Renalyn Ramirez - Philstar.com
June 9, 2026 | 11:07am
MANILA, Philippines (Updated 7:08 p.m.) — The death toll from the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck off Sarangani in Mindanao rose to 38 as of Tuesday late afternoon, June 9, the Office of Civil Defense said.
OCD data as of 6 a.m. recorded 37 deaths, with 33 in Region 12 and four in Region 11. Most of the fatalities were caused by falling debris, Civil Defense spokesperson Junie Castillo said in an early Tuesday interview on GMA News' "Unang Balita."
In Region 12 alone, 456 people were injured while four remained missing, based on initial reports.
"There are four who are still missing, but again, this is initial data because we are looking at reports from families or from people looking for someone," Castillo said in Filipino.
A total of 77,186 people, or 17,689 families, were affected by the earthquake.
Damage to roads, bridges, homes
Castillo said nine bridges collapsed and 19 roads were damaged in Region 12 alone, with infrastructure damage estimated at around P900 million.
At least 1,889 houses were also damaged, including about 1,500 that were totally destroyed.
Castillo said it was still unclear how long recovery and rehabilitation would take because of the severity of the damage.
"On recovery and rehabilitation in terms of infrastructure, the damage was severe. We can see in images that many buildings collapsed. Even if some did not totally collapse, we can see that they were still heavily damaged and are unusable," Castillo said.
Response
Search, rescue and retrieval operations are focused mainly on the hardest-hit areas of General Santos City and Sarangani, although Castillo said responders have also been deployed to other quake-affected areas.
General Santos City was placed under a state of calamity on Monday.
Castillo said the OCD had not received reports of isolated barangays or communities so far.
"We have not received reports of isolated barangays, although we have seen damaged bridges and roads," Castillo said.
Food, non-food items and water supplies placed in accessible areas remain sufficient for now, Castillo said.
The OCD has also sent fuel supplies and generators to hospitals as power transmission lines have yet to be restored.
General Santos Airport was also damaged, forcing flights to be canceled or rerouted. Castillo said government officials visiting affected areas had to travel by land or take a helicopter from Davao City to General Santos City.
The OCD is also planning to set up a tent city for residents who have been sleeping by the roadside because they cannot yet return to their homes due to damage, fear and aftershocks.
"We are looking at putting up one tent city. In this situation, especially with aftershocks, our fellow Filipinos cannot immediately return to their homes, so they are staying in open spaces," Castillo said.
