GLAN, Sarangani (MindaNews / 11 June 2026) — Drinking water. Food packs. Outdoor tents. Generator sets with fuel.
These are the immediate needs in this town hit hardest by Monday’s Magnitude 7.8 earthquake, according to the progress report of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) as of 9 a.m. on Thursday, as the death toll in the entire province rose to 20.
The quake, whose offshore epicenter was 32 kilometers west of Maasim, Sarangani, registered Intensity VIII in four of seven Sarangani towns: Glan, Kiamba, Malapatan and Malungon.
Twelve of the 20 dead were residents of Glan while eight were residents of neighboring Malapatan town. Landslides in seven areas in Glan caused the death of the 12 while in Malapatan, the deaths were attributed to drowning and landslides.
Twelve residents remained missing as of Thursday: 10 in Glan, two in Malapatan.
The PDRRMO report at 6 p.m. on June 10 documented 114 residents injured, 63 of them admitted at the Glan Medical Center, 46 in Malapatan, three in Maasim and two in Malungon. The PDRRMO report at 9 a.m. on June 11 showed the number had risen to 150.
In Maasim’s Barangay Nomoh, one resident lost a right hand, another lost a right finger while a resident of Barangay Seven Hills who was struck by a “fallen rock,” suffered a brain injury.
Joana Lapore, Provincial Information Officer, told MindaNews late Wednesday afternoon that Governor Rogelio Pacquiao assisted by the Philippine Coast Guard reached Glan late Tuesday night as an earlier attempt failed due to rough seas. Lapore said the generator sets in the hospital were running out of fuel.
The June 10 PDRRMO report said the quake affected 28,341 families in the towns of Alabel, Glan, Kiamba, Maasim, Malapatan and Maitum, while at least 430 families are in evacuation centers in the towns of Alabel, Kiamba, Maasim. The 9 a.m. June 11 report, however, showed the number had risen to 31,053 families affected and 776 families in evacuation centers.
The June 10 PDRRMO report documented a total of 831 houses totally damaged and 3,807 houses partially damaged across the province but in the 9 a.m. June 11 report, the number had risen to 1,524 totally damaged and 6,368 partially damaged.
In the June 10 report, more than half of the totally damaged houses are in Glan at 439, while Malapatan reported the highest number of partially damaged houses at 1,502. No other details were posted on the 9 a.m. June 11 report.
The June 10 report noted that in Glan, power, water supply and telecommunication facilities had yet to be restored and access to the other parts beyond Barangay Kapatan is still through the sea.
Power was fully restored on June 8 and 9 in five of the province’s seven towns. Malapatan’s was restored in some parts of Malapatan but Glan’s power outage is expected to last a week, the PDRRMO said, citing SOCOTECO (South Cotabato Electric Cooperative).
Water supply continues to be a problem.
Water supply was restored afternoon of June 8 in Alabel. In Maitum, it was restored evening of June 9 “but intermittent/unstable.”
In Malungon, water supply restoration is still ongoing. In Maasim, some parts have no water supply. In Glan, it has not been restored, according to the June 10 PDRRMO report.
Reporting the situation on the ground has been a problem since Monday as telecommunication facilities were down.
According to the PDRRMO June 10 report, in Malungon and Alabel, “weak cellular network coverage” has been causing delays in communication and coordination activities; in Maitum, there is no network coverage
In Glan, weak network coverage has prevented residents from informing their relatives outside the town about their condition.
Abaira Esmael of Barangay Kapatan told MindaNews on Wednesday afternoon that she wanted her daughter in Riyadh to know that while their house collapsed, all of them are safe. But she could not reach her because there was no phone signal.
The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) installed Starlink to ensure the municipal government of Glan can send their updates.
In Maasim, Malapatan and Kiamba, the PDRRMO reported “intermittent cellular and internet connectivity.” DICT also installed Starlink to ensure the local governments can send their reports.
On Wednesday, MindaNews chanced upon Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go coming out of a funeral parlor in Malapatan at around 1 p.m. and Vice President Sara Duterte coming out of the Emergency section of the Sarangani Provincial Hospital in Alabel at around 5 p.m.
According to Lapore, four senators are expected to arrive in Sarangani on Thursday: Acting Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian and Senators Erwin Tulfo, JV Ejercito and Juan Miguel Zubiri. (Carolyn O. Arguillas / MindaNews)
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