Contrary to initial reports, there are no fatalities in the Municipalities of Tiwi and Malinao in the First District of Albay as a result of Supertyphoon Rolly.

There are also no casualties or fatalities in Bacacay, Malilipot and Sto. Domingo.

The zero casualties in the said local government units is confirmed by the Regional Director Claudio Yucut of the Office of Civil Defense.

The reported death of a security guard of the National Food Authority in Tabaco City is not typhoon-related because he suffered a fatal stroke and he is a resident of Bacacay, Albay.

The lone victim who drowned in Tabaco City’s Bombon River is a resident of Tiwi, Albay, not Tabaco City.

The virtually zero casualty incidence due to Supertyphoon Rolly in Albay’s First District is a tribute to the tireless efforts of the local government and barangay officials and the maximum cooperation of thousands of residents in high-risk areas who went on preemptive evacuation to safer grounds and evacuation centers.

The maximum signal number 5 was hoisted over five of the six local government units (LGUs) of the First District, namely, Tabaco City, Bacacay, Malinao, Malilipot, and Tiwi, where typhoon Rolly made a second landfall.

EDCEL C. LAGMAN