Former broadcaster Jay Sonza’s claim that the deaths caused by floods and landslides in Mindanao, which were triggered by heavy rains spawned by recent Typhoon Paeng (international name: Nalgae), were not reported in mainstream Philippine media was false.
In a Facebook post on October 29 at 6:49 a.m., Sonza claimed the media did not report the havoc wreaked by Paeng in the southern Philippines.
“Ni hindi nga ibinabalita sa Pilipinas ang nangyayari dito sa Mindanao na halos 100 daan ang namamatay epekto ng walang humpay na pag-ulan, pagbaha at pagguho ng lupa,” he wrote.
(Translation: This incident in Mindanao where almost 100 people died due to flood and landslide caused by continuous rains was not even reported in the Philippines.) https://www.facebook.com/t2j.sonza/posts/pfbid09xTCLepFCtdfV4NshTZSkuHTmgCzgJrx4mSqJ7nfxLsYUvRtw9KaxnDYFc8H8hrKl
On October 28, various media outlets such as MindaNews, CNN Philippines and GMA News reported Paeng’s onslaught in Maguindanao del Norte and Cotabato City, although their figures on the death toll vary.
https://www.cnnphilippines.com/news/2022/10/28/Floods-Paeng-Visayas-Mindanao-.html
The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao – Rapid Emergency Action on Disaster Incidence (BARMM-READi), a rescue and disaster response body under the Ministry of the Interior and Local Government, initially reported 67 dead in Maguindanao del Norte in the evening of October 28.
By 6 p.m. on November 29, BARMM-READi rectified the fatality to 40, noting there were mistakes in the consolidation of reports from the field and the reports of the rescue teams.
Data from BARMM-READi released on November 1 showed the number of deaths due to landslides and flood reached only 52, mostly in Maguindanao del Norte, far from the “almost 100 deaths” that Sonza posted on his Facebook account. https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=441574151425983&set=pcb.441574978092567
As of November 13, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council placed the confirmed dead due to Paeng at 130, 64 of them in Maguindanao. https://ndrrmc.gov.ph/attachments/article/4211/SitRep_No._25_for_STS_PAENG_2022.pdf
The Philippine media and wire agencies sustained the reporting of the catastrophe in Mindanao and other parts of the country due to Paeng in the succeeding days. Some of the reports can be found at these links:
Sonza’s claim “that it looks like only Mindanawons would be helping themselves” in the face of the flooding and landslides triggered by heavy rainfall spawned by Paeng is also false.
Apart from relief assistance from the Bangsamoro government and the national government, through the Department of Social Welfare and Development, several international humanitarian aid agencies and private organizations have responded to the call to help the victims of Paeng in Mindanao.
https://reliefweb.int/report/philippines/ph-red-cross-steps-plate-those-affected-sts-paeng
As with all our other reports, MindaNews welcomes leads or suggestions from the public to potential fact-check stories. (Bong S. Sarmiento / MindaNews)
