Hopes are fast fading that 13 local fishermen who were reported missing in turbulent seas last week are still alive.
Search operations have already been halted, Maasim Mayor Arturo Lawa told the Inquirer.
“What more can we do? We’ve done our best efforts to search and rescue them. All we can do at the moment is to help their families cope with the hardship, including the pain of losing them,” Lawa said.
Heavy monsoon rains spawned sea surges in coastal villages and brought floods in towns and cities in Sarangani and four other provinces in Central Mindanao last week.
In Sultan Kudarat province, at least 2,600 families were dislocated by floods and landslides in 11 of the 15 villages in Kalamansig town, according to its mayor, Rolando Garcia.
Damage to infrastructure, properties and crops was placed at P10 million.
Henry Albano, provincial social welfare officer, said the coastal town of Lebak was also flooded.
Relief goods were being distributed to the calamity areas in the province, Albano said.
Twelve of the missing Sarangani fishermen are from Maasin and the other one is from General Santos City.
“The families, including us in the local government, are losing hope they are still alive. It has been six days already since the time they were reported missing,” Lawa said.
Residents in nearby Glan town, also in Sarangani, and Jose Abad Santos town in Davao Del Sur, were asked to immediately report any survivor found along the shorelines. Aquiles Z. Zonio, Inquirer Mindanao