DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 10 February) – The death toll in the landslide that hit the mining village of Masara in Maco, Davao de Oro Tuesday night has risen to 28, an official said Saturday.
Lea Angliongto, head of the Department of the Interior and Local Government – Region 11’s Management of the Dead and the Missing (DILG-MDM) cluster, made the announcement in a virtual press conference Saturday morning.
She added that 32 others were injured and 77 remain missing as of 12 p.m. Saturday.
The same figures were posted by the Davao de Oro provincial government on its Facebook page.
“As of now we cannot yet give the exact details, classifications, or names [of the victims] because there are (still) unidentified bodies being managed in funeral homes,” Angliongto said.
Yesterday noon, February 9, the provincial government’s tally was 15 dead, 31 injured and 110 missing.
She said that they cannot also release the list just yet as the DILG-MDM needs to comply with the protocols in identifying retrieved cadavers, such as doing autopsy, especially that several dead bodies were buried for more than 96 hours.
The process begins with documenting the recovered cadavers, followed by autopsies to confirm their identities and then endorsing them to the funeral homes, among others.
Angliongto said they will establish a one-stop shop near the Davao de Oro’s Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) for cadaver profiling and DNA sampling with family members.
She appealed to the family members of the missing individuals to understand that they need to follow protocols.
Data from the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office showed the landslide affected 1,159 families or 5,290 individuals, who are staying in various evacuation centers in the municipalities of Maco and Mawab.
The PDDRMO said around 55 houses were buried by the landslide.
Recovered two-month-old baby debunked
Meanwhile, Engr. Ariel Capoy, head of the Incident Command Post in Maco, belied that a two-month-old baby was recovered from the landslide. The video had gone viral.
The baby just needed medical attention because of dehydration, he was not buried and recovered from the landslide, he clarified.
The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) posted Friday morning that they rescued two children, “a three-year-old girl from Zone 1, Masara, Davao de Oro, and a two-month-old boy.” As of 5:32 p.m. Saturday, this was not yet corrected.
“The two were immediately taken to the Doctors Community Hospital in Mawab by the PRC Emergency Medical Services team and were transported by the PRC’s Davao de Oro and North Cotabato ambulance units,” the post stated.
Meanwhile, Davao de Oro Governor Dorothy Gonzaga said the three-year-old girl identified as Chinchin Malacaste has been transferred to the Davao Regional Medical Center in Tagum City for further medical attention.
The landslide happened early Tuesday evening as heavy rains poured in the area. (Ian Carl Espinosa / MindaNews)
