Major regional roads now open including Halsema: 8 people dead, 7 hurt In Cordi storm wake

By Christian Supnad and Dexter See

BAGUIO CITY – Benguet province and this city were declared under state of calamity following Typhoon Mina even as eight people died, three were missing and presumed drowned while seven others were injured in separate landslide and drowning incidents after the storm hit hard the Cordillera and most parts of northern Luzon.

Most major roads in the Cordillera are now open including the Halsema Highway which was closed earlier following a landslide at km 19 in Tublay, Benguet where a Lizardo Trans bus bound to Baguio from Sagada fell down a 30-foot ravine.

Commuters said nobody was hurt in the accident as the driver and the conductor told passengers to alight after noticing one of the wheels hit a soft spot of the road.

This, as reports said FloroSoliben, was buried alive when a landslide buried a makeshift tent of pocket miners in Mount Emirald, Kias, Itogon, Benguet at the height of the typhoon.

A mountain high pile of garbage cascaded down burying three houses below the Irisan dumpsite in Baguio that resulted to the death of Rebullar Flores, 13 and Apolinario Flores, 10 and injured Franco Flores, 15 and John Flores, 24, all residents of the same place.

Reports said one Antonia Tacio, 68, grandmother of the dead victims and several other individuals were still missing and believed to be buried under the pile of garbage at press time. The search for her body has stopped.

Baguio City Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan has ordered immediate clearing of garbage along the Baguio-Asin Road and the city government is hard pressed on where to dump the garbage as some lowland town officials said they could only accommodate a few tons of garbage in their turf while others didn’t want to.

In Barangay Sto. Tomas Apugan, Baguio, a certain Alex Magno, a resident of the place died after he was reportedly hit by a falling tree while walking along the barangay road at the height of the typhoon.

Meanwhile ApolonioLicupa of Liwan West Rizal, Kalinga was reported to have drowned when he reportedly fell off a wooden bridge.

Dagul Joaquin and Gregorio Padua, both of Dilong, Tubo, Abra were also believed drowned in their place after they went missing.

Also injured were Federico Palacay, 72, a native of Sta. Marcela, Apayao after he was hit by a fallen tree branch.

In Mankayan, Benguet, PiakanMalute and a still unidentified male person were injured after a landslide blocked their path at Tabeo.

They are now undergoing medical supervision at the Pelanto District Hospital.

Caroline Dangbis, 80 and Regina Palawag, 46, both of Coroz, Tublay, Benguet were also reportedly injured when a landslide nearly buried their residence.

Meanwhile, the declaration of Benguet and Baguio under state of calamity
was made by the respective local legislative bodies in separate special meetings called by Domogan and Benguet Gov. Nestor B. Fongwan.

This allows local governments to utilize a portion of their five percent calamity fund for the implementation of several post-disaster projects.

Domogan said part of the city’s calamity funds will be used to address the problems created by the “trash slide” that continues to threaten life in limb in several barangays in that area.

Initially, the city government opened a portion of the 20-meter Asin road which was blocked by a 15-feet high pile of garbage to one way vehicular traffic easing plight of thousands of local residents living in the areas who were stranded for almost three days.

In Benguet, the calamity funds will be used to assist in formulation of appropriate solutions to totally open major roads to vehicular traffic and enhance the delivery of basic services to calamity-stricken victims in the 13 towns.

Fongwan said there was need to open all provincial and national roads to vehicular traffic immediately to prevent shortage of highland vegetables which will eventually send the wrong signal to enterprising smugglers to take advantage of the situation by flooding the markets with smuggled vegetables that could greatly affect the farmers who rely on vegetable farming as their main source of livelihood.