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Dennis Datu, ABS-CBN News
SARANGANI – The death toll from the 6.8 magnitude earthquake that hit parts of southern Mindanao rose on Sunday after authorities recovered the bodies of a mother and child in Glan, Sarangani province.
The number of dead in Sarangani has already reached five, one in the town of Malapatan and four in the town of Glan.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council reported on Sunday afternoon that 8 people were feared dead and 23 injured in Friday’s big earthquake.
The NDRRMC added that the earthquake damaged more than a hundred infrastructures, including houses, in Sarangani and its neighboring provinces and affected 180 families or 1,509 people.
NICE RECOVERY EFFORTS
The first to be recovered at around 10pm on Saturday was the body of seven-year-old Yra Mae Tagwalan, followed more than an hour later by the body of her mother, 33-year-old Aiza Sumaling Tagwalan .
The recovery of their bodies came more than 30 hours after their nipa hut was buried by a collapsed part of the mountain in Purok Mabuhay, Barangay Mudan when the powerful tremor struck.
The search and rescue team, made up of police officers, soldiers, firefighters, coast guards and disaster officials, walked for more than three hours before reaching the landslide area, said BGen. Patricio Amata, commander of the Bagwis Brigade of the 1002nd Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army.
Initially, the search and rescue team only used shovels and poles to dig, as they had difficulty carrying the excavator equipment up the mountain due to the lack of passable roads.
It was already 8 in the evening when the backhoe finally arrived, speeding up the excavation process.
Amata said the team had to dig up to three meters deep, adding that they also used search and rescue dogs from the Philippine Coast Guard.
ASSISTANCE
The families of the victims are asking for help.
“The fee here at the funeral home is 55,000 pesos because they are mother and daughter,” said Arden Taglawan, Aiza’s brother.
“I would like to appeal to whoever can help, please help us because we are also poor,” he added.
President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. said earlier that it has already asked the relevant agencies to monitor the situation and act based on the needs of the victims.
