Search and retrieval operations continue across Cebu province under increasingly difficult conditions, with 44 individuals still missing fourteen days after Typhoon Tino triggered devastating floods on November 4, 2025.
Challenging Recovery Conditions
Rescue teams face significant obstacles in locating the missing individuals, with many believed to be buried deep in mud or swept out to sea. The thick mud that accumulated in rivers, debris-clogged waterways, and the fading scent of potential survivors have dramatically slowed progress.
Dennis Pastor, head of the Cebu Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO), explained during a Tuesday media interview that the passage of time has made detection increasingly difficult. "It's been many days already. They simply cannot be found - they're either buried at sea or buried in river mud," Pastor stated.
Official Casualty Figures
As of Monday, November 17, 2025, at 5:00 PM, the PDRRMO recorded 108 confirmed fatalities, 1,365 injured individuals, and 44 people still unaccounted for. These numbers remained consistent with the previous situation report issued on Thursday, November 13.
The challenging conditions have rendered K-9 units ineffective, as the dogs can no longer detect any traces of the missing persons. Flood-damaged waterways, unstable riverbanks, and thick mud continue to impede rescue teams, while garbage from landslides and flooding poses ongoing risks to responders.
Local Government Leads Operations
Despite the difficult circumstances, the province has deployed additional personnel and equipment to support local operations. Pastor clarified that the authority to conclude search and retrieval operations rests solely with local government units (LGUs).
"The search and retrieval operations are under local jurisdiction. They are the ones who execute these operations. We at the province only provide augmentation," Pastor explained.
He further noted that LGUs may declare an end to search efforts after exhausting all possible measures and when no signs of life remain. However, such declarations must follow formal procedures for classifying individuals as "missing and presumed dead" due to the disaster.
Pastor emphasized that PDRRMO does not serve as the lead agency in managing fatalities. As of now, no LGU in Cebu has declared an end to their search and retrieval operations, maintaining hope for locating the remaining missing individuals.
