Jose Ma Panganiban

Search on; evacuees still in centers

Rescue teams in various parts of Luzon are scouring coastal waters and rivers for at least 17 persons still missing and feared to have been swept away by strong currents unleashed by Tropical Depression “Falcon.”

The heavy rains have let up but tens of thousands of people remain in evacuation centers as floodwaters linger in low-lying villages, disaster coordinating officials said.

In the Cordillera, reports from the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) said rescue teams and volunteers started scouring the Chico River in Sadanga, Mt. Province, for Vicente Yossayos, 57, a resident of Barangay Poblacion, who was feared to have been swept away by a strong current on Saturday noon.

The OCD in Central Luzon placed two persons on its list of missing—Fedelito Muaña Jr., 14, of Olongapo City, and Glen Villarmino, 22 of Marilao, Bulacan.

In southern Luzon, four fishermen reported missing since Thursday in the town of Jose Panganiban in Camarines Norte were found alive on Saturday on an islet off the neighboring town of Paracale but 14 others are still missing.

Rescue teams are looking for three other fishermen in Vinzons, Camarines Sur, nine fishermen in Catanduanes, a woman in Ligao City and a 3-year-old child in Golden City Subdivision in Sta Rosa, Laguna.

Villages still flooded

Evacuations were still ongoing on Sunday in Pangasinan. Flash floods forced residents of three villages in Aguilar, four in Bugallon, four in Alaminos City and one in Mabini town out of their homes, according to the provincial disaster council.

In Central Luzon, the strong rains eased on Sunday but left 251 villages in Zambales, Pampanga, Bulacan, Bataan and Cabanatuan City flooded, OCD reports said.

Officials declared Dinalupihan in Bataan and the City of Meycauayan in Bulacan under a state of calamity due to heavy flooding.

The OCD said the floods affected 76,337 families or 349,307 people, with the number of evacuees rising to 34,005, at least 29,006 of them from Bulacan.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development counted 7,300 families in evacuation centers in the National Capital Region, 6,000 in Region III, 3,000 in Region IV and 100 in Region V.

The Bulacan evacuees from 16 of 21 affected towns and three cities began returning to their homes Sunday as floodwaters started to recede.

Damage to roads, dikes

Some dikes were reported damaged and several major highways were made impassable by floods or landslides.

Ludovico and Tomas Arejola « Dagos po sa Maogmang Naga

Bicol Mail

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER FOR TWO UNSUNG HEROES

EDITOR’S NOTES: After so much debate generated following a proposal to erect a monument in one of Naga’s strategic spots at the old business district, a group of well-meaning citizens came to a dinner-meeting with City Mayor John Bongat last 27 March 2011 to discuss what appropriate landmark to build on that busy corner along P. Burgos and Gen. Luna Streets. Within the group is a columnist-lawyer, a historian, a member of the local chamber of commerce and industry, a keen observer of events happening in the city, the editor-in-chief of this paper, another columnist of this same paper, and two members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod who chair the city council’s arts, culture and tourism committees. City Planning and Development Officer Willy Prilles, who first presented a draft design of an obelisk-type monument, was invited to attend the meeting but could not make it because he was on his way for an official travel to Singapore. He stressed, however, that his proposal, albeit the resultant debates, “was not carved in stone,” such that any idea, constructive criticism, suggestions, or improvement on the proposal would be most welcome. Impulsive, passionate, sharp-tongued, and sometimes sentimental but not visceral in their arguments, rebuffs and rebuttals, the members of the group finally came with a consensus that a monument be constructed at that important spot, in honor of Naga’s patriotic and yet less heralded revolutionary native sons – the Arejola brothers. The group decided to draft and submit a formal petition to the Sanggunian and the Office of the City Mayor for their consideration and approval. Meanwhile, Mr. Barrameda, a member of the group, volunteers to give this profile of introduction to the two distinguished brothers for the public to know and understand the wisdom of honoring our heroes.