The President, who in her Christmas message expressed hope that the nation shall survive the Leyte landslide tragedy, issued the directive as she personally visited the barangays that were badly hit by the mudslides and flashfloods that took the lives of some 200 individuals and caused property damage in the south.

"We are taking measures to mitigate the immediate effects of the calamity and we are looking at the need for longterm prevention. The celebration of Christmas takes a back-seat for many rescue and humanitarian workers who will continue day and night to perform their duties," she said.

Government figures showed that the calamity has left 77 people dead, 20 injured and 123 missing. Sixty-one of the fatalities were in Southern Leyte where 10 individuals were injured and 114 other missing. Other victims were in the Caraga, Region 10 and 11 which has 16 fatalities, 10 injured and nine missing.

Towards this end, the Chief Executive also directed all concerned government agencies to make themselves and their resources readily available at the disposal of the government rescue and relief operations team, led by the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC).

"I am mobilizing all the available resources of the government to bear upon this disaster and I call upon our people to open up their compassion and generosity to the victims," she said, appealing to them to "share their blessings" with the families adversely affected by the Leyte mudslides and floods.

In her Christmas message, Mrs. Arroyo expressed optimism that the Filipino people shall once more survive the disaster the nation is facing, notably in consonance with the international celebration of the birth of Jesus on Christmas Day.

"Ganyan ang pagkatao natin. Matibay sa harap ng kahirapan. Taas-noo sa harap ng pagsubok. Ngayong Pasko, ang ipinagdarasal ko ay tulad din ng dasal ninyo. . . pagkakaisa tungo sa mas maliwanag na kinabukasan," she said in a televised message.

The President also asked the Filipino people to help the various fund drives that some quarters are raising for the benefit of the survivors and affected families of the Leyte disaster, appealing to their sense of generosity and compassion.

"This is a time of compassion, charity and sharing. I ask the people to support the various fund drives aiming to raise assistance for the victims and the dislocated (families)," Mrs. Arroyo said.

Bleakest Christmas

President Arroyo yesterday put on a brave face for the Filipino nation in what could be the bleakest Christmas season in the country following a series of landslides, floods, and maritime accidents triggered by heavy rains last weekend.

In her Christmas message, the President expressed confidence the Filipinos would survive the latest pre-Christmas disasters which have left more than 200 people dead or missing.

"Nababalot man ngayon ang mundo sa krisis at terorismo, may isang katotohanan na hinding-hindi maipagkakaila; makakaraos at makakaraos tayong mga Pilipino," she said.

The President said the Filipinos are known to be strong-willed who never yield to any difficulties that befall their way.

"Ganyan ang pagkatao natin. Matibay sa harap ng kahirapan. Taas-noo sa harap ng pagsubok," she said.

This Christmas, the President said she prays for national unity towards a better and brighter future for the Philippines.

"Ang pinakamagandang pamasko natin para sa mahal nating bayan: magsama-sama, magtulung-tulong tayo. At umaasa kayong ang liwanag ng Pasko ay higit na titingkad sa mga darating na araw," she said.

As the nation prepares for Christmas, rescuers continue to scour the muddy slopes of Southern Leyte to recover landslide victims as well as patrol stormy seas elsewhere to look for survivors from maritime accidents.

Last weekend, heavy rains unleashed massive mudslides and flash floods in Southern Leyte and nearby provinces, killing more than a hundred persons and displacing thousands of families from their homes.

A Malaysian cargo ship rescued 20 passengers and crew of the 63-ton Filipino ferry Piary, which sunk in stormy seas off near Palawan last Sunday. At least 48 people were still reported missing.

Disaster officials said 12 crew members from two fishing boats were rescued off Polillo island while at least five crewmembers of three other fishing vessels in the area have been missing since Saturday.

Despite the bad weather, the President yesterday visited the landslide victims in Southern Leyte and monitored the relief operations in the calamity areas.

As part of their annual tradition, the President and her family are expected to motor to Baguio City to spend the Christmas holidays. (Genalyn D. Kabiling)

Rescue operations

President Arroyo assured the speedy rescue operations for the missing crew and passengers of the M/L Piary, which sank in stormy seas off the western island of Palawan last Sunday.

In a statement, the President said rescue efforts for the passengers, who remain missing, are still ongoing.

"We would like to assure the families of the passengers of the ill-fated vessel that the Philippine Coast Guard, the Philippine Navy, and other concerned government agencies are exerting all efforts to ensure that all the passengers are accounted for," she said in a statement.

A Malaysian cargo ship rescued 20 survivors of the 63-ton Philippine ferry Piary from the Sulu Sea off Balabac Island near the Malaysian border.

Fifty-five other people reportedly remain missing in the area.

"This new tragedy comes at a time when we are still grieving for our countrymen who were killed in landslides at the South Leyte and Caraga regions - and we pray for all of them," she said. (Genalyn D. Kabiling)

Caraga region

SURIGAO CITY - President Arroyo yesterday assured the people of Caraga region, particularly the victims of the landslides and flash floods, that the government will do its best to deliver their immediate needs.

"The government will do its best to assist you," Arroyo said, who was brave enough to push through with her brief visit to Surigao despite bad weather conditions just to personally see the situation of the landslide and flash floods victims here.

The Chief Executive, who was met by Presidential Assistant for Northeastern Mindanao Joboy Aquino and other top Caraga officials and police and military officers led by Police Regional Office 13 (PRO 13) director and Regional Disaster Coordinating Council (RDCC) chairman Chief Supt. Alberto R. Olario, also assured the calamity victims that more food and medicines will be sent to the victims this week.

She said that some arrangements with local officials have already been made just to fast-track the deployment of food and medical assistance.

The President, who was saddened because the incident happened during the celebration of the Yuletide season, personally handed P20,000 each of the bereaved families of the 15 landslide victims in Surigao City.

She instructed NDCC chairman Defense Secretary Eduardo Ermita and Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Juliano Soliman to redouble their efforts in solving the immediate needs of the landslide and flood victims in the Caraga region. (Mike U. Crismundo)

International community

Members of the international community yesterday expressed their condolences and vowed assistance to the families of those killed in the landslides in Southern Leyte and the eastern part of Mindanao over the weekend.

United Nations (UN) Secretary General Kofi Annan expressed grief over the tragic loss of life caused by the landslides, and has pledged to provide $50,000 from the UN to the families of the victims.

The assistance fund would come from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Foreign governments also gave similar emergency aid packages for the families of the victims.

The United States and Japan have donated P2.7 million and P8 million respectively, in cash and relief goods to aid the families of the victims of the mudslides.

United States Ambassador Francis J. Ricciardone Jr. yesterday morning turned over the US government's donation of P2.7 million in cash to aid in humanitarian relief operations for the families of the victims.

Ricciardone also announced that the US government would help in the rescue operations, including providing C-130 cargo planes to help in the search and rescue operations.

The Japanese government, meanwhile, turned over yesterday afternoon some P8-million worth of relief goods and equipment, including tents, generators, cables, water tanks, shovel, tool sets, and blankets.

The Japanese embassy in Manila had been coordinating with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) since it learned of the disaster. (David Cagahastian)

20 rescued

Twenty of the reported missing passengers and crew of the ill-fated motor launch (ML) Pia-Ry, which sank off Buksuk Island, Brookes Point, Palawan Sunday morning, were rescued yesterday, Tuesday, by motor vessel (MV) Pacific Valor east of Banguey Island, Malaysia, the Philippine Coast Guard reported.

In his report to Transportation and Communications Secretary Leandro R. Mendoza, Coast Guard commandant Rear Admiral Arthur N. Gosingan submitted the names of the 20 survivors:

Golden Sibil, 52; Jeffrey Mirod, 17; Mads Mirod, 55; Binare Sampay, 32; Etom Badidil, 60; Sailon Masirol, 58; Johan Hassan, 32; Apang Sibil, 48; Sahada Abdurahim, 45; Nora Aldani, 30; Samsudin Sarail, 9; Norlea Muhamad, 40; Sandra Asaral, 10; Joey Muhamad, 6; Alex Muhamad, 9, all of Mapun, Tawi-Tawi; Nasilin Muhamad, 55, of Rio Tuba, Palawan, Wowe Kurabi, 19, of Brookes Point, Palawan; Iambry Carim, 50, and Garcia Jaali, both of Puerto Princesa City, Palawan.

At press time, Gosingan said search and rescue (SAR) operations undertaken by the Coast Guard, Philippine Navy, and the Philippine Air Force and private commercial vessels were ongoing.

Gosingan said that the ML Pia-Ry, a 65-75 gross ton, wooden-hull cargo and passenger seacraft, skippered by Capt. Roslan Macasaet, departed Mapun Pier, Tawi-Tawi at about 5:45 p.m. Saturday while weather was fair for Brookes Point, Palawan, with 63 adult and six children passengers, and 140 sacks of copra

"Although ML Pia-Ry left Tawi-Tawi under fair weather, as reported, it was unfortunate that it encountered strong winds and rough seas while on its way to Brookes Point," Gosingan said. (Yul Malicse)

In South Cotabato

GENERAL SANTOS CITY - Week-long rains triggered Friday a flashflood that killed two people in T'boli, South Cotabato, while a tribesman was buried alive in a mountain in that town, a social worker said.

Chief Cotabato social worker Bella Lechonsito for South Cotabato said ethnic T'boli couple Furong Dani and Nga No Tamanggong drowned in murky floodwaters when they tried to cross a river in Lamhaku, T'boli 6 p.m. Friday.

Villagers downstream found the next day the bloated bodies of Dani and Tamanggong, considered the first victims in the calamity that struck this remote interior town, Lechonsito said.

The third victim, known only as "Manok," also an ethnic T'boli, perished under debris that buried him alive when a part of a mountain in Sitio Datal Emboyong in Barangay Lambuyong loosened due to rains.

As more rains threatened to pour in due to an inter-tropical convergence zone lurking near Visayas and Mindanao, South Cotabato Gov. Daisy Avance-Fuentes ordered a tight watch on the water level of Lake Maughan, crater of Mt. Parker.

Fuentes feared that the incessant rains may increase the level of the Lake Maughan that may cause an overflow of the lake's mouth and spawn a devastating flashflood similar to the previous tragedy which killed some 70 villagers. (Bong Reblando)

Kofi Annan's sympathy

UNITED NATIONS, New York City (AFP) - Secretary General Kofi Annan said Monday that the United Nations was trying to round up aid to help the Philippines cope with landslides that killed around 200 people.

"The secretary general was distressed to learn of the casualties and damage caused by landslides and floods in the central part of the Philippines," his spokesman Fred Eckhard said.

"He conveys his condolences and deepest sympathy."

Eckhard said that the UN's Office for the Coordination of Human Affairs has provided an emergency grant of $50,000 and was "working to mobilize international donor response" after the catastrophe.

Weekend landslides reportedly buried entire villages in the central and southern Philippines as rescuers battled Sunday to reach the devastated areas.

Nearly 200 bodies have been recovered so far and dozens more people are still missing.

The bad weather also left another 70 people feared dead when a ferry disappeared in rough seas, the Philippines coast guard said.

Assistance from Japan

The government of Japan provided emergency assistance to the government of the Philippines to boost ongoing relief and rescue operations following the disaster that hit Southern Leyte and Northeastern Mindanao over the weekend.

The assistance, amounting to ¥15.9 million (approximately P8 million), is composed of necessities such as tents that could each accommodate 20 persons, generators, cables, water tanks, shovels, tool sets, and blankets.

The initial shipment of goods and equipment arrived in Manila yesterday morning from the government of Japan's warehouse in Singapore.

The Embassy of Japan has been coordinating with, and is coursing its emergency aid through, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

The government of the Philippines welcomed Japan's gesture of support, which it said, exemplified the dynamic Japan-ASEAN partnership in the new millennium. (David Cagahastian)

Angara's warning

Sen. Edgardo J. Angara warned yesterday that a more devastating environmental disaster whose implications are far-reaching than the Leyte landslides is waiting to happen in Palawan.

Angara said at least two towns with thousands of residents will be affected by the construction of a hydrometallurgical processing plant by the Rio Tuba Nickel Mining Corp. in Bataraza, Palawan.

"Like the recent Leyte landslides and floods and other environmental environmental tragedies, it is the poor who suffer most," he said.

Angara called for the revocation of the Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) issued to Rio Tuba Mining for the nickel processing facility to prevent an impending environmental calamity.

He added the plant promises irreversible destruction, as shown in the technical report of the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PSCD), and other studies made on the project.

Studies revealed that limestone quarrying at the mining site will wipe out old-growth forests, precious and endangered plants and animals, some of which are on the verge of extinction.

Quarrying could also lead to the displacement of indigenous families living near the mountain who consider it sacred.

A mangrove area, a seagrass bed, and coral reef will also be devastated with the construction of a 280-meter causeway to support the sulfuric acid pipeline of the project.

PNRC relief assistance

The Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) has provided initial relief assistance to 402 families who were displaced by landslides and floodings in the three towns of Southern Leyte.

The landslides which struck last week the towns of Liloan, San Francisco, and San Ricardo have displaced some 1,000 families and claimed more than 100 lives.

The Red Cross provided canned goods, rice, noodles, shelter, blankets, cooking pots, and water containers.

More relief assistance is expected as the PNRC relief operation for landslide victims continues.

Aside from relief assistance, the Red Cross is also providing psychological support to families who have undergone traumatic experience because of the tragedy.

In Mindanao, the Red Cross also distributed relief goods to some 10,000 families who were affected by massive floodings in Agusan del Norte, Surigao del Norte, and Surigao del Sur.

A total of 15 persons were reported killed in these areas.

Jelma C. dela Peña, PNRC officer-in-charge, said the Red Cross earlier received P2.7 million from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for relief assistance to disaster victims.

The Red Cross is also expecting financial support from International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and from the International Committee of the Red Cross.