Thick fog hinders relief as Mountain Province victims call for help

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya – Army officials appealed to victims of Typhoon Pepeng in Mountain Province for patience amid foggy weather conditions encountered by members of the Army’s 502nd Infantry Brigade, even as hard-hit Tadian town appealed for urgent aid to landslide victims. Talking to GMANews.TV, Lt. Col. Leo Santos said that their relief and retrieval operations have been continuously hampered due to inclement weather conditions. He said their operation along the mountainous towns and villages affected by Typhoon Pepeng have become limited due to thick fog that engulfs the area even early in the day. “Hindi namin nama-maximize ang operations effort namin kasi alas onse pa lang ng umaga makapal na ang hamog. Alas syete hanggang alas onse lang kami nakakakilos kaya humihingi muna kami ng pasensya sa mga taga Mountain Province. Huwag silang mag-alala kasi tuloy-tuloy naman ito," he said. (We can’t maximize our operations effort because of the heavy fog even if it’s only 11 in the morning. We can only work from 7:00 to 11:00, so we ask for understanding from the people of Mountain Province. They should not worry because our efforts will be continuous.) “Our personnel are in the area along with members of the Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council. We also brought in tracking dogs because there are still bodies buried in mud," he added. A whole village composed of 23 houses in sitio Bulala, barangay Kayan East, Tadian town was buried in rampaging mud and rock Thursday October 8 when the entire mountain slope above the village collapsed. As of Monday October 12, rescuers had retrieved 41 dead and three injured while six are still missing. In nearby Bunga village, a separate landslide on Thursday killed three family members while two survived.

Nine evacuees took refuge at Kayan Elementary School and another 10 families evacuated with their relatives in Kayan West, also in Tadian. Kayan East officials and church leaders of Tadian appealed for urgent delivery of food and medicine to the victims of the landslide. A newspaper report earlier said the Department of Environment and Natural Resources is looking at a 15-hectare site in sitio Agadangan in Kayan West as a permanent relocation site for the landslide survivors. Interviewed by GMANews.TV, 502nd Brigade commanding officer Brig. Gen. Romeo Fajardo said access to Mountain Province by land remained formidable due to numerous landslides. He said relief groups could reach the disaster site by air transport, but for those traveling by land they have to pass through Bagabag in Nueva Vizcaya then follow the mountain route to Bontoc via Banaue in Ifugao. From Bagabag, travel time takes about eight to ten hours with some hiking in between. Mountain Province has become isolated due to landslides leading to major road closures on the Halsema Highway, Ilocos Sur-Mountain Province Road, Bontoc-Banaue Road, and Bontoc–Tabuk Road, according to the Cordillera Regional Disaster Coordinating Council. - Floro Taguinod, GMANews.TV with a report from Arthur Allad-iw