BAGUIO CITY – After the devastation of super typhoon “Lawin” last week, three provinces in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR)–Apayao, Kalinga and Mt. Province, have been placed under state of calamity.
The Cordillera Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CRDRRMC) in its last report at 5 a.m. on Monday, said the Province of Ifugao will be declared under the same status upon the recommendation of the Provincial DRRMC and as soon as the Provincial Board of Ifugao, convenes.
CRDRRMC said the provincial board of Apayao made the declaration through Resolution 85-2016; Kalinga through PBR 2016-120 and Mountain Province through PBR 378-2016.
Section 3 of Republic Act 10121, known as the “Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010,” provides the definition of State of Calamity as “a condition involving mass casualty and/or major damages to property, disruption of means of livelihoods, roads and normal way of life of people in the affected areas as a result of the occurrence of natural or human-induced hazard.”
As validated by field personnel of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG-CAR), the Police Regional Office – Cordillera Region (PRO-Cor) and the Department of Health (DOH-CAR), there were 19 reported casualties in the region with 15 dead; 4 injured; 1 missing.
Fourteen deaths were caused by landslides – Jay-ar Chawagan and Jaramel Alfaro, both 15 years old and residents of Barangay Poblacion, Hungduan, Ifugao; Edgar Genese, 40,of San Fabian, Pangasinan and Jonie Borja, 35, of Santo Tomas, La Union were asleep in their makeshift shanty on a construction site in Barangay Longlong, La Trinidad, Benguet when the erosion happened on October 20.
Joshua T Helia, 19 and Jessie M Helia of Bindoy, Negros Oriental were also hit by a landslide while in their shanty in Barangay Sagpat, Kibungan, Benguet.
A new born baby, John Carlos Hatap also fell victim to a landslide at Barangay Sagpat, also in Kibungan, Benguet.
Arsenio Lantaen, 65, of Barangay Bagu, Bakun, Benguet was a victim of a landslide in Abatan, Buguias, Benguet on October 20.
In the Province of Kalinga, Ceasar Dupa-as, 34 of Barangay Lower Uma, Lubuagan and his family were all buried in a landslide that claimed their lives on October 20.
The rest of the Dupa-as family were identified as Amelia (20), Aireen (6), Caleb (4) and Tak Goo Mor (1).
Jiboy de Leon of Ganatil, Barangay Balatoc, Pasil, Kalinga and one was hit by an uprooted coconut tree in the Province of Abra, identified as Bayle C Bakidan, 50 and a resident of Barangay Amtuagan, Tubo.
Search and Rescue (SAR) personnel of the Ifugao DRRMC is still looking for the missing Larry Duyapat, 42, of Barangay Baan, Hungduan, Ifugao, who was swept by raging river water he attempted to cross.
Injured were Meljun Hatap, 24 of Sagpat, Kibungan; Sean Paul Harrison, 3 of Sapid, Mankayan both in Benguet; Zoe Alyana Tade, 15 of Poblacion, Tadian, Mountain Province and Gary Lumetic, 39 of Calaoacan, Rizal, Kalinga.
There are at least 66,518 families or 307,305 individuals affected by the typhoon.
As of the last report, 3,078 families or 16,142 individuals are still displaced where 1,397 families or 8,023 individuals are housed in 51 evacuation centers and the remaining 1,509 families or 7,885 individuals are in neighbors or relatives houses.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD-CAR) reported that 12,382 houses were damaged – 11,190 partially and 1,192 totally where most of these houses were recorded in Kalinga.
Assistance extended to the victims were recorded as PHP2,359,317 from the different local government units (LGUs) to their constituents and PHP5,569,689 from the DSWD-CAR.
The Department of Agriculture (DA-CAR) reported that a total of PHP390,027,737 million worth of rice, corn and high valued crops in the region were damaged by Typhoon “LAWIN” covering around 11,854 hectares of agricultural land.
The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR) reported a damage worth PHP6,472,427 million from all six provinces of the region.
Thirty-one out of the 53 national, provincial and municipal road networks are now open and passable.
In Baguio City, Kennon Road and EJHalsema Road (Baguio-Bontoc Road) remain to be closed while the BPalispis – JAspiras Highway (Marcos Highway), the EQuirino Highway (Baguio-Bauang Road) and the Baguio-Aritao Road (Benguet-Nueva Vizcaya Road) are open.
Power is now restored in the entire province of Ifugao and the Baguio City.
Power in Benguet Province has been restored in 75 percent of the barangays while other provinces including Apayao, Abra, Mountain Province and Kalinga are still experiencing province wide power outage. Jojo Lamaria/PNA-northboundasia.com