Philippine flood crisis deepens, death toll at 240

Hundreds of thousands of exhausted Philippine flood survivors crowded into schools, gymnasiums and other makeshift shelters on Tuesday, as the death toll from the weekend disaster soared to 240.

Three days after a once-in-a-generation storm pounded Manila and surrounding regions, officials said they were unable to cope with the enormous number of flood victims who were continuing to pour into the evacuation centres.

"More people are coming in by the hour.... We don't know how long we will be able to sustain this," said Joe Ferrer, a local government official in charge of a shelter on a basketball court on the outskirts of Metro Manila. Related article: Disease threat

"We need clothing, food supplies, food rations and medicine."

Already 3,000 people from the depressed San Andres neighbourhood were at the basketball court, and flood survivors told AFP they were tired and hungry.

The government announced early Tuesday that nearly 375,000 survivors of the devastating rains unleashed by tropical storm Ketsana on Saturday were sheltering in the more than 600 centres.

The number of homeless was a more than three-fold rise from Monday.

The death toll also jumped significantly after authorities finally started to record those killed in Manila, and not just the neighbouring regions.

The latest death toll of 240 was 100 more than Monday's assessment.

The government said 101 people had been confirmed killed in the capital, up from seven on Monday. Related article: Flood hero who perished

Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said he did not expect another similar spike in the death toll, although authorities had yet to fully assess the storm's economic impact.

"I think for casualties, the increases will be not that great, but the damage figure may increase," said Teodoro, who is leading the relief effort.

After admitting it could not cope on its own, the government on Monday appealed to the international community for help.

"The potential for a more serious situation is there and we cannot wait for that to happen," Teodoro said.

The government said Tuesday that tonnes of food aid as well as foreign experts were on their way to the Philippines.

The United States, Japan, Vietnam, Singapore and UN agencies were among the nations or organisations to have given aid.

President Gloria Arroyo described the floods as a "once-in-a-lifetime" event and in an extraordinary move opened the Malacanang presidential palace to flood survivors. Related article: Arroyo opens palace residence

"Evacuees will be given shelter in available areas among the Malacanang buildings and in tents that will be put up in between the buildings," Arroyo said in a statement late on Monday.

"If required, our employees will yield their work stations to provide more space for our displaced countrymen."

After word of the offer spread, hundreds of people converged on the palace on Tuesday morning and received plastic bags filled with noodles and canned sardines.

"We just heard it in the news that they are giving relief goods at the palace so we walked for one hour," said street sweeper Rosette Serrano, 31, who lost everything except her clothes when her house was submerged on Saturday.

However, officials said people would not be allowed to stay inside the presidential compound and shelter there unless they were first vetted by aid organisations.

"We cannot just allow every evacuee in because of logistical and security problems," Arroyo aide Wilfredo Oca told AFP.

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The Official Statement of Jacque Bermejo

Jacque Bermejo made her official statement. Jacque received calls and emails from friends and relatives informing her about the issue. She was crying about the issue slapped on her. His brother explained that it was not her sister’s account. If this letter’s from Jacque Bermejo herself, so be it.

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"This is my real account please help disseminate.

I am issuing this statement to clear my name in the current controversy in which I allegedly posted a highly insensitive and offensive message on the social networking website, Facebook, in relation to the victims of typhoon Ondoy that recently struck parts of the Philippines.

About two years ago, an anonymous source created these accounts using my identity, posting my personal details, my real pictures captioned roughly and attacking other people. Because of these incidents, I reported such abuses and sent my credentials to the administrators of such sites, particularly Facebook. I have been abused and am still being abused online in social networking websites such as Facebook, Friendster, Multiply etc.

In the early stages, I was advised by close friends to ignore the situation, saying this would simply go away. Unfortunately, it has not stopped. Hence, I filed a complaint with the Dubai Police about eight months ago hoping they could help me with my problem. Should anyone wish to check my statement, my case is still under investigation with said authorities.

Time passed and these sites continued to generate malicious, obscene and cruel messages that are widely exposed and relayed to the public under my name.

Yesterday, September 27th 2009, I received phone calls from my close friends regarding very alarming posts in the above mentioned websites that directly offended flood victims as a result of typhoon Ondoy..

These malicious statement(s) which are posted under account names Jacque or Jackie are not of my doing. It is unfortunate that such statements were maliciously attributed to me and I do sympathize and understand the adverse and somehow verbally violent reaction that has been elicited by such insensitive statements or posts. Rest assured, I have taken every legal step that can be done in this regard.

I too, have become a victim as much as those who may have lost their lives and properties to such a devastating natural calamity. This recent controversy has greatly affected my reputation, my family, and my friends. I am devastated and shocked at the extent my character, my personal information and private space have been violated.

I have a deep respect and regard for my country. I am proud to be a Filipino and would never say or do anything to harm the interest of my country or countrymen. I have also had the privilege of participating in civic-oriented activities in Dubai, particularly in trying to help my fellow countrymen seek employment during the height of mass layoffs brought about by the ongoing global financial crisis, as well as those seeking employment for the first time. Making a mockery of any unfortunate incidents befalling any of my fellow Filipinos is simply contrary to my character. I condemn the person or persons behind these malicious acts to impute damage on my integrity and I hope that you can dig deep into your hearts and minds to truly find the truth in all these."

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Jacque Bermejo made a remarkable comment about Filipinos

Filipina OFW (Overseas Filipino Worker) Jacque Bermejo is getting bullied and is getting cyber-ass kicked. She posted a hateful comment on a Facebook group and it ignited an online revolution against her. Her Multiply account is getting floded with hateful comments and its surreal to watch it spawn new remarks every second.

Each person is entitled to his or her own opinion, but we should choose if, when and where we are going to voice it out. Good luck, Jacque Bermejo.

The comment was insensitive, self-serving anti-nationalistic as it is. And worse, its made during a time when the country is grieving and struggling.

I cannot fathom what was going through her mind when she made the comment. And she posted it on a group. Overconfident? Proud? Sick.

"Buti n lng am hir in Dubai! maybe so many sinners bak der! so yeah deserving wat hapend!"

Sign a Petition Against Jacque Bermejo

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