Geline Salac

'Buhay ang kuya ko': Kin refuse to lose hope after Angeles City building collapse rescue ops end

Article (news)

Christopher Sitson

ABS-CBN News

Some relatives of the missing individuals from the collapsed building in Angeles City, Pampanga continue to hold on to hope that their loved ones are still alive despite authorities announcing that the search and rescue operations have concluded.They remained inside the tent provided by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), while others slept beside their motorcycles from Monday evening to Tuesday morning.At exactly 8:27 PM on Monday, the Angeles City Information Office announced that the Unified Command System (UCS) had officially ended the search and rescue operations.According to the office, the decision was made after <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/regions/2026/5/25/angeles-lgu-to-shift-to-retrieval-ops-after-no-signs-of-life-detected-in-collapsed-building-2257">no signs of life were detected</a> within the affected area.Bernadeth Arrogante, sister of 30-year-old missing construction worker Ferdinand, remains hopeful that her brother is still alive, despite authorities declaring that no signs of life had been detected from the rubble.“Nararamdaman po ng puso ko na buhay po ‘yung kuya ko. Inaantay po namin na galawin nila ‘yan, kailan pa po?” she said.Arrogante even insisted on personally checking for her brother at ground zero because of her desperation to find Ferdinand.“Sabi ko, ‘Pa, puntahan na lang natin kung ititigil na nila ‘yan. Tayo na lang pumunta roon, sa lugar na ‘yun.’ Kahapon pa namin tinuturo kung nasaan banda ‘yung kuya ko eh. Gustong-gusto ko na sumigaw sa area na ‘yun na, ‘Diko, nandito lang kami, lumaban ka lang diyan.’ Malay mo naman nariyan lang kuya ko buhay, tapos narinig niya &#x27;ko, eh di magkakaroon siya ng pag-asa ‘di ba?” she exclaimed.Her brother works as a plumber at the construction site and has been staying in Angeles City since January as a stay-in employee. On Saturday, a day before the incident, he was still able to video call his child. That was the last time the family communicated with Ferdinand.“Kakamatay lang po ng asawa ng kuya ko last year, may anak po sila, kaya nag stay-in po ‘yung kuya ko rito para sa anak niya,” she explained.Bernadeth, together with her husband and parents, traveled all the way from Quezon Province after receiving the news that her brother was missing.Since Sunday afternoon, they have been patiently waiting outside the affected area.Almost two days after the incident, the death toll has risen to four, while 16 individuals remain missing and 27 have been rescued out of the 47 victims, according to the latest count from authorities.The retrieval and clearing operations are scheduled to begin Tuesday morning.

Some relatives of the missing individuals from the collapsed building in Angeles City, Pampanga continue to hold on to hope that their loved ones are still alive despite authorities announcing that the search and rescue operations have concluded.

Some relatives of the missing individuals from the collapsed building in Angeles City, Pampanga continue to hold on to hope that their loved ones are still alive despite authorities announcing that the search and rescue operations have concluded.