AT LEAST three people, including two minors, drowned while another child remains missing after a flash flood swept their house at the height of Severe Tropical Storm Opong in Barangay Bilwang, Kawayan town of Biliran, on Friday, September 26, 2025.
Police identified the fatalities as a four-year-old girl and a 12-year-old girl, both residents of the village, and “Gil,” 63, a widower and barangay watchman.
"Upon arrival, the team found the lifeless bodies of the victims inside the barangay hall of Barangay Bilwang," the Kawayan Municipal Police Station said in a report.
Initial investigation revealed that water from a nearby stream suddenly rose, causing a flash flood that destroyed the victims’ house and carried them away.
In the information released by Police Regional Office 8 (Eastern Visayas), search and retrieval operations continued for the missing seven-year-old child.
Personnel of Kawayan Police, Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), Municipal and Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Offices (MDRRMO), barangay officials, and residents joined forces in the search operations.
The recovered bodies have been turned over to their families and will undergo post-mortem examination at the Kawayan Rural Health Unit (RHU). (Ronald Reyes/SunStar Philippines)