BY MARTIN A. SADONGDONG
The death toll from typhoon “Ulysses” that lashed Luzon has already reached 39, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) reported Friday.
The AFP is the lead agency in the Search, Rescue, and Retrieval (SRR) Cluster of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), which members include other uniformed services such as the Philippine National Police (PNP), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), and Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP).
In a Cabinet briefing, General Gilbert Gapay, AFP chief of staff, said the AFP retrieved eight bodies in the regions of Bicol, Calabarzon, and in Central Luzon.
Meanwhile, the BFP found five bodies in the provinces of Cavite, Bicol, and Benguet.
The NDRRMC, however, has so far listed 14 people dead and 14 missing.
Undersecretary Ricardo Jalad, civil defense administrator and executive director of the NDRRMC, said 12 of the fatalities were recorded in the Cordillera Administrative Region (1), Cagayan Valley Region (6), and Bicol Region (5).
The details of the two other deaths have yet to be released.
Jalad also reported that there were eight persons injured in Bicol Region while 14 others were reported missing in Cagayan Valley Region, Calabarzon or Region 4A, and, Bicol Region.
In the same briefing, General Debold Sinas, PNP chief, reported that they have recorded 26 deaths in Metro Manila (2), Cagayan Valley (7), Central Luzon (3), Calabarzon (9), Bicol Region (3), and Cordillera Administrative Region (2).
Asked on the big discrepancy on the death tally by the NDRRMC with other agencies, NDRRMC spokesperson Mark Timbal explained that the data from the military, police, and fire personnel have to be validated if the causes of these deaths are really related to typhoon Ulysses.
“This reporting from the agencies (AFP, PNP, and BFP) is a direct reportage of their findings from the ground,” Timbal said.
“The NDRRMC will consolidate the data through cross referencing with the teams handling the Management of the Dead and Missing (MDM),” he added.
The MDM is a cluster under the NDRRMC which is under the supervision of the Department of the Interior and Local Government.
Despite this, NDRRMC chairperson Delfin Lorenzana said he was satisfied with the response of relevant government agencies before, during, and after typhoon Ulysses.
“Maganda ang ating response dito dahil bago pa man dumating ‘yung bagyo ay nakaalerto na ang ating NDRRMC at OCD sa lahat ng region na tatamaan ng bagyo,” said Lorenzana, who is also the Defense chief.
EVACUATION
More than 400,000 individuals have been evacuated before and during the onslaught of typhoon Ulysses, according to Jalad.
Prior to the onslaught of typhoon Ulysses, Jalad said local government units in “almost the whole of Luzon” carried out pre-emptive evacuation which saved 64,552 families or 231,312 persons.
But during the pounding of Ulysses, rescue personnel were able to rescue an additional 44,194 families or 170,500 individuals, he added.
DAMAGE
Typhoon Ulysses’ damage to agriculture has already reached over P99 million, according to initial information from Jalad.
These were recorded in Central Luzon (P21.3 million), Calabarzon (P66.2 million), and Cordillera Administrative Region (P11.9 million).
The damage to infrastructure, on the other hand, has yet to be verified by the NDRRMC. (Martin A. Sadongdong)
