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President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. inspects a quake-damaged building at General Santos City National High School after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake hit Mindanao.
PCO / Released
MANILA, Philippines — The death toll of the devastating 7.-8-magnitude quake off Sarangani is seen to further climb above 50 on the fourth day of response and retrieval operations Thursday, June 11.
The Bureau of Fire Protection on Wednesday said its responders have recovered 53 bodies so far from the operations in the aftermath of the earthquake. The count, however, is still undergoing validation as authorities worked to establish their identities.
"There are already 53 cadavers retrieved, and some of them are for validation because authorities are still determining their identities," Arroyo said in a Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon interview Wednesday.
The number of retrieved bodies is higher than the official figure of 45 fatalities the national disaster risk reduction agency NDRRMC released as of midday Wednesday.
Search and retrieval efforts of the fire bureau are still ongoing in Region 12, with its units from other regions sent to augment local responders.
Arroyo said BFP teams from Region 10, Caraga and the Bangsamoro region also deployed support, with Region 11 sending augmentation to Region 12, which he described as more severely affected.
The agency earlier placed BFP Regions 11 and 12 under Code Red Alert, putting 3,441 personnel in the two regions on full alert for humanitarian, rescue and evacuation operations.
Aftershocks, evacuations
As of Wednesday morning, Arroyo said more than 2,223 aftershocks had been recorded, ranging from magnitude 1.2 to 6.4, based on monitoring by PHIVOLCS.
He said 6,995 individuals were in evacuation areas. Some residents whose houses were not severely affected had been allowed by authorities to return home, while others were staying with relatives.
Four fire stations in Region 12 were also affected by the quake, but responders in the region remained capable of carrying out operations.
Price freeze, presidential visit
The Department of Trade and Industry has imposed a 60-day price freeze on basic necessities in General Santos City after it was placed under a state of calamity due to the quake.
Trade Secretary Cristina Roque said the agency was monitoring prices in affected areas to ensure enough supply and prevent consumers from being abused.
The DTI also made financial assistance available to quake-hit micro, small and medium enterprises through its Enterprise Rehabilitation Fund.
The Department of Health and the local government of Malungon, Sarangani also assured that a resident injured after being hit by a fallen tree would not have to pay hospital bills.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. personally inspected the devastation in General Santos City on Wednesday, and directed agencies to put a focus on health facilities and medical response.
Health Secretary Ted Herbosa, meanwhile, visited the Malungon, Sarangani Provincial Hospital to check on patients and inspect the facility’s structural integrity.
The Department of Labor and Employment has also moved to assist affected workers, with Labor Secretary Francis Tolentino directing the Occupational Safety and Health Center to form a rescue team that would be trained and deployed to emergency zones.
Arroyo reminded schools, establishments and households to conduct structural assessments, hold regular earthquake and evacuation drills, and prepare emergency go bags with first-aid items, water and food that can last at least three days.
