MANILA, Philippines — One of three persons who reportedly died after a balete tree collapsed onto shanties along a creek in Binondo, Manila was found to be alive, authorities reported yesterday.
The city government and the Bureau of Fire Protection apologized for the error in the BFP’s earlier report, which stated that Edcel Lansiola, Jomar Portillo and his two-year-old son, John Mark Portillo, were pronounced dead at the Jose R. Reyes Memorial Medical Center.
The elder Portillo, 28, remains confined at the hospital, according to the city government, which released the information after his wife told journalists he was in “stable condition” and could talk to his family.
Personnel from the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) cleared debris and the fallen tree from Estero de Magdalena yesterday.
The National Housing Authority (NHA) has pledged to provide housing to families displaced by the collapse.
NHA general manager Joeben Tai, who visited the site yesterday, said 700 housing units of the NHA in Rizal and Cavite provinces would be available to affected families.
Tai ordered the immediate relocation of families affected by the incident – around 40, based on initial reports – and added that the NHA would make sure none would sell the housing units they would receive and return to the accident site.
Meanwhile, Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos ordered the BFP and Manila’s disaster risk reduction and management office to investigate the cause of the incident to prevent it from happening again.
“I expect the BFP to submit a report and recommendations in the next several days,” he said in a statement. — Romina Cabrera