17 dead in latest Mindanao quakes
Credit to Author: Catherine S. Valente, TMT| Date: Fri, 01 Nov 2019 16:18:34 +0000
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the immediate inspection of all buildings in areas affected by a series of strong earthquakes in Mindanao, as the death toll from the tremors rose to 17.
In a chance interview in Davao City on Thursday night, Duterte said the inspection should start immediately to ensure the safety of the public.
“Well, it is time for the LGUs (local government units) to inspect all, all buildings.
Umpisahan na nila ngayon (They should start now). The earthquake season has come. I don’t know if it will occur again between now and tomorrow,” he added.
“Nobody but nobody can prevent an earthquake to happen. There’s no, there’s no accurate prediction [there]. Walang ano diyan [There’s nothing that can be done there], whether it would come or not. [I think] those who are staying in buildings, structures that are not fit for human habitation, tingnan nilang mabuti (they should take a closer look) because lalo na ‘yung mga may semento (especially those made of cement),” the President said.
Duterte said, “[I]f there are so many cracks and the cracks are really big… [it is] an indication that it is already really an old structure or a structure which was built not in accordance with law.”
“I have to see it to judge whether or not [really] it would not, it is not, it was not built rather to, strong enough to withstand earthquakes,” he added.
The President said he did not want disasters to happen while he was in Thailand for the 35th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit and Related Summits this week.
“Ang problema nito wala ako dito, sa Bangkok ako (The problem is that I would be in Bangkok). So I do not want disasters to happen when I am not around. Not, not just for anything. Ano lang (It’s only), just to be here and do what you can do for your countrymen,” he added.
Duterte was scheduled to leave for Bangkok on Friday.
The President has designated Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea as officer in charge while he is abroad.
Duterte, who is in Davao City, was among those who felt the magnitude 6.5 temblor that rocked Cotabato and neighboring areas on Thursday morning.
The latest quake fueled more panic and fears as the region is yet to recover from two other powerful quakes earlier this month.
The tectonic tremor struck 33 kilometers northeast of Tulunan town, also the epicenter of Tuesday’s magnitude 6.6 quake and a magnitude 6.6 temblor on October 16.
The massive damage to infrastructure convinced Malacañang that it was “high time” to amend Republic Act (RA) 6541 or the National Building Code of the Philippines.
Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said he was optimistic that
Congress would pass a measure that would introduce amendments to Republic Act 6541 or the “National Building Code of the Philippines.”
“We are also calling on the legislature to amend the National Building Code to avoid further structural danger during natural disasters,” Andanar added in a statement on Thursday.
“It’s high time to revamp and tighten this outdated law as its current framework is very lax. Let us not wait for a disaster to happen before we become strict in granting building permits,” he said.
State of calamity
After the two earthquakes this week, authorities have raised the alert status, while the provincial government of Cotabato declared a state of calamity in the province.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), in its situation report on Friday, said the declaration of the status was intended for its personnel to coordinate response efforts in the regions of Northern Mindanao, Davao, Soccsksargen (South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and General Santos City) and other areas greatly affected by the earthquakes.
This is the third time that the whole province declared a state of calamity, according to Cotabato Gov. Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza
The two declarations were caused by a recent dengue outbreak and the expected El Niño season, meaning that the province can tap emergency funds for further assistance to affected persons and repair of damaged infrastructure.
“There is no problem if we just declare [a state of emergency] again so this will be our third declaration already. The first quarter [was caused by] El Niño and third quarter by the dengue outbreak,” Mendoza said in an interview over radio DZMM.
She added the declaration was also intended for proper accounting of the provincial government, citing that they still have to comply with the procurement process of the Commission on Audit.
The island of Mindanao has been hit by three strong quakes in October, two of which happened on Tuesday and Thursday.
Death toll at 17
The NDRRMC said the number of people who died in the magnitude 6.6 and 6.5 earthquake has reached 17.
The additional fatality from Thursday’s earthquake was identified as Lito Peles Mino, 59, from Sitio Musak, Barangay Sinapulan in Columbio, Sultan Kudarat.
Authorities reported that the victim died in a deadly rockslide caused by the recent quake.
As for Tuesday’s quake, the death toll has risen to 11, with the latest fatality being identified as Romulo Naraga from Bansalan, Davao del Sur.
The victim was reported to have died of cardiac arrest.
The NDRRMC, however, did not include the fatality from Digos City, Davao del Sur, which was earlier mentioned by local officials to have also died because of cardiac arrest during the earthquake on Tuesday.
The NDRRMC has also wrapped up all injuries from the earthquake this Tuesday and the next one this Thursday, having a total of 403 wounded persons who experienced the powerful tremors.
Of the 403 injured, 373 were from Soccsksargen, 14 from Northern Mindanao and 16 from Davao Region.
Two person remain missing in Magsaysay, Davao del Sur after a landslide on Tuesday.
New quakes
A magnitude 5.0 and a magnitude 4.2 earthquakes shook Cotabato province, while a magnitude 5.5 tremor was felt in Sarangani province early Friday, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.
Phivolcs located the epicenter of the 5.0-earthquake at 18 kilometers southeast of Makilala, Cotabato at 2:07 p.m.
It was a tectonic tremor and had a shallow depth of 2 kilometers from the surface.
In an interview on Friday, Phivolcs Director Renato Solidum said the movement in the Cotabato fault system caused the latest series of earthquakes and aftershocks in Southern Mindanao.
On the other hand, the 5.5- magnitude quake was located at 334 kilometers southeast of Sarangani and Davao Occidental at 10:33 a.m, while the 4.2-magnitude tremor was recorded at 25 kilometers northeast of Tulunan, Cotabato at 7:18 a.m.
In a televsion interview, Ishmael Narag of Philvocs assured that the quake would not have a significant effect on Mindanao.
“This event is totally independent of what is happening right now in Cotabato,” he said.
Narag explained that the quake was “more related to the subduction of the Philippine Trench in the area.”
No tsunami is expected to hit Sarangani, he said.
Aftershocks are expected to he felt in the areas affected by the latest quakes, according to Phivolcs.
Meanwhile, the United States and France also on Friday cautioned their respective citizens living in Mindanao to take extra precaution over the series of quakes in the southern region.
“US citizens in the area please contact your family/friends,” the US Embassy in Manila said in its Twitter post on Friday.
On a separate Twitter post, US Ambassador to Manila Sung Kim offered “our sincerest condolendes to the victims of yesterday’s (October 29) earthquake in Mindanao.”
“To those in affected communities, please stay safe and know that our thoughts and prayers are with you,” Kim said.
On its Facebook page, the French Embassy called on its citizens in Mindanao “to check their state of preparation” against earthquakes.
On its Twitter page, the embassy in Manila also reminded French citizens in Mindanao “of the safety instructions to follow in the event of an earthquake.”
In a separate statement, Japanese Ambassador to Manila Koji Haneda also offered condolences and sympathies to the families of the quake victims.
“As an earthquake-prone country, Japan fully understands the hardship caused by such natural disasters. We stand in solidarity with the government and the people of the Philippines,” Haneda said.
The Department of Foreign Affairs also on Friday said it was yet to receive offers of assistance from the international community to help the earthquake victims.
“There will probably be some messages of sympathy coming in. Our offices are monitoring these,” Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Ed Meñez said.
“Offers of assistance usually occur if there is a request made by the affected country or the magnitude of the damage and casualties seem to be beyond the national capacity to respond, but there may also be some offers made regardless,” Meñez added.
With a reports from DEMPSEY REYES, FRANZ EMBUDO, BERNADETTE TAMAYO AND DARWIN PESCO