Paeng death toll in W. Visayas now at 33

By Jennifer P. Rendon

As Tropical Storm Paeng pummeled the region with heavy rains on October 28, a 29-year-old farmer went missing after crossing a river in Passi City, Iloilo.

Five days after, the body of Sandy Ardaña was found floating in the river in Barangay Alimono, Passi City, some 100 meters from where he was reported missing.

His body was already in the advanced state of decomposition.

Based on the report from the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC)-6’s Management of Dead and Missing, Ardaña is one of the 33 fatalities following Paeng’s onslaught.

Records showed that Antique province logged the most number of deaths at 11.

Iloilo has eight deaths while the provinces of Aklan and Capiz have 7 deaths each.

Majority of those who died drowned while others died in landslides in Aklan and Iloilo.

On the other hand, two elderly persons from Antique succumbed to cardiac arrest while one died from electrocution in Aklan.

But the number of deaths could still increase as the RDRRMC-6 recorded nine missing persons.

Antique reported six missing persons while one each in Aklan, Antique, and Negros Occidental.

The Office of Civil Defense 6 has earlier clarified that it’s the MDM that will officially declare a person dead as a result of the calamity.

For a person to be declared as confirmed dead, the incident must have been booked at the local police, certified by the local health authority, and reported by the local disaster risk reduction and management office.