CASKETS ON CHRISTMAS EVE
[PHOTO - Philippine Navy personnel arrange coffins that will be shipped with
drinking water, clothes and other relief goods to flood-stricken Cagayan De Oro
and Iligan cities on board a Philippine Navy ship in Manila, Philippines on
Tuesday Dec. 20, 2011. Nearly a thousand people died in massive flash floods
when tropical storm Washi hit the country last week in one of the worst
disasters to strike the region in decades. AP Photo/Aaron
Favila]
MANILA, DECEMBER 21, 2011 (STAR) Instead of toys, clothes
and the usual items people receive during the holidays, the residents of Iligan
and Cagayan de Oro cities will receive coffins on Christmas Eve.
As early as 6 a.m. today, volunteers and Philippine Navy personnel started
loading 500 white caskets donated by local government units in Pampanga province
to the BRP Dagupan.
The 500 donated caskets, however, may still fall short as the death toll from
tropical storm "Sendong" in the two cities continued to rise.
As of 6 a.m. today, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management
Council (NDRRMC) a total of 957 people have been confirm killed in the two
cities and seven more affected provinces in Mindanao and Visayas. Of the total
death count, 579 were recorded in Cagayan de Oro City and 279 in Iligan City.
The Philippine Navy said that the BRP Dagupan was scheduled to leave Manila
Bay at 4 p.m. today. The Navy said that the ship may arrive in Cagayan de Oro
City before noon of December 24, depending on sea condition.
The Navy ship will also bring tons of bottled drinking water, purifying
machines and more rescue, retrieval and health personnel, including the 19-man
team from the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority.
Food packs, used clothes and tons of donated items have also been pouring
into the two cities and other areas devastated by Sendong, the 19th storm to hit
the Philippines this year.
Mayors from Pampanga province pooled cash for the purchase of the caskets,
which costs P4,000 each. Local executives in the province said they are
returning a favor to the two cities, as well as to Dumaguete, whose officials
helped Kapampangans after the explosion of Mt. Pinatubo in 1991.
Meanwhile, the city governments of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan have changed
original plans of burying unidentified bodies recovered from thick mud in
storm-devastated villages.
Instead, only those who have been identified will be buried in public
cemeteries in the two cities this afternoon.
Officials of the two city governments said they would want to give hundreds
of families more time to identify the bodies and bury their own dead.
Forensic teams from the National Bureau of Investigation and the Philippine
National Police have been deployed to the two cities to identify the bodies.
Data from the NDRRMC showed that a total of 307 bodies in Cagayan de Oro and
279 in Iligan have yet to be identified. In Bukidnon, a total of 41 bodies have
also yet to be identified.
President Benigno Aquino III, accompanied by ranking government officials,
placed the two cities under a state of calamity and ordered the release of
millions of funds for more aid to the storm's victims.
Tropical storm Sendong is this year's most deadly storm in the Philippines.
It also surpassed the official number of death toll from the infamous "Ondoy"
(Ketsana), which stood at 464.
More coffins, aid
South Cotabato Gov. Arthur Pingoy Jr. said that the provincial government
will initially send today 15 caskets to the areas affected by "Sendong" in the
two cities.
Pingoy said that the provincial government will also send P1.5 million worth
of relief goods for the displaced residents of the devastated cities of North
Mindanao. He said more coffins will be sent to Cagayan de Oro and Iligan as they
become available in the province.
Sarangani Gov. Miguel Rene Dominguez, meanwhile, said they will also send
P500,000 worth of rice to the two cities' flood victims.
Dominguez has also sent word around the province for more blankets, used
clothes, toothbrushes and others. The donations can be dropped to the provincial
capitol gymnasium in Alabel town until Wednesday noon, he said.
More financial aid will also be sent by the local governments of Benguet and
General Santos City
In a related development, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has
heeded the request of the Philippine government for immediate food, non-food
items and logistics support in the ongoing relief efforts to Sendong's victims.
In coordination with the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the
Philippine Air Force, THE WFP immediately dispatched three tons of high-energy
biscuits to the affected areas to assist 7,800 of the most vulnerable people who
cannot easily cook food, WFP said in a statement.
The WFP has already mobilized and delivered key items needed for the relief
operation, including water tanks and a mobile storage tent.
The Australian government has also pledged aid for the flood-ravaged areas in
Mindanao.
Its government has allocated some A$10.5 million for humanitarian assistance
to victims of recent calamities that affected the Asia-Pacific region, including
the devastating floods in several parts of Mindanao.
Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd said they are set to release the
financial grant to non-government organizations (NGOs) Care, Caritas, Oxfam,
Plan International, Save the Children and World Vision as part of its new
Humanitarian Partnership Agreement.
He said the assistance was meant to "ensure a faster, more coordinated
response to rapid onset emergencies" in the region.
Rudd noted that the participating NGOs have been pre-qualified and have a
proven track record in providing humanitarian assistance internationally.
CDO mayor lashes at NDRRMC chief The Philippine
Star Updated December 20, 2011 05:44 PM 2 comments to this post
Zoom MANILA, Philippines – Cagayan de Oro Mayor Vicente Emano lashed at
National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) chief Benito Ramos
for 'blaming' local governments for the high number of fatalities from tropical
storm Sendong.
In a television interview, the city mayor said Ramos has no right to issue
the statement as the people in the affected areas have long been residing in the
devastated region before the NDRRMC official was appointed to his post.
Ramos said that LGUs should have relocated the residents of Isla de Oro, the
worst-hit portion of Cagayan de Oro City as "it is the responsibility of the
local government concerned".
"This is not the time to blame. The people in the area have been residing
there for more than 50 years, and we are not blaming the national government for
this tragedy," Emano pointed out.
Ramos passed the blame to the LGUs as he reiterated that the national
government should not be blamed for the devastation of the storm.
"Before issuing any statement, Mr. Ramos should check his facts as the people
that he was referring to were already in the area for more than 50 years
already," he reiterated.
"This is not the time to blame. [It's] the time to help each other so we and
our people could move on."
More than 500 people have been recovered dead in Cagayan de Oro City. Earlier
reports said that the number of people missing in the city remained at hundreds,
which was bigger than the official count of the NDRRMC.
Ramos had said that the NDRRMC has "lost count" of the missing.
Iligan City, which is only a two-hour ride from Cagayan de Oro, is also
badly-hit by the storm, with nearly 300 people dead and thousands more
displaced.
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2011 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
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