Death toll in Maguindanao: 44, not 67

COTABATO  CITY (MindaNews / 30 October) —  The death toll in Maguindanao del Norte in the aftermath of tropical storm Paeng was reported to have risen to 67 as of 9 p.m. Friday but on Saturday morning, the figure suddenly dropped to 40 and rose to 44 on Sunday morning as four more were reported.

The  number 67 was contained in  Situation Report 2 issued at 9 pm on Friday, October 28 by Bangsamoro READi (Rapid Emergency Action on Disaster Incidence), It said the death toll in Datu Odin Sinsuat, where a landslide struck, was 50, with 31 injured and five missing; in Datu Blah Sinsuat, ten and in Upi, Maguindanao, seven, with six reported missing. 

^{Residents carry the remains, wrapped in blanket. of one of those who were buried by a landslide in Kushiong, Dupi in Maguindanao on 28 October 2022. Photo courtesy of BFP-BARMM}

But in Situation Report No. 3 issued at 6 p.m  on Saturday, October 29, but released at 11 p.m., the death toll was only 40 with 27 in Datu Odin Sinsuat, six in Upi, five in Datu Blah Sinsuat and two in Barira.  Thirty-one were injured in Datu Odin Sinsuat while seven were reported missing in Datu Blah Sinsuat, four in Datu Odin Sinsuat, two in  Upi and two in Barira. 

By Sunday morning, the number would rise to 44 as four more were reported.

SitRep 3 noted that the 67 cited in SitRep 2 was “a result of mistakes in the consolidation of reports from the field and reports of Rescue Teams.”

“We are correcting that in this SitRep after we reconciled with other sources of data from the ground,” it said. 

SitRep 3 also said they have set up an Incident Management Post in Barangay Kusiong, Datu Odin Sinsuat with an officer from the Army’s 6^th Infantry Division serving as Incident Commander. “This way, source of data will only be from the ICP for the SRR (Search, Rescue and Retrieval Operations) in Barangay Kusiong.”

SitRep 2 place the total affected at 115,437 families or 572,185 individuals in 126 barangays in Maguindanao and Cotabato City. SitRep3 recorded 182,1263 families in Maguindanao, Cotabato City, Lanao del Sur and in the Special Geographic Area’s Midsyaap, Pigcawayan and Pikit clusters, or a total of 578,258 individuals. (MindaNews)