Monsoon rains death toll rises to 85

MANILA (Updated 5:25 p.m.) -- The number of deaths caused by floods and heavy rains spawned by the southwest monsoon rose to 85 on Sunday morning from 77, the disaster-response agency said.

Latest reports from the disaster management agency's field units showed that of the latest fatalities, six were due to drowning -- Ernesto Flores, of Alaminos, Laguna; Jona V. Lago, 21, and Jessica V. Lago, 19, both of Baybay, Sto. Tomas, La Union; and three unidentified men in Barangays San Matias, San Vicente, and Moras Dela Paz in Sto. Tomas, Pampanga.

The two other fatalities were identified as Camille Ostinado of Talisay, Batangas, a victim of a falling tree, and Leticia Cerce, 59, of Barangay Tandang Kutyo, Tanay, Rizal, who succumbed to cold and heart attack.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said that of the 85 fatalities reported as of 5 a.m. Sunday, 62 were due to drowning, 12 were victims of landslides, two were hit by lightning, three due to electrocution, three because of heart attack/cardiac arrest, two due to falling trees and one of still undetermined cause.

The agency also said that 10 persons were injured, eight others missing while 62,846 were rescued.

The reports showed that the heavy rains and floods affected 679,057 families or 3,067,500 persons in 2,306 barangays in 167 municipalities and 36 cities in 16 provinces in Ilocos Region, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Western Visayas and the National Capital Region or Metro Manila.

The NDRRMC said 159,447 families or 768,989 persons were served inside and outside evacuation centers.

Earlier, a member of Congress advised the government to prioritize flood victims in the selection of new beneficiaries for its conditional cash transfer (CCT) program.

Under the proposed national budget for 2013, the government is targeting to increase its household beneficiaries from 3.1 million this year to 3.8 million in 2013, said Aurora Representative Sonny Angara on Saturday.

“The best and obvious candidates for inclusion are those who have all lost what little they have in the recent floods,” Angara said.

“After the floods have subsided, long after television crews have packed up, and the last relief convoy has passed by, there should be a kind of help on the ground that should linger for a while,” he said. (PNA/Sunnex)