14 more bodies retrieved in Cebu landslide

MANILA, Philippines — At least 14 more bodies have been dug out from the mud and rocks at the site of the landslide in Naga City, Cebu, bringing to 56 the fatalities in the disaster after five days of retrieval operations.

Chief Inspector Roderick Gonzales, Naga City chief police, said the 14 bodies were recovered last Sunday, Monday and yesterday after the landslide that buried at least 20 houses in Barangay Tinaan and four other houses in the adjacent Barangay Naalad.

Residents blamed the operations of a quarry company in the mountain above the affected barangays for the landslide while some officials claimed that the disaster was caused by several days of heavy rains.

Police said part of the mountain of Sitio Sindulan, Barangay Tina-an in Naga eroded and buried more or less 24 houses and the victims.

Gonzales said that of the 56 fatalities, 26 were females and the rest males.

He said Naga City Councilor Junjie Cruz, chairman of City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (CDRRMO), is supervising the rescue operations in coordination with the local police and other government officials. 

Police said there are 10 survivors rescued, including an eight-year-old girl.

Gonzales noted that representatives from various government agencies are working double time to dig up and possibly get more survivors, with 536 personnel from the Bureau of Fire Protection, city and provincial police offices, Philippine Red Cross and other rescue units involved.

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Oscar Albayalde is hopeful that there are more survivors.

Police personnel have been deployed to help search and rescue operations at two landslide areas in Naga City and another disaster in Itogon, Benguet where more than 70 people were killed after landslides hit a mining area during heavy rains brought by Typhoon Ompong two weeks ago. 

Meanwhile, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Cordillera has officially declared that the ongoing search and rescue operations in Barangay Ucab, Itogon are now a retrieval operation after rescue workers gave up hope of finding survivors.?OCD Cordillera director Ruben Carandang bared yesterday his recommendation to presidential adviser Francis Tolentino. ?Tolentino ordered Cordillera Social Welfare and Development director Janet Armas to break the sad news to relatives of missing miners at the DSWD reception centers near ground zero. ?Tolentino told Armas to obtain DNA samples of the victims’ relatives as reference to identify retrieved bodies.?Albayalde said the PNP national headquarters are monitoring the continuing operations in Itogon and Naga, Cebu.  – With Rhodina Villanueva, Artemio Dumlao, Raymund Catindig