MANILA, Philippines — The number of people killed in the wake of Typhoon "Ompong" (international name Mangkhut), which pummeled Northern Luzon has risen to 63, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said Tuesday.
The number has climbed as three more bodies were recovered from a landslide site in Itogon, Benguet, where about 40 to 50 people are believed to have been buried under mud in the onslaught of the typhoon last Saturday.
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About 42 people were recorded injured while 49 others remain missing, according to the Malacañang spokesman.
"We express our condolences to the families of the victims of Typhoon Ompong," Roque said in Filipino.
Police, soldiers and volunteers continue to dig through the mud in Itogon, where miners and their families might have been buried in the 300-meter landslide.
Itogon Mayor Victor Palangdan said the local government had asked the people to leave the area before Typhoon Ompong ravaged the region.
"Around that bunkhouse are shanties constructed by small-scale miners as their temporary dwellings. May ibang may pamilya, may ibang grupo-grupo lang (some had families, others were just groups of miners)," Palangdan told ANC.
Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu had ordered the suspension of all small-scale mining operations in the region following typhoon-induced landslides.
“The order of revocation is to the small-scale miners in CAR only. It does not cover big-scale mining. We might be filing charges against them if they don’t stop despite the (cease and desist order). They could be charged with mining without permit or theft of minerals,” Cimatu said.
Duterte to check on situation in Isabela
President Rodrigo Duterte, meanwhile, will go to Isabela later Tuesday to personally check the situation of the province, which also suffered damage to insfratructure and agriculture.
The president will visit state troops stationed in Isabela and hear the situation report at the same time.
About 218,492 families or 893,844 persons in Luzon have been affected by the typhoon, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said on Tuesday morning.
Meanwhile, around 61,709 families are being served inside and outside evacuation centers.
The estimated cost of damage to agriculture in Cagayan Valley and in the Cordillera Administrative Region was at P9,358,000,863.
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