PRESIDENTIAL Adviser on Political Affairs Secretary Francis Tolentino declared the end of rescue operations at level 070 in Ucab, Itogon, Benguet quashing any hope to find survivors at the site.
“We have to face the reality of it and proceed to family counselling,” said Tolentino.
Toelntino also tasked Janet Armas of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to announce to families the shift from rescue to retrieval efforts followed by a counseling session and stress debriefing for at least 30 grieving families housed at the agency’s training center in Baguio City.
The DSWD will also be releasing death benefits to the families following the announcement to augment needs as efforts to retrieve bodies of their loved ones is still underway.
Tolentino has declared efforts to retrieve remaining bodies at the site will continue with the same efforts to appease families of grief and accord the fallen miners and family members a decent burial.
The declaration was made Tuesday afternoon, after recommendations by Office of Civil Defense Cordillera chief Rueben Carandang saying no signs of life were seen at the entrance of a portal believed to house miners who sought refuge from the storm.
“We are sad, we were hoping that lives could still be saved,” said Tolentino.
An 11-man team from Philex Mining Corporation was on site as they plow their way through the tunnel entrance still partly covered in mud to retrieve possible miners trapped inside.
Philex devised the plan to open a road to lead to the site, allowing backhoes to enter, a move which sped up retrieval operations on Sunday.
The dirt road has since been dubbed as the “Philex Rescue Road.”
There are now less than 200 rescuers at the site as three backhoes are aiding efforts to retrieve the dead.
Overlapping efforts are now being made to prepare for Typhoon Paeng and continue with retrieval operations to put a close to the tragedy that befell the town.
As of Tuesday afternoon, 46 bodies were already identified with nine still to be matched and identified by the NBI team, bringing total deaths on site at 54.
There are still 19 missing at the Ucab site.