By Aaron Recuenco The death toll from typhoon “Ompong” now stands at 88 as rescue teams continue to dig up and sift through piles of rocks, mud, and other debris in the hope of retrieving more bodies – and, hopefully, even get survivors – from landslide areas in Itogon, Benguet. Rescuers carry a body bag containing a landslide victim, triggered by heavy rains during Typhoon Mangkhut, in Itogon, Benguet province on September 18, 2018.
(AFP PHOTO / TED ALJIBE / MANILA BULLETIN) Based on the latest data of the police as of today, the death toll is now at 88 with 64 others missing, most of them in Barangay Ucab in Itogon town where almost a hundred miners were buried alive. The data showed that 72 of the fatalities were in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR); 10 in Region 2 (Cagayan Valley); three in Region 3 (Central Luzon); two in Metro Manila; and one in Region 1 (Ilocos). Sixty of the 64 missing are in Benguet while there are two each in Ilocos Region and Metro Manila. 12,189 still in evacuation centers As of Wednesday afternoon, a total of 12,189 people were still housed in more than 5,000 evacuation centers mostly in Northern Luzon. The most number of the evacuees were from Central Luzon with 9,585 people due to massive flooding while 2,093 of them are in Ilocos Region and 1,336 in Cordillera. Chief Superintendent Benigno Durana Jr., spokesman of the Philippine National Police (PNP), said that they have already shifted to law and order function in the affected areas. “We deployed personnel in the evacuated areas and even in the evacuation centers to ensure the safety and security there,” said Durana. A total of 233 policemen were deployed in evacuation centers while 224 cops have been tasked to conduct regular patrol in vacated communities as a result of landslides and flooding. “We also have personnel who continuously helping in the search and retrieval and assisting in the relief distribution,” said Durana. Part of them are two teams from the Special Action Force (SAF) which are helping in search and retrieval in Itogon town. Most of those assisting in relief distribution are local police. Durana, on the other hand, said that they are currently assessing the impact of typhoon Ompong on police structures and personnel. There are still no reports on the damage to police stations and other equipment. On the other hand, a total of 1,708 policemen and their families were affected by Ompong —1,682 of them are in Ilocos region while the rest are in Cordillera.