
Under TUPAD, workers will be provided with emergency employment to help in clearing or repairing government infrastructures.
Miclat noted the aid will come through the agency’s Government Internship Program (GIP) instead, wherein selected beneficiaries will be given temporary employment in public offices.
He explained this is because they have already “utilized” all of their TUPAD funds for the year when they provided to the displaced workers from the strong earthquakes, which jolted parts of Mindanao last October and Typhoon Tisoy, which devastated parts of Luzon earlier this month.
Displacement reports
Miclat said they used P100 million of their TUPAD funds to provide temporary work to about 20,000 quake victims and about P200 million for the over 45,000 typhoon-displaced workers.
He said they are now just waiting for the formal request from DOLE-Region 11 to release the needed GIP fund for those quake victims in Davao del Sur.
Labor Assistant Secretary Benjo M. Benavidez said some of these displaced workers include those from establishments with offices, which were heavily damaged by the earthquakes two months ago.
“Some [establishments] no longer resumed [operations] because their offices were no longer structurally viable,” Benavidez said.
Bureau of Local Employment Director Dominique R. Tutay also reported 27 of these workers, who were affected by the October tremors, have also availed of the new unemployment insurance benefit from the Social Security System.
Church response
Several Church officials have also initiated efforts to give help to the natural disaster victims in the last two months.
In his homily during his Simbang Gabi Mass on Monday, Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle asked for prayers for the victims of the 6.9-magnitude earthquake in Davao del Sur.
“Let us stand together with our brethren, who are, at this time, attending the Simbang Gabi not inside a beautiful church, but are still manifesting their faith,” Tagle said.
A report from CBCP News, also said DYWC Teleradyo also held a concert in Negros Oriental last Sunday, which aimed to raise funds for the people affected by the October earthquakes. This was in response to the appeal of Davao Archbishop Romulo Valles and Dumaguete Bishop Julito Cortes for assistance to the quake victims.
“It is our chance to help our brothers and sisters affected by the earthquake in Mindanao. They need all the help they can to start all over,” DYWC Teleradyo Station Manager Fr. Ramonito Maata said.
For his part, outgoing Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines Archbishop Gabriele Caccia donated his stipends for the victims of Typhoon Tisoy.
Special leave for workers
The chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means has filed a bill providing for a two-day special emergency leave for all workers in the public and private sector directly affected by natural calamities or disasters.
In House Bill 5775, or the proposed “Calamity Leave Law,” Albay Rep. Joey S. Salceda said the country is visited by an average of 20 to 25 typhoons that wreak havoc, endangers the lives of many, and destroy livelihoods and properties. Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are also some or the natural catastrophes that continue to endanger the people, the lawmaker from Bicol said.
“We do not only provide help to Filipinos before and after a calamity, but also provide them few days of interval to facilitate the recovery, relief, and a chance to rebuild their homes from the ground up and take care of their families. This is to give them time to recharge and have their daily activities planned so they can move forward after facing the harsh reality of calamities,” said Salceda.
“These challenges have become part of our lives, so it is necessary that all known precaution and compensation become warranted. The most vulnerable, most living in the typhoon-prone areas, coastal lanes and fault lines, made surviving a priority over living, breathing and improving one’s life,” he added.
The bill said every employee who has rendered at least six months of service shall be entitled to two-day special emergency leave each year, with pay, in times of natural calamities or disasters, based on any of the grounds specified in the proposal.
Manuel T. Cayon, Rene Acosta, Samuel P. Medenilla, Joel R. San Juan, Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz, AP
Image credits: AP/John Angelo Jomao-as
2 comments
Is there no government in Davao/Mindanao? where is the national government when the LGUs are victims also of the earthquake?
Is there no government in Davao/Mindanao? Where is the national government when the LGUs are also victims of the earthquake?