MANILA (Xinhua) -- Three people went missing after a pile of waste gave way at a landfill in Rizal province, east of Manila, authorities said Sunday.
Rodriguez town Mayor Ronnie Evangelista confirmed in a social media post that three individuals remain unaccounted for following the incident that occurred in the town on Friday afternoon.
However, the mayor declined to declare them dead, noting that their bodies have yet to be recovered.
"Search and investigation efforts regarding the incident are still ongoing," Evangelista said.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, the Philippines' lead body for disaster preparedness, response and recovery, said it is validating reports that the missing individuals were scavengers present at the site when the collapse occurred.
The incident prompted search operations in nearby communities as responders worked to locate the missing and assess potential risks posed by the unstable waste mound.
Authorities continue monitoring the situation while verification efforts remain underway.
Meanwhile, a total of 39.8 billion pesos (S$ 686.04 million) in fresh funding has been allocated this year to strengthen the Philippines' disaster response and rehabilitation efforts, lawmaker Marcelino Libanan said Sunday.
Libanan, the House of Representatives' minority leader, said the 2026 calamity fund represents a 90-percent increase from the 21 billion pesos earmarked in 2025.
The disaster response funds cover natural and human-induced calamities, epidemics as declared by the Department of Health, crises from armed conflicts, insurgency, terrorism and other catastrophes, Libanan said.
The Philippines is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world, mainly due to its location in the Pacific Ring of Fire and the Pacific typhoon belt. - Xinhua
