Cavite, Laguna residents await rescue and relief

Three days after the deluge caused by tropical storm ‘Ondoy,’ residents of some barangays in Cavite and Laguna still await rescue and relief. Concerned citizens from the areas report that the situation in their towns has not changed since last Saturday’s onslaught. Maryvel Casing, a resident of Imus, Cavite, reported through GMANews.TV’s Bagyong ‘Ondoy’ thread on Facebook that the local government has not fixed a broken creek barrier in their area. "Wala pang ginagawang aksyon, nakatiwangwang pa din ang bumigay na bakod sa Sheltertown Subdivision, Buhay na Tubig (No action has been done yet. The creek barrier is left unrepaired here in Sheltertown Subdivision, Buhay na Tubig)," she said. Kheizy Cortez, a resident from Laguna, also reported that four barangays in the capital town of Sta. Cruz is still submerged in flood. "There are no changes since Ondoy struck last Saturday. Sana po matulungan niyo rin po ang mga kababayan namin dito (I hope you can also help our kababayan here)," she said. But in a phone interview with GMANews.TV, Red Cross Laguna Chapter Administrator Rudellyn Cabutin said that their Red Cross chapter, along with the local government of Sta. Cruz, Laguna, has been administering relief operations in the area since Sunday. "The local government unit tried to evacuate some of the residents in affected areas, but many of them did not want to leave their homes," she said. Instead of evacuating the affected families, Cabutin said that they just bring relief goods and monitor the situation. "If it worsens, we’re ready to take action." State of calamity On Saturday, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro placed Metro Manila and 25 other provinces, including Cavite and Laguna, under a state of calamity. [See: Metro Manila, 25 provinces placed under state of calamity] But some Facebook users also complain that areas outside Metro Manila and Rizal are not given enough attention by the media and are not reached by rescue operations. Chie Cristobal said on her thread post: “We are still flooded! Hindi gaano media coverage sa Taguig, towns along Laguna Lake lubog pa sa baha! Sa loob ng house ko kalahati ng binti, sa labas waist deep. Laguna Lake na din ang village namin." (sic) (“We are still flooded! There is not much media coverage in Taguig and towns along Laguna Lake that are still submerged in flood. Inside our house, the flood reaches one’s leg and outside, the flood is waist deep. Our village is also a Laguna Lake.") Cabutin, however, said that areas near the Laguna Lake (also known as Laguna de Bay) are really prone to flooding and the best they can do is to bring relief goods to stranded families and to be prepared for the coming typhoons. NDCC tally “Areas near Laguna de Bay are really prone to floods, lalu ngayon na high tide (especially now that the tide is high)," she said. “We’re expecting that the flood will subside once the tide is low." According to a National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) update as of 6 a.m. Monday, a total of five people in Laguna and two others in Cavite were killed when Ondoy battered Metro Manila and nearby provinces on Saturday. One person from Sta. Cruz, Laguna was also injured. In the latest tally, the nationwide death toll from tropical storm 'Ondoy' rose to 240 as of Tuesday morning. [See: ‘Ondoy’ death toll rises to 240; new cyclone to enter RP]