Philippine floods death toll up to 150

Manila (dpa) - Rescuers said Tuesday chances of finding more survivors from a collapsed residential subdivision east of Manila were already ''very slim'' as the death toll from the Philippines' worst rains in 25 years reached 150.

At least 19 more residents of the Cherry Hill subdivision in the mountainous city of Antipolo, Rizal province, east of Manila, are still missing.

While hundreds of rescuers from the military and other civic groups continued to manually sift through soil, boulders, collapsed concrete walls and twisted steel, officials acknowledged the grim possibility those missing are already dead.

''We have exhausted all means to determine if there are survivors or not, but it's still negative,'' said General Nestor Castillo, chairman of the military's Task Force Cherry Hills.

Fifty-two bodies have so far been recovered from the rubble of 160 houses buried in a landslide in Cherry Hills August 4.

The last four bodies recovered on the sixth straight day of rescue operations included the decomposing body of an eight-year-old boy, according to the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC).

On Sunday, rescuers stopped the use of machines for one hour to allow family members of the 19 missing residents to go near their ruined houses and call out the names of their relatives.

Officials hoped buried victims would awaken and shout for help when they hear the voices of their kin.

''But no sound came out,'' Castillo said. A committee, composed of representatives of the military rescue team, homeowners and the city government, was formed Tuesday to recommend the termination of the search and rescue operations, Castillo said.

''The committee is set to finalize within the week its recommendation as to when the rescue operation will be terminated,'' he said.

A presidential probe team on Monday recommended the filing of criminal charges against the developer of Cherry Hills, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board for the tragedy.

Jesus Crispin Remulla, head of the probe team, noted Philjas Corporation, a joint venture between Filipino and Japanese businessmen, may be liable for the accident since it proceeded with the project despite knowing ''there was a problem in the area''.

Remulla also blamed the two government agencies, which may have relaxed policies and regulations in issuing building permits and an environmental clearance to Philjas.

Manila and five surrounding northern provinces were battered by continuous monsoon rains since August 1, causing massive flooding of nearly four metres in some areas and landslides.

More than 2 million people were affected by the torrents, which destroyed more than 7,000 houses and 1.15 billion pesos (30 million dollars) worth of agricultural products, government infrastructure and private properties, the NDCC said.

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Copyright (c) 1999 dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH
Received by NewsEdge Insight: 08/10/1999 03:03:48