AT LEAST fourteen survivors were rescued and four bodies were retrieved from the building of the Department of Public Works and Highways Second Engineering District buried in a landslide during the onslaught of Typhoon Rosita at Barangay Banawel, Natonin, Mountain Province.
As of 12:50 p.m. of October 31, Natonin Councilor Rafael Bulawe said there were 14 survivors, five of them were identified as Joventino Lamawen, Innocencio Gollingay, Fritz Gerald Lumpanga, Jupiter Gaawan, Jun Jun Machanum.
The bodies retrieved were identified as Benito Falangkad Longad and Jeffrey Nagawa Salang-ey, while the other two are still unidentified.
According to the councilor, Juventino Gallad Lammawen and Fritz Lumpanga were the first to be rescued, not far from where the landslide occurred.
According to Lammawen, while he was closing the main gate of the compound around 4 p.m., Tuesday, he saw the soil on the mountain starting to move, prompting him to jump inside the culvert for safety.
Meanwhile, the Northern Luzon Command of the Philippine Army is now in the process of consolidating and accounting its rescue personnel who will be sent to Natonin to assist in the search, rescue and retrieval operations at the collapsed building of the DPWH.
NOLCOM Spokesperson Major Ericsson Bulusan explained the rescue teams are now forming a team in their headquarters to prepare for their deployment.
“We are now assembling our team and while here at the command center, we are coordinating with our ground unit in Natonin for us to consolidate and account for all our responders deployed and to be deployed in the area,” Bulusan said.
Aside from the deployment of search and rescue teams in Natonin, NOLCOM have started its humanitarian and disaster response operations in Northern and Central Luzon which was affected by Typhoon Rosita.
The area of responsibility by NOLCOM covers Ifugao, Mountain Province, Benguet, Nueva Vizcaya, Pangasinan, La Union and Ilocos Sur.
“The disaster Response Task Unit of NOLCOM deployed in the areas affected by Typhoon Rosita have coordinated with the different local DRRMC’s(Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Councils), and Local Government Units to extend help in the affected areas,” Bulusan added.