The aftermath of Typhoon Tino continues to grip Cebu with grim determination as search operations enter a critical phase. More than a week after the storm battered the province, 44 individuals remain missing while the death toll has climbed to 108, according to official reports.
Search Operations Intensify Across Hardest-Hit Areas
The Cebu Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) confirmed the staggering numbers in their 10 a.m. situation report on Thursday, November 13, 2025. The report detailed 1,365 injuries across the province, painting a picture of widespread devastation that has mobilized a massive, multi-agency response.
PDRRMC head Dennis Pastor emphasized that retrieval operations cannot be rushed despite some areas concluding their searches. "Daghan pa kaayo, dili pa madali-dali og terminate" (There are still many missing; we can't rush to terminate the retrieval operations yet), Pastor stated, acknowledging the emotional toll on waiting families.
Communities Struggle with Basic Needs
In Barangay Bacayan, Cebu City, the human impact of the disaster is visible daily. Children carry small water containers through ruins left by the typhoon, their community struggling with limited access to clean water after the Butuanon River overflowed and destroyed homes when the riprap collapsed.
The disaster's impact shows clear geographic concentration, with Compostela bearing the heaviest burden at 23 missing persons, 37 fatalities, and 362 injuries. Liloan follows with 34 fatalities, 126 injured, and two missing, while Balamban faces a significant search operation with 15 missing, 14 fatalities, and 869 injuries.
Multi-Agency Response Deploys Specialized Resources
The ongoing search operation now involves local government units, municipal disaster offices, and national agencies including the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Bureau of Fire Protection, Philippine Army, and Philippine Coast Guard. The PDRRMC has established its operational headquarters in Compostela, coordinating the search for the town's 23 missing residents.
Specialized resources have been deployed throughout affected areas. In Cebu City's Barangay Bacayan, search dogs from the Regional Explosive Ordnance Disposal-K9 Unit 7 are working to locate human and animal remains amid the debris. Police Regional Office 7 Director Brig. Gen. Redrico Maranan has also ordered personnel to check subdivisions in Bacayan, including Villa del Rio 1, for potential explosive materials or structural hazards left by the floodwaters.
While some municipalities like Talisay City and Bantayan have concluded operations after locating all missing residents, the search continues as a race against time for families in Compostela, Liloan, and Balamban seeking closure. Unaffected towns including Argao and Carmen have sent personnel to assist in the difficult task of locating the 44 individuals still missing.
