66 dead, 66 still missing in CAR due to Ompong —Tolentino

The death toll in the Cordillera Autonomous Region due to Typhoon Ompong's onslaught has risen to 66, while 66 others remain missing, presidential political adviser and Typhoon Ompong point person Francis Tolentino said Wednesday.

In an interview on CNN Philippines, Tolentino said the 66 confirmed fatalities were recorded in Benguet (48), Baguio (11), Kalinga (1) and Mountain Province (6).

The numbers grew from the 54 deaths Tolentino reported as of Sunday night.

Aside from the increased death toll in CAR, Tolentino also mentioned several fatalities reported from other areas including Ilocos provinces, Cagayan, Pangasinan and the Pasig River, which he said would bring the count to a "running total" of 74.

Meanwhile, a separate report on News-to-Go on Wednesday said a total of 19 bodies have been recovered from the landslide-hit area in Itogon, Benguet as of Tuesday evening.

After almost four days of search since Typhoon Ondoy's fierce rains and winds tore through Northern Luzon on Saturday, Tolentino said in the television interview that efforts to look for possible survivors continue.

"We still consider this as rescue operations, we're not considering this as retrieval operations kasi nainiwala ako na baka may buhay pa," he said. — Margaret Claire Layug/MDM, GMA News