Marcos declares national state of calamity

MANILA, Philippines, November 7 ------ With the death toll from Typhoon Tino hitting 142 and Cebu and parts of Negros struggling to recover, President Marcos declared a state of national calamity. “Because of the scope of problem areas that have been hit by Tino and will be hit by Uwan, there was a proposal from the NDRRMC, which I approved, that we will declare a national calamity,” Marcos said in a chance interview following the situation briefing at the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.

Marcos noted that 10 to 12 regions were affected by Tino and the declaration of a national calamity would allow the government to immediately provide assistance to the victims of the typhoons. “That gives us quicker access to some of the emergency funds…(and) second, our procurement will be accelerated so we don’t have to go through the usual bureaucratic procedures,” he said.

The President was briefed on the initial response to Tino. “It hit Cebu really hard – actually, Regions 6, 7, 8, Mimaropa, reaching the Negros Island Region. Tino crossed and its damage was heavy,” Marcos said. Typhoon Tino (international name Kalmaegi) has killed at least 142 people and left another 127 missing after unleashing devastating flooding across the central Philippines, figures showed on Thursday, as the storm headed towards Vietnam.

The typhoon is so far the globe’s deadliest of 2025, according to disaster database EM-DAT. Severe Tropical Storm Kristine (international name Trami), also in the Philippines, was last year’s third-deadliest typhoon with 191 fatalities. Floodwaters described as unprecedented rushed through Cebu province’s towns and cities this week, sweeping away cars, riverside shanties and even massive shipping containers.

The national civil defense office on Thursday confirmed 114 deaths, though that tally did not include an additional 28 recorded by Cebu provincial authorities. More than 500,000 Filipinos remain displaced. In Liloan, a town near Cebu City where 35 bodies have been recovered, AFP reporters saw cars piled atop each other by floodwaters and roofs torn off buildings as residents attempted to dig out of the mud. While some other sources are reporting higher numbers, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) and the NDRRMC’s official number of fatalities remained at 114 yesterday afternoon.

The reported deaths include 71 in Cebu, 18 in Negros Occidental, 12 in Negros Oriental, and six in Agusan del Sur where a Philippine Air Force (PAF) Super Huey helicopter crash killed its pilot and crew members, two deaths in Southern Leyte, and one each for Antique, Capiz, Iloilo, Bohol and Leyte. Meanwhile, the official number for missing persons stood at 127, covering 65 in Cebu and 62 in Negros Occidental.

OCD-NDRRMC figures also reported 82 injuries including 69 in Cebu, seven in Negros Occidental, two each in Leyte and Surigao del Norte, and one each for Southern Leyte and Surigao del Sur. Meanwhile, the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CCDRRMO) as of 9 a.m. on Thursday recorded 17 deaths, up from the 12 fatalities listed the day before. Negros Occidental is now in a state of calamity, as fatalities have risen to 44 with 53 still missing, following recommendation made by the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, which was unanimously approved by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan during its special session on Wednesday.

In Western Visayas, Typhoon Tino did not cause major destruction but has claimed four lives and displaced 263,584 families. President Marcos said the government is monitoring another (typhoon), “which has the potential to be stronger, and it will be named Uwan, so we are also preparing for that.”

P760 million aid

Marcos provided at least P760 million financial assistance to areas devastated by Typhoon Tino, according to Malacañang. At a press conference, Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said that of the total amount, the local governments of Cebu, Capiz, Surigao del Norte, Iloilo, Bohol and Negros Occidental will receive P50 million each. Castro added that Eastern Samar, Surigao del Sur, Southern Leyte, Antique and Aklan will receive P40 million each; while Leyte and Masbate will receive P30 million each; and Guimaras, Agusan del Norte and Dinagat Islands will receive P20 million each.

Meanwhile, Castro said Biliran, Camarines Sur, Sorsogon, Misamis Oriental, Negros Oriental and Palawan will also receive P10 million each. Also provided financial as assistance of P5 million each are Albay, Romblon, Batangas, Northern Samar, Siquijor, Quezon Province, Samar, Agusan del Sur, Laguna, Zamboanga City, Manila, Camiguin, Occidental Mindoro, Camarines Norte, Zamboanga del Norte and Iligan City.

2 million affected

Nearly two million people were affected and displaced by Typhoon Tino’s heavy rains and massive flooding in various parts of Visayas and Mindanao, according to the NDRRMC, adding that over a thousand houses were also damaged in three regions alone. As of yesterday, latest data show that Typhoon Tino affected a total of 544,081 families or 1,951,546 individuals mostly in Western Visayas, the Caraga Region, Eastern Visayas and Central Visayas. Also affected were various provinces and localities in the Negros Island Region, the Bicol Region, Mimaropa and Calabarzon. More than 100 families affected by the onslaught of Typhoon Tino are currently staying in the Bayanihan Vil lage in Barangay Poblacion, San Remigio town in Cebu where modular housing units were earlier set up by the Department of Human Settle ments and Urban Development for the victims of recent earthquake.

Source: philstar.com