Comedienne's brother missing in Olongapo trashslide

Two bodies were recovered in Olongapo City when tons of garbage buried 5 homes following rains brought by Typhoon “Pedring” on Tuesday.

The bodies were recovered Wednesday afternoon, as authorities searched the almost 30-meter-high pile of garbage in Barangay New Cabalan in Olongapo City.

The victims were identified as 26-year-old Lanivie Ganseco and her 1-year-old daughter Shanaia.

Authorities are still looking for 35-year-old Edgardo Doesnt, who is believed to be buried under the pile of garbage.

“Kailangan namin makita. Mahirap isipin na mawawala lang ng ganoon lang,” said Doesnt's mother Evelyn.

Doesnt is a brother of actress Wilma Doesnt.

The trashslide occurred around 9 p.m. on Tuesday, as rains loosened a large mound of garbage at the dumpsite.

“Noong gabi, narinig nalang namin na malakas na ugong. Akala namin may buhawi,” said Rowena delos Santos, one of the residents.

Search operations are still being conducted by the 24th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army, Olongapo police and a rescue team from Barangay New Cabalan.

Local officials have ordered a pre-emptive evacuation in the area, in anticipation of incoming typhoon “Quiel”. -- Report from Pia Gutierrez, ABS-CBN News

Pedring affects 5,000 families in Zambales

Some 5,000 families or more than 25,000 individuals were affected by the onslaught of Typhoon Pedring in the province.

As of September 29, Thursday, the province continued to experience intermittent moderate to heavy rains with gusty winds.

Latest Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) report shows that out of the more than 5,000 families affected, 742 of them are in the different evacuation centers in their areas.

In Botolan town, 118 families or almost 500 individuals are housed in two evacuation centers in town. Evacuees from Barangays Bangan and Capayawan, both coastal barangays, are housed at the Capayawan Elementary School while 75 evacuees from Brgy. Carael are at the Kapuso building in Poblacion.

In the town of Cabangan, 126 families from Barangays Tondo, San Isidro, Arew, Anonang, and Longos have been displaced by the typhoon but all 509 individuals went to their relatives for shelter.

Almost a hundred families from Barangays Sto. Niño and Longos in San Felipe are currently housed at the Sto. Niño Barangay Hall and Longos Elementary School.

More than 40 families in San Antonio town, meanwhile, were displaced by Pedring coming from low-lying barangays of San Juan, Burgos and San Nicolas and are temporarily taking shelter at the San Juan Elementary School and at the DLRC building of the Yangco Elementary School. Some went to their relatives for help.

PDRRMC report also states that Jose Buno, a 45-year old resident of Barangay Lomboy in Cabangan died of drowning while Ernesto Labrador, 57, of Sitio Maligaya, Barangay Maloma, San Felipe is missing.

Wilfredo Baldevicio,36, from Barangay Magsaysay, Castillejos, on the other hand, is now recuperating from injuries he got when a tree fell on him while riding his motorcycle along Barangay Calapacuan in Subic town.

The Risk Reduction Office in the province pegged the damage in agriculture at P48.9 million on almost 3,000 hectares of rice fields.

Sta. Lucia Realty denies causing Subic landslide

A realty firm on Friday denied it had caused the landslide that displaced at least 76 families in Subic, Zambales last Aug. 5.

Sta. Lucia Realty & Development Inc., in a statement, said its findings showed the landslide happened outside the subdivision project it was working on.

The firm issued the statement amid claims that it was to blame for the landslide for building a subdivision in the area at the time of the incident.

“Our findings bear out that the landslide happened outside of the subdivision project of Sta. Lucia Realty," it said, according to a report aired on GMA News’ “24 Oras."

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There was “no indication" its development and construction activities caused the soil erosion that triggered the landslide, the company said.

A week before the landslide, “a magnitude-5.9 quake hit the area, quickly followed by nonstop rains," it said.

“Our findings lead us to conclude that the landslide is a natural disaster," the company added.

Sta. Lucia Realty called for sobriety and fairness and sought the right to due process. “It is simply unjust to charge us... without a fair hearing and presentation of evidence," it said.

In the meantime, it said it will provide aid within its capacity to do so “as a humanitarian effort and as a business operating in good faith within the community." — JE/VS, GMA News

300 homeless in Subic landslide

Sta. Lucia Realty vows compensation

By FRANCO G. REGALA and JONAS REYES - MB.COM.PH

SUBIC, Zambales, Philippines – Three days of heavy rains have left a total of 79 families or 310 individuals homeless as 77 houses were destroyed in landslides and mudflows in Sitio Malinta, Barangay Asinan Proper, here, since Tuesday.

From 24 families recorded affected by the initial landslide triggered by heavy rains last August 2, the number of displaced families climbed Saturday to 79, Capitol official said.

The Zambales Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (ZPDRRMC) said there were two major landslides in the area – the first before dawn on Tuesday and the second around noon last Thursday.

Since rain fell continuously for three days in the area, mudflows also contributed to damaging more houses and forced more families to flee their homes.

Three temporary evacuation centers were set up for the affected families as assistance of food and other basic necessities are being distributed to the evacuees.

These evacuation centers are at the chapel in Sitio Malinta, the Asinan Barangay Hall and the Asinan Senior Citizens Hall.

Rescue teams were deployed in the landslide area to search for seven people initially reported missing after the first landslide. By Thursday afternoon, all of them were located alive and well.

An undetermined number of landslide victims were taken to hospitals in Olongapo City for treatment of wounds and other non-life-threatening injuries.

Rogelio Mansano, 44, one of the victims said the first landslide took them by surprise. “It was raining all night, when suddenly there was this crashing sound. When we went out of the house, dozens of houses were already buried around us.”

“Our house was hit by the second landslide. We were one of around 10 or 15 houses that were buried,” Mansano said.

His neighbor, Estrelita Chuachingco, 58, said they were already alert by the time the second landslide hit their village.

“Once we heard the crashing sound, we all ran out of the house. We saw Roger’s (Mansano’s) house destroyed by the landslide.”

Some of Asinan residents blamed the landslide on Sta. Lucia realty firm, which had changed the landscape of the mountain to develop an area for its memorial garden project.

OLONGAPO GEARS UP FOR NATIONAL DISASTER CONSCIOUSNESS MONTH

The City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CDRRMC) has already lined up activities for the 2011 National Disaster Consciousness Month on July.

Olongapo City Mayor James “Bong” Gordon Jr., together with Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (DRRMO) head Angelito Layug spearheaded preparations for the said event with a theme “PAG-ALERTO, MALAYO SA PELIGRO.”

The local government units (LGUs), private sectors, and the seventeen(17) barangays have joined forces for the upcoming trainings and workshops regarding preparations and response to incidents during rainy season.

In line with this, the CDRRMC will be having radio and television guestings at local stations to convey preventive information for the public and encourage de-clogging and clean-up of drainages to prevent flooding especially barangays that have river banks.

There will be blood typing/blood letting program and Simultaneous Earthquake Safety Drills at private and public schools.

“Pina-iigting natin ang pag-iingat upang maiwasan ang mga sakunang di inaasahan. Sinisikap natin na lagging handa ang lahat ng response teams, lalo na yung mga skilled sa water-related emergencies dahil sa nalalapit ang typhoon season,” remarked Mayor Gordon.

“Kinakailangan din na magkaroon ng information dissemination para sa mamamayan ng Olongapo, tungkulin din ng bawat sambahayan ang paghahanda, said Layug.

It can be recalled that Olongapo has become a Hall of Famer because of its five-time GAWAD KALASAG Award for exemplary and effective disaster response.

TV5 Interviews Mayor Gordon

TV 5 reporter interviews Mayor James “Bong” Gordon, Jr. about Olongapo City’s Contingency Plan and Disaster Preparedness/Disaster Risk Reduction Management Program. The TV 5 crew held their disaster and emergency preparedness exercises at Halfmoon beach resort on October 09-10, 2010.