Three Filipinos were injured during the 7.2-magnitude earthquake that hit Taiwan on Wednesday, according to the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW).
Following the quake, the Social Security System (SSS) said it will offer calamity loan to Filipinos affected by the disaster on the island.
“There were three Filipinos who were injured, two from the northern part of Taiwan and one from the adjacent county of Hualien,” DMW officer-in-charge Hans Cacdac said in Filipino in a press conference on Thursday.
“The three sustained only minor injuries and we will provide financial assistance to them,” Cacdac added.
Cacdac said two of the injured Filipinos were taken to a hospital but were quickly discharged.
The third who fell unconscious remained hospitalized, but only for “medical precautionary measures,” he said.
The earthquake was the most devastating to hit Taiwan in at least 25 years. The latest figures from the national disaster agency said nine people were killed and 1,050 injured in the quake.
There are 159,480 Filipinos living in Taiwan, 150,666 of whom are contract workers, Cacdac said.
He said 5,000 Filipinos were affected by the earthquake.
The SSS’ first calamity loan for overseas Filipino workers will be offered to OFWs in Taiwan who were affected by the temblor.
SSS president Rolando Macasaet said the loan program is only awaiting approval by the state agency’s board.
“I have a board meeting on Monday with Finance Secretary Ralph Recto, who is also our chairman. It’s already 99.99 percent sure that the calamity loan will be approved,” he said.
There are about 10,000 active SSS members in Taiwan and those contributors can avail of the calamity loan, apart from other SSS benefits.
“Many of the companies in Asia, including the Middle East, do not cover foreign workers. It’s incumbent on the SSS to provide such services,” said SSS vice president for Benefits Administration Joy Villacorta.
Japan rocked, too
The DMW is also monitoring the situation of Filipinos in Japan following a magnitude-6 quake that struck the country.
The DMW’s Migrant Workers Offices in Tokyo and Osaka said the Japan Meteorological Agency located the quake’s epicenter at 40 kilometers deep off the coast of Fukushima Prefecture in the northeastern part of Honshu, Japan’s main island.
No tsunami warning was issued and there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
“Both MWO-Tokyo and MWO-Osaka stand ready to assist the OFWs should they require so,” the DMW said.
“The posts will provide the DMW head office with updates as developments occur,” it added.
Race against time
Taiwanese rescuers worked Thursday to reach scores of people trapped in highway tunnels as engineers began a massive clear-up operation a day after the island’s biggest earthquake in a quarter of a century.
Dozens of residents of the worst-hit city, Hualien, spent a night outdoors rather than in apartments still being shaken by aftershocks, and a huge engineering operation was underway to fix damaged roads and prop up tilting buildings.
Dramatic video released Thursday by the island’s Central Emergency Operation Centre showed a helicopter flying two sorties to pluck up six miners trapped in a gypsum quarry in Hualien county, near the epicenter of the quake.
Rescuers knew the whereabouts of dozens more people trapped in a network of strongly built tunnels in the county, a feature of the roads that cut through the scenic mountains and cliffs leading to Hualien City from the north and west.
Hundreds of others were holding out at a luxury hotel and youth activity centre near the Taroko National Park, with roads leading to both blocked by landslides.
“I also hope that we can use today’s time to find all people who are stranded and unaccounted for and help them settle down,” Premier Chen Chien-jen said after a briefing at an emergency operation center in Hualien.
The island has been shaken by over 300 strong aftershocks since the first quake, and the government warned people to be wary of landslides or rockfalls if they ventured to the countryside for Qingming, a two-day public holiday that began Thursday.
Families traditionally visit the tombs of their ancestors on the holiday to clean the gravesites and burn offerings.
“Do not go to the mountains unless necessary,” warned President Tsai Ing-wen in a late-night message.
The national disaster agency said 10 people had been killed — with the latest casualty found on a hiking trail Thursday — and 1,067 injured in the quake.
Authorities were in contact with over 600 people trapped in tunnels or cut-off areas, but had lost touch with another 38 — although they were believed to be safe.
At around 4 pm, a highway leading to Taroko National Park was cleared. A small group stranded for nearly 30 hours emerged to be greeted by rescue workers handing them water and ushering some to the first aid tent.
“It’s good to be alive!” David Chen, who works at the luxury Silks Place Taroko hotel located deeper in the mountains, said.
