DFA: No Pinoy quake victims reported yet

MANILA, Philippines - No Filipinos have so far been reported injured or killed in the strong earthquake that rocked Japan last Friday, but 4,500 Filipinos are believed to have been affected by the disaster, foreign affairs officials said yesterday.

“We have no information. We are monitoring closely and our honorary consuls are there,” Philippine Ambassador to Japan Manuel Lopez said in a radio interview.                            

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in Manila said there is still no report of any casualty or death from the Philippine embassy in Tokyo, Philippine consulate general in Osaka and the four honorary consulates in Japan: Sapporo, Morioka, Nagoya and Naha.                                       

DFA spokesman Eduardo Malaya said most of the destruction occurred in Sendai, near Morioka.

He said the Philippine consulates in Morioka and Sapporo are checking on members of the Filipino community but it is still too early to make assumptions on casualties or deaths.

“We’re still in the early stages of it. We’ll know soon enough,” he said.

The Philippine embassy in Tokyo was able to contact 11 Filipinos from the affected regions who said they are in stable condition after the quake and the tsunami.        

Contacted by the embassy were: Cherry Kuyos Alesna, Lizel de la Pena, Mona May Engallado, Monpetit Engalado, Alexander Ilagan, Roselie Okada, Virginia Pandoy, Marivic Reyes, Criselda Suzuki, Erlinda Ignacio Tsuchiya, and Charito Ueda.

DFA Undersecretary Rafael Seguis said it is still difficult to establish contact with Filipinos in Japan because the communication lines are still down.

“We are hampered by the communication problem,” he said.

Since the occurrence of the disaster, the DFA in Manila has received 200 calls from worried relatives of Filipinos in Japan.

“We’re also monitoring those people finder open databases and cross-checking our database with them and once we have information about the individuals in those databases we will also be updating that with what we have,” Malaya said.

The Philippine consulate general in Osaka reported to the DFA that there is very minimal damage in the southern and western regions of Japan.

“So for those who have relatives within this area they do not have to worry... Only those who may have something to worry about would be those in the Sendai area,” Malaya said.   

There are 225,000 Filipinos in Japan, most of them residing in the central regions.

Malaya assured the public that the Philippine embassy in Tokyo is capable of immediately responding to calls for help because it is one of the larger Philippine embassies in the world, having 50 personnel and seven officers.

In case deaths are reported, the remains will also undergo DNA testing to establish the identities of the victims like what was done in the aftermath of the deadly quake that struck Christchurch in New Zealand last month.                      

The Japanese government is still assessing the extent of damage to lives and property caused by the tsunami that followed the magnitude 8.9 quake.

As of yesterday, the Japanese media emergency broadcasts reported 432 confirmed deaths (202 in Iwate, 83 in Miyagi and 82 in Fukushima), 1,128 injuries and 725 missing persons. The names and nationalities of the victims are still unknown.

The hardest hit prefectures are Iwate, Fukushima and Miyagi, all located in the Tohoku Region in northeastern Japan.

In Iwate prefecture, the hardest hit towns are Ofunato, and Rizuken Takata where there are 909 Filipinos.                         

In Miyagi prefecture, the hardest hit towns are Wakabaya-shi and Kesennuma where 1,039 Filipinos reside.                            

In Fukushima prefecture, the hardest hit towns are Iwaki, Shirakawa, Sukugawa and Soma home to 2,366 Filipinos.

Communication lines in the Tohoku region are still down; transportation lines are also heavily affected.

Fukushima prefecture authorities asked residents living within the 10-mile radius of the Tokyo Electric Power Corp’s Fukushima No. 1 plant to evacuate because the valve of the containers housing its reactors would be opened to release pressure.

Authorities said the level of radiation released from the plant will be very low and will not threaten the safety of the residents.                                                                                         

The Philippine embassy has so far not received information if there are Filipinos among the evacuees.                                                                          

 In case of emergencies, those in the affected are advised to proceed to city halls or fire stations so they can receive instructions.

The Philippine embassy in Tokyo may be reached at (00813) 5562-1570, (00813) 5562-1577 and (00813) 5562-1590 with e-mail address [email protected].

The Philippine consulate general in Osaka may be reached at (06) 6910-7881, the Philippine honorary consulate in Sapporo at (011) 614-8090, and the Philippine honorary consulate in Morioka at (019) 629-9139. 

In Manila, the DFA-Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs’ Crisis Management Center may be reached at 834-4646 and 834-4580.

Requests for information may also be sent through e-mail [email protected].

Vice President Jejomar Binay said those with relatives in Japan may also inquire about the condition of their loved ones through the hotlines of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) - 0917-8986992, 551-1560 and 833-6992.

In the wake of the disaster, the Philippine government has conveyed its condolences to the Japanese government and pledged support if the devastated superpower asks for it.

He said the Philippines and Japan have a long history of mutual support in times of natural calamities.

“The Philippines stands in solidarity with Japan during these difficult times, confident that the indomitable spirit and resilience of the Japanese nation will ultimately prevail over this catastrophe,” said Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario in a statement. - With Jose Rodel Clapano