Quake-hit Cebu launches ‘Kumbati Cebu Task Force’

Local

TO unify and sustain Cebu’s recovery after the 6.9-magnitude earthquake on Sept. 30, the Provincial Government has launched the Kumbati Cebu framework.

Through Executive Order No. 60, series of 2025, signed by Governor Pamela Baricuatro, the government created the Provincial Rehabilitation and Recovery Council, also called the Kumbati Cebu Task Force, as the central body that will lead, coordinate, and oversee all post-disaster rehabilitation and recovery efforts in the province.

This framework serves as Cebu’s official roadmap for rebuilding communities, restoring livelihoods, and reconstructing infrastructure through collaboration with national agencies, local government units, civil society, and the private sector.

Baricuatro will chair the council, with Atty. Joseph Felix Mari H. Durano, Provincial Administrator, as vice chairperson.

Council members include the mayors of Bogo City, San Remigio, Medellin, Daanbantayan, Tabogon, Tabuelan, Borbon, Bantayan, Santa Fe, Madridejos, Sogod, and Catmon, or those affected in northern Cebu.

Heads of provincial offices and representatives from the Department of Public Works and Highways, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Office of Civil Defense, National Housing Authority, Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Health, Department of Education, Department of Information and Communications Technology, and Department of Transportation also sit on the council.

The order establishes thematic clusters to put the Kumbati Cebu framework into action.

These clusters focus on infrastructure and housing; health, social services, and livelihood; environment, land use, and preparedness; economic recovery and private sector engagement; information, communications, and volunteer mobilization; and monitoring, evaluation, and accountability.

Each cluster will be led by the appropriate provincial office or national agency to ensure rehabilitation efforts are well-coordinated and transparent.

The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office will serve as the council’s secretariat, providing administrative, technical, and logistical support, and facilitating communication among clusters and member agencies.

Through Executive Order No. 60, the Provincial Government aims to create a comprehensive, transparent, and accountable system for post-disaster rehabilitation and recovery, focusing especially on the northern municipalities most affected by the earthquake.

The earthquake affected 192,489 families, or more than 411,000 individuals, across northern Cebu.

In Bogo City alone, the disaster displaced more than 34,000 families, leaving many without homes and livelihoods.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council reported that the magnitude 6.9 earthquake killed 74 people in Cebu. As of 6 a.m. on Thursday, October 9, no one remains missing, while 559 people sustained injuries.

The agency said the figures may still change as validation continues.

The quake damaged 71,996 houses and 706 infrastructures across the province. Families have started burying their dead in the hardest-hit towns, including San Remigio, Daanbantayan, Medellin, Tabogon, Sogod, Tabuelan, and Bogo City.(MyTVCebu)