TACLOBAN CITY - The Archbishop of the Palo Diocese, Msgr. Pedro Dean, called on the Catholic faithful not only to offer prayers but also “material things” to the victims of the landslide disaster in St. Bernard, Southern Leyte.
Msgr. Dean, in a telephone interview, expressed his sadness over the incident, saying that this is the time where everyone must do his share in helping the victims.
“We are, of course, very sad about this tragedy because this remind us of Ormoc tragedy that killed so many lives,” the prelate told Leyte Samar Daily Express, referring a tragedy in Ormoc City in 1991 which killed 6,000 people due to flashfloods.
Last Friday at 10 a.m. a landslide hit the village of Guinsaugon, 10 kms away from the town proper, which wiped out all of the more than 300 houses in the village. Government authorities believe that the death toll could reach to as high as more than 1,000, more than 200 of them could be schoolchildren, including teachers, who were buried underneath by the big volumes of mud and boulders which cascaded from the mountain.
“I invite all the Catholic faithful to offer prayers both for the survivors and the victims. I ask our people to also offer material things to the survivors of the incident. I also instructed all the priests in the diocese to help raise funds for the victims,” Dean added.
Last Sunday, Holy Masses were offered to all the victims of the tragedy in all parishes under the Palo Diocese upon the instructions of Dean.
For his part, Leyte Gov. Carlos Jericho Petilla immediately ordered the provincial disaster coordinating council (PDCC) to initiate the mobilization of personnel and resources of the provinces.
Provincial Administrator Vincent Emnas told Express that the province had sent two pay loaders, two dump trucks and two backhoe to the affected village.
He also said that foods, medicines and sanitized water tanks were also delivered to Barangay Guinsaugon. He also said that the governor also provided vehicles to different rescue groups going to Southern Leyte. Petilla also designated the provincial-run hospitals located in Hilongos and Baybay as possible health centers where victims of the landslides could be given medical treatment.
“After the retrieval operations, the governor is also mulling the idea to use a portion of the province calamity fund to donate to Southern Leyte,” Emnas, noting that the main concern now is to retrieved the bodies buried by the landslide, he said. The province has P36 million-calamity fund.
The city government of Tacloban on instruction from Mayor Romuldez also dispatched to Brgy. Guinsaugon 35 rescue members including doctors to help in the search and rescue operations.
Retired Army Major Gen. Glen Rabonza, administrator of the Office of Civil Defense-Manila, in a brief mobile interview, said that President Macapagal-Arroyo has practically mobilized all the resources of the government “to ensure that assistance be given to the victims.”
“The President has ordered that all assistance needed by the victims be given to them either by land, sea and air. The government is here to help them,” Rabonza, former commanding general of the 8th Infantry Division, told Express.
Last Saturday, a 60-strong rescue team from Malaysia arrived at the city’s Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport en route to Southern Leyte. On that same day, 20 members of the Philippine Red Cross rescue team from Manila also arrived to join in the search and rescue operations. All rescue teams were on board separately on a C-130 aircraft.
Marcela Parsartonga, administrator of the PRC-Leyte chapter, said that she personally received calls last Friday evening from their chapters based in Spain, Denmark and Switzerland asking information as to how they could help the victims of the tragedy.
“They promise to send assistance needed by the victims immediately,” she told the Express.
