• RICHARD T. CABALLERO JR.
A retired member of the Philippine Army was found dead on Monday at a grass field of Sitio Lublob, Barangay Palayog in Hinigaran town, Negros Occidental, after being reported as missing since the height of Typhoon Tino.
The cadaver was positively identified by his daughter, in a radio interview, as 54-year-old retired army man named Andrey Vasquez, a resident of the said area.
Based on the initial investigation, during the height of the typhoon on November 4, while his family were able to stay on the upper floor of their house, the victim allegedly failed to climb and save himself and was carried away by the strong current of flash floods originating from Bacagay river.
The cadaver was located after one of the witnesses who smelt the decomposing corpse reported the incident. According to the witness, Vasquez was the lone missing person in their Barangay.
Police also said that the victim was a person with disability (PWD).
The victim’s daughter, who identified the victim through a tattoo, said that the family decided to immediately bury the body of the victim due to its decomposing state.
As of the press time, the Office of the Civil Defense Negros Island Region (OCD-NIR) has confirmed 9 deaths in Hinigaran town, as search and retrieval operations are still underway for missing individuals.
The Negros Occidental Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) reported that on November 4, severe tropical storm Tino left 3,007 houses totally destroyed, while 9,326 were partially damaged.
Further, 4,929 individuals are currently taking temporary shelter in several evacuation centers across the city.*
