Nelson Morales

Glan town in Sarangani Province one of the worst hit, cut off by powerful tremor: official

Article (news)

Raphael Bosano

ABS-CBN News

SARANGANI — The town of Glan in the southern part of Sarangani Province is among the badly affected areas following the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that jolted southern Mindanao on Monday, according to the Office of Civil Defense Region 12.In a press briefing, Tuesday morning, OCD 12 Director Rodrigo Sosmeña said that town sustained major damage to infrastructure like roads and bridges making it unreachable by vehicles.<div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/regions/2026/6/9/outdoor-hospitals-cut-off-communities-as-philippine-quake-toll-hits-41-1428">READ: Outdoor hospitals, cut-off communities as Mindanao quake toll hits 41</a></div>“I just dispatched one RDANA team via chopper team to support their communication requirement para makapagbigay sila ng updates dito sa atin,” he told the media.A day after the power tremors, fatalities in the region has risen to 33 with injuries now at over 450. Four individuals, all in General Santos City remain missing. Sosmeña says their office has so far not received any information on the names of fatalities.Meanwhile, two of these individuals were said to be swimming in the ocean while the other two remain trapped in a collapsed supermarket.The ABS-CBN News team was among those who hurried into the town as workers from the Department of Public Works and Highways decided to dismantle a portion of the bridge entirely to prevent further danger.What awaited beyond the bridge was a community transformed by disaster.Drone footage captured massive landslides that carved through hillsides, crushing homes and damaging vehicles in their path.For resident Benjamin Japal, the destruction became painfully real as he stood before what used to be his home.&quot;Masama ang loob, ang lawas ko,&quot; he said. &quot;Parang na aano ang puso ko pag tingin ko sa bahay ko. Ano na naman ito kako, yung mga bata ko hindi na makakatulog. Pagkain ko parang walang laman ang tiyan ko.”He said it felt as though his heart sank every time he looked at the ruins. He worried about how his children would sleep after the traumatic experience. Even his sibling’s home was not spared with nothing else but its roof as the only thing visible.For Renz Hernani, the communications outage made an already painful situation even harder. Approaching the news crew, he asked if he could relay a message to his mother-in-law, who works in Qatar.He had hoped to tell her everything was fine. Instead, he had to prepare her for the worst.&quot;Auntie Joya, ito na po ang nangyari sa bahay. Makikita mo na ngayon sa ABS-CBN. Ano mang reaksyon mo diyan, sana wag mong ipaano sa puso mo, baka ano pa ang mangyari sa&#x27;yo,&quot; he said.&quot;Masakit rin sa akin kasi pinagpaguran niya. Halos hindi na nga ako tumitingin sa bahay kasi masakit sa damdamin.”As the team walked deeper into Glan, the scale of the destruction became even more apparent.Sections of the road had collapsed, forcing residents to navigate the damaged route on foot.Homes that once lined the roadside had been mangled beyond recognition by landslides triggered by the earthquake.Barangay officials and police officers were even forced to stop residents who insisted on driving motorcycles across unstable sections of the damaged road.On Tuesday morning, OCD Administrator Harold Cabreros, together with the Philippine Air Force, led the evacuation of injured residents from Balut Island.Senior citizens, as well as a mother and her infant, were among those airlifted to Davao City for medical treatment.At the Sarangani Provincial Hospital, patients and hospital personnel remained outside the facility as authorities continued structural assessments to determine whether it was safe to return inside. Many were still shaken by fears of aftershocks.For the people of Glan, the earthquake not only destroyed roads and homes but displaced families, and left communities struggling to reconnect with loved ones and rebuild what took years to create.Now, they say, comes the challenge of starting over.

The town of Glan in the southern part of Sarangani Province is among the badly affected areas following the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that jolted southern Mindanao on Monday, according to the Office of Civil Defense Region 12.

The town of Glan in the southern part of Sarangani Province is among the badly affected areas following the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that jolted southern Mindanao on Monday, according to the Office of Civil Defense Region 12.