PAVIA, ILOILO -- Sen. Richard Gordon, chair of the Philippine National Red Cross, called on government agencies Sunday to refocus relief and rehabilitation efforts on areas ravaged by typhoon "Frank," instead of concentrating on the retrieval of the sunken MV Princess of the Stars off Romblon.

"More attention should be given to the living… to those we can help and save," said Gordon in an interview at the sidelines of the launching of a mass water Emergency Response Unit donated by the Swedish Red Cross here.

While he said efforts should be hastened to recover the remains of the missing victims and salvage the vessel, Gordon said more help should be given to the tens of thousands of victims who have been suffering on the island of Panay, Cadiz City in Negros Occidental, Cotabato, Romblon and other worse-hit areas.

He said the sunken vessel should be resurfaced the soonest and government should not take any option that would take five months.

Gordon said that while government appeared to be trying its best, the National Disaster Coordinating Council should give priority to fishermen whose boats were destroyed and other victims left homeless and without food and livelihood.

"The aid that we are getting is not that significant because the nation's attention is focused on the drama of the sunken ship," he said.

The provinces of Iloilo and Aklan are the hardest hit by the typhoon that triggered the worst ever flooding and mudflow experienced in the region. The death toll was highest and the destruction of properties the most extensive in these two provinces, which have not returned to normal three weeks after the onslaught of the typhoon.

The Office of Civil Defense reported that at least 342 persons died during the typhoon in Western Visayas region alone. Around 290 are still missing and 886 were injured. The flooding affected around 2,545 villages and 417,399 families or 2,094,105 persons. At least 50,571 houses were destroyed and another 101,080 others damaged.

Gordon said the typhoon victims still needed food, shelter and potable water.

The $500,000-water sanitation is intended to provide potable water to Pavia town, the worst-flooded in Iloilo with around 89 percent of its population affected by the flooding.

The facility can hold and process 600 cubic meters of water daily and can supply drinking water to around 40,000 people daily.

Pavia Mayor Arcadio Gorriceta said that aside from supplying water to the town's 18 villages, the facility would also help provide water to residents of neighboring Iloilo City and the towns of Leganes and Sta. Barbara, which were lost their water supply after floodwaters damaged major water pipe systems.

The water would be sourced from the Aganan River and would be distributed by water tanks to the villages, said Gorriceta.

Gordon said the PNRC was set to help up to 5,000 households rebuild homes or relocate. Around 750 units will be built in Iloilo.

"We need to go into the rehabilitation mode (so that the victims will not be dependent on dole outs)," he said.

The supply of potable water has become a major concern as health officials confront the possible outbreak of water-borne diseases especially in flooded areas.

The Department of Health has reported 117 cases of typhoid fever and 85 suspected cases of leptospirosis in Western Visayas from the period of June 25 to July 9 alone.

Dr. Glenn Alonsabe, chief epidemiologist of the DOH-Western Visayas Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit, said they expected the number of cases to rise because many areas were still flooded or covered in mud.

Out of the 85 suspected cases of leptospirosis, 49 were recorded in Aklan, 21 in Iloilo City and 12 in Iloilo province.

Alonsabe said in a telephone interview that eight persons died from suspected leptospirosis, five in Aklan, two in Iloilo City and one in Iloilo province while a person died in Aklan due to typhoid fever.

The number of leptospirosis cases reported in the two-week period after the typhoon was already near the 114 cases recorded for the whole of 2007, he said.

Alonsabe called on residents and local officials to institute precautionary measures like avoiding wading in flooded areas or for people with open wounds to use rubber boots.

He said residents with symptoms of the flu, like fever, body pains and headache, should also go to the nearest health facility to be examined because these were some of the symptoms of leptospirosis, which could be acquired by getting in contact with water contaminated with animal waste.

Residents are also advised to be careful in preparing their food and to wash their hands thoroughly before eating.