Typhoon victim believed to be dead found alive

Local

A WOMAN long believed to be among the six residents missing after Typhoon Tino was found alive in Barangay Bacayan, Cebu City.

This slashes the official list of missing persons to five and gives rescuers a rare moment of relief amid ongoing retrieval operations.

Councilor Dave Tumulak, chairman of the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CCDRRMC), confirmed that 30-year-old Karen Baloney of Barangay Bacayan, originally listed as the sixth missing individual, was discovered safe during a scheduled DNA profiling activity last week.

“I am happy to announce that only five are missing during Typhoon Tino. Nakita nato ang ika number 6 nga naa ra sa ilang balay during MDM and DVI team profiling on December 5, 2025,” Tumulak said in an interview on Tuesday, Dec. 9.

The Management of the Dead and Missing (MDM) and Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) teams were preparing to collect DNA samples from the woman’s relatives when they learned she had already returned home.

“Didto nato nahibaw-an nga during the time of Typhoon Tino, she was missing and she was blotted as police station, and no one from the relatives ang ni-report nga nabalik na diay siya and ang barangay sad wala nag-inform,” he added.

According to Tumulak, the woman fled home out of fear at the height of the typhoon and returned a week later, but the family did not update authorities, leaving her on the official missing persons list for over a month.

Despite the development, retrieval operations will press on for the five individuals still unaccounted for: three from Barangay Bacayan, and one each from Binaliw, Paril, and Lusaran.

“Ongoing gihapon ang retrieval sa mga missing sa Typhoon Tino because we cannot stop the operation because of the request of the two families nga continue ang pagpangita,” Tumulak stressed.

He said responders are working daily, supported by K9 units, barangay teams, and river-clearing personnel. Operations extend from upland Cebu City down to Compostela and Liloan, where river systems from Paril and neighboring barangays flow and may carry debris or victims downstream.

“We also call the municipality of Compostela and Liloan… so nakig-coordinate ta sa LGU. On going sad ilang pagpangita,” he said.

Clearing teams continue to haul debris from river channels, while K9 dogs are deployed to inspect areas where bodies may have been trapped or buried.

“Gipangkuha nato ang debris, gadala sad ta’g K9 dogs… but still balik-balikon gyud na siya kay ma-identify raman nato ang missing if taga asa, asa dapita ang flow sa river,” Tumulak explained.

Moreover, Tumulak noted that two families have insisted on continuing full retrieval operations, and the city will honor their requests.

“To be fair to the family, we cannot stop. We cannot do that… Mo-stop lang mi if muingon ang two families nga stop na,” he said.

The councilor acknowledged the toll of the prolonged search but emphasized the importance of exhausting all possible leads to provide closure.(TGP)