The number of fatalities in the landslide in a mining village in Davao de Oro has risen to 68, according to a report of the local government’s search and recovery team.
It also said that 51 others remain missing, while five of those recovered still have to be identified.
Meanwhile, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has committed P70 million in humanitarian aid to respond to the needs of communities affected by severe flooding and landslides in Mindanao, the US Embassy in Manila said.
More than a dozen bodies were pulled from the mud on Monday, as the missing included mine workers and villagers, according to official figures released by the municipal government.
“It is almost a week after the incident and… we are assuming that no one is alive there,” Edward Macapili, spokesman for the Davao de Oro provincial disaster office, told Agence France Presse (AFP).
“There is already a foul smell in the area now, so there’s a need to fast-track the retrieval.”
An area around 50 meters (164 feet) deep remains to be searched, Macapili added.
The landslide buried three buses and a jeepney waiting for employees of a gold mining firm and 55 nearby houses, leaving 32 other people injured.
The US embassy said the new funding will provide emergency food, shelter, water, sanitation, and essential hygiene items to support disaster-affected communities in Davao de Oro, Davao del Norte, and Davao City in Mindanao.
It said the USAID will partner with Catholic Relief Services and Action Against Hunger to ensure this life-saving assistance reaches the most vulnerable groups, including single-parent households, persons with disabilities, pregnant and lactating women, the elderly, low-income families, and indigenous peoples.
The Philippine Red Cross, on the other hand, has dispatched additional resources to Mindanao to provide immediate relief to about 230,000 families in Davao de Oro, Davao del Norte, Agusan del Sur, and Agusan del Norte.
“We sent additional food trucks because the situation is like a silent, creeping disaster. The affected people cannot cook in evacuation centers so we sent the food trucks to provide hot meals for them,” said PNRC Chairman Richard Gordon.
The additional relief for Agusan and Davao provinces arrived Monday morning at the Surigao del Norte port.
The US Department of Defense, through the III Marine Expeditionary Force (III MEF), has provided two C-130s to assist the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Office of Civil Defense, and USAID in delivering 15,000 DSWD food packs to affected families.
“We are proud to partner with the Philippine government to support the immediate needs of Mindanaoans in the areas hardest hit by the flooding and landslides,” said USAID Mission Director Ryan Washburn.
“This support will help ensure that food and other life-saving supplies reach communities most in need. Support to our Allies and partners, and their people in a time of need, is non-negotiable,” said U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Roger Turner, the III MEF commanding general.
PRC Secretary-General Dr. Gwen Pang said the organization also provided body bags for the victims of the landslide in Barangay Masara, Davao de Oro last Tuesday.
The PRC also has sent water tankers to the affected areas to enable the affected individuals and their families to have access to water for their personal hygiene, she said.
A total of 1,388,691 people or 415,496 families have been affected by the inclement weather in Northern Mindanao, Davao, Soccsksargen, Caraga, and Bangsamoro, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported.
Of those affected, 40,050 people or 10,172 families are staying in 159 evacuation centers, while 281,382 people or 95,021 have moved to other places.
Damage to infrastructure are estimated at P738,619,756 while losses in agriculture amounted to P212,544,830. A total of 1,345 homes were also damaged.
A state of calamity has been declared in the entire province of Agusan del Sur and in Lingig town in Surigao del Sur.
Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. has directed the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) to ensure that relief efforts in the Caraga region are in full swing.
As of Sunday, a total of 113,463 families in the region have so far been affected by bad weather caused by the northeast monsoon and the trough of a low pressure area, according to the OCD.
The region has received nearly P72 million worth of relief assistance.