Natonin, Mountain Province Mayor Mateo Chiyawan said on Friday that they decided to stop rescue operations and instead started retrieval operations of those buried in the landslide that struck three buildings of the Department of Public Works and Highways in the area.
“We have already declared na wala nang rescue, it’s more on retrieval,” said Chiyawan in a radio interview over DZMM.
The rescue operations were stopped three days after the landslide caused by Typhoon ‘Rosita’ last Tuesday, as rescuers couldn’t find any more survivors.
“Ang concentration namin sa first floor sana, pero noong nag-umpisa na magtrabaho, wala na palang first floor. Pati yung first floor natangay,” (We were concentrating on the first floor, but when the rescue started, we found out that there was no first floor, because the landslide washed away the first floor.) said Chiyawan.
Eight people died in the incident, while responders continue to look for the remains of 17 more, most of whom are DPWH workers who were inside one of the buildings when the landslide happened.
Meanwhile, the military said that three members of the Citizen Armed Force Geographical Unit were among the eight fatalities so far in the landslide,
According to Captain Jefferson Somera, spokesperson of the Army’s 5th Infantry Division, the fatalities were Leobel Orchilion, Linang Pallichang and Jonanthan Ngilin, all members of the CAFGU Active Auxillary under Alpha Company of the Army’s 77th Infantry Battalion.
The CAFGUs were assigned to Ubao Patrol Base, Barangay Ubao, Aguinaldo, Ifugao prior to the incident.
According to Lieutenant Colonel Rembert Baylosis, commanding officer of the 77IB, the three who died and their two other missing companions were on leave when the incident happened.
“Our five CAA’s went to work at the DPWH project in the area as laborers and skilled workers to compensate [for] their [limited amount of] allowances as CAA because our CAFGU personnel only work for 15 days every month. For the remaining days, CAAs are free to earn additional income for their families with other work],” Baylosis said.
Major General Perfecto Rimando Jr., 5ID commander, sent his condolences with the families of the government militiamen and said government troops are currently involved in the rescue operations in the area.
Meanwhile, The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines on Friday announced the resumption of commercial flight operation at the Cauayan Airport in the Province of Isabela.
Cauayan airport was ordered shut down after Typhoon Rosita struck the country early this week that causeD severe damages to the facility.
“In order to ensure that our airports are able to serve the riding public this Undas holiday, the CAAP, under the directives of DOTr Sec. Arthur Tugade, announced that Isabela’s Cauayan Airport will reopen on November 2 (Friday),” the CAAP said in a statement.
CAAP chief information officer and spokesperson Eric Apolonio said the airport sustained heavy damages to its terminal building due to strong winds brought by the bad weather condition in the province last Tuesday.
Apolonio said the airport management made the decision to reopen the airport following its meeting with representatives from the Philippine Airlines (PAL Express) and Cebu Pacific Air (CEB) operating in Cauayan and the Office for Transportation Security (OTS), and other stakeholders.
“The CAAP came up with an interim operational plan to reopen the airport for commercial operations,” said Apolonio, adding that it is now the airlines’ discretion to operate their scheduled flights.
The airport’s Passenger Terminal Building (PTB) undergo continuous repairs and construction that would take approximately two to three weeks.
CAAP director general Capt. Jim Sydiongco has assured the public that his agency will do its best to further expedite the repairs.
He had ordered the deployment of standby recovery team in Tuguegarao to immediately conduct damage assessment once the weather improves and if necessary, expeditious repair will be undertaken to keep the airport operational.
Further, additional security personnel augmented the existing security detail in Cauayan to ensure peace and order and secure CAAP vital installations and properties.