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Tuesday, December 23, 2003
70 missing on ferry as landslide toll nears 200
PUERTO PRINCESA -- Over 70 people were feared dead Monday after a ferry disappeared in rough seas off the southern coast of Palawan island, shortly after landslides in the central and southern areas of the country claimed some 200 lives.
The 63-ton Piary disappeared in the Sulu Sea on Sunday after large waves smashed a hole in the vessel's hull, the coastguard said.
Its last distress call informed the shore that the vessel was about to sink and that its 68 passengers and a crew of six had donned life jackets, said the Coast Guard district commander Captain Godofredo Mandal.
The ferry's disappearance cast a new pall over the Christmas season in the country that is still reeling from the devastating landslides that destroyed entire villages and floods that forced thousands from their homes late Friday.
Pope John Paul II on Monday expressed sympathy for the estimated 200 people killed or missing in landslides and floods that have hit the country.
Rescue workers pulled out 102 more bodies from the mud and debris on Panaon island since Sunday, said Regional Police Chief Dionisio Coloma.
"Massive disaster operations are ongoing and I would like to thank the US government for lending a hand in the delivery of assistance and the search for the missing," said President Arroyo. Washington has offered all-weather rescue helicopters.
The confirmed deaths from the island accounted for 170 of the 191 bodies recovered so far. Nearly 100,000 people have been displaced across the disaster areas and dozens more are missing, raising the likely death toll from the mudslides to more than 200.
'Deeply saddened'
The pope, in a message put out by the Vatican's office in Manila, said he was praying for "divine strength and comfort" for the families of those buried under tons of mud in the central island of Leyte and Mindanao in the south.
"(I am) deeply saddened by the tragic loss of life resulting from the recent landslides in the Philippines," the pope said.
President Arroyo may go to Southern Leyte Tuesday, depending on the weather condition in the area. She wanted to fly to Southern Leyte last Sunday yet, but bad weather prevented her from going there.
Nearly a week of heavy rain unleashed landslides and floods on the islands of Leyte, Panaon and Bohol as well as the northeast section of Mindanao, the country's second largest island.
Another tragedy struck when the coast guard reported Monday that a passenger ferry carrying over 70 people went missing in the Sulu Sea.
Anxious relatives swamped the coastguard station in Brooke's Point for news of the ferry Piary. The ferry had come from the Cagayan de Sulu island group east of Palawan.
Naval reconnaissance aircraft failed to locate the vessel or any survivors, while navy and coastguard vessels battled huge waves stirred by seasonal strong winds that also brought torrential rain across the southern half of the country.
"The current sea condition is very rough due to strong northeasterly winds prevailing at the area at this time of the year," the Coast Guard said. "This somehow hampers the ongoing search and rescue operation."
Mass grave
Disaster officials said torrential rains are hampering search and retrieval operations Monday for those who perished in landslides in Southern Leyte.
Residents are also now being evacuated as authorities anticipate an epidemic outbreak in the three towns of Southern Leyte hit by landslides last Friday. As the retrieval operation entered its fourth day Tuesday, health officials fear an outbreak if the tragedy sites are not decontaminated. Several decomposing bodies already emit stench.
"It's best to evacuate them for health reasons. We will have to clear and sanitize these areas to prevent an epidemic," Southern Leyte Vice Gov. Eva Tomol said Monday.
Defense Secretary Eduardo Ermita said Panaon residents had given up hope of recovering relatives and neighbors still believed buried in several landslides.
"The stench is overpowering several days later, and the families of the missing in San Francisco (town) have given permission to the government to cover the rubble instead, converting it into a mass grave," Ermita told radio station dzBB.
The weather lifted briefly on Monday, allowing military vessels to deliver food, medicine, and equipment to Tacloban on Leyte island.
The supplies were due to be taken by sea to Panaon, home to about 50,000 impoverished farmers. Over the years, they have cleared the interior highlands of forest cover to plant coconut, the country's main agricultural commodity.
Aerial footage of the island shown on television in Manila showed areas of bare soil where slips had occurred amid green coconut groves, burying villages on the narrow coastline.
The National Disaster Coordinating Council said soldiers and civilian volunteers were taking part in the search and rescue operations in Southern Leyte and that bad weather prevented helicopters from flying to the disaster area. "It's been three days and our helicopters couldn't fly," Ermita added.
Several disasters
As of Monday morning, 125 persons were reported missing in Eastern Visayas, Bohol, Caraga regions and Compostella Valley in the aftermath of landslides and flash floods in those areas over the weekend, the NDCC said. A total of 89 persons were declared dead from the disasters.
In Eastern Visayas, 117 persons remained missing while four others were missing in Bohol. In Compostela Valley and Caraga Region, four persons are missing. The flash floods left 23 persons injured.
Floodwaters caused the Buayan River to overflow Monday dawn, forcing hundreds of residents in Alabel, Sarangani to abandon their homes.
No less than 15,000 persons composing 2,513 families were displaced in the Davao region, according to reports from the Office of Civil Defense.
The Davao region is composed of the provinces of Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, Compostela Valley, Davao Oriental and the cities of Davao, Digos, Panabo, Digos and the Island Garden City of Samal.
Thousands worth of agricultural crops and infrastructure were also destroyed after flashfloods and landslides pummeled at least two villages in T'boli, South Cotabato on Friday.
A belated report from the South Cotabato Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council (PDCC) said a couple drowned in a flashflood while a farmer was buried in a landslide at the height of the heavy rains in the area late Friday afternoon.
In Surigao del Sur, the towns of Tandag, Tago, Cortes and San Miguel have been "virtually transformed into an island, with the Pacific Ocean, the collapsed mountains and the flooded areas encircling them," said Bert Pacate, former columnist of Sun.Star Davao.
(December 23, 2003 issue)
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