President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. inspected buildings, hospitals and facilities in Bogo City, Cebu, the center of the magnitude 6.9 earthquake, where three more casualties raised the death toll to 72.

He ordered a “tent city” to be put up in Bogo City to temporarily shelter residents who were displaced by the by the earthquake. He said the government would tap the Philippine Red Cross to deploy its medical field tents, which were used at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic as staging and isolation wards.

“We're just hurrying (establishing the tent city)... so they can find shelter here. Because many, rightly so, are afraid to go back to the building. They'd rather be outside,” Marcos said.

He said the tent city will have enough food, water, and electricity.

Marcos ordered the release of over P200 million assistance from the Office of the President to local government units in Cebu devastated by the tremblor.

The President announced the release of P50 million to the Cebu provincial government: P20 million each to Bogo City, Sogod, and San Remigio; and P10 million each to the municipalities of Bantayan, Daanbantayan, Madridejos, Medellin, Santa Fe, Tabogon, and Tabuelan.

He also ordered the release of P20 million each to Department of Health (DOH) hospitals and P5 million each to provincial hospitals in Cebu.

The President said the government is also providing P10,000 cash assistance for those whose homes were damaged by the earthquake.

Two additional fatalities were recorded in Medellin and another one in the municipality of Borbon, Cebu.

The NDRRMC said the recorded casualties are still subject for validation by the government.

It did not estimate damage to infrastructure but it noted that a total of 87 infrastructures and 597 houses were damaged in Central Visayas.

A total of 47,221 families or 170,959 individuals were affected while three roads and six bridges in the same region remain not passable as of Thursday.

Of the 85 cities and municipalities in Negros Island Region, Central and Western Visayas, 58 were not yet restored.

It also reported that 53 cities and municipalities in Central Visayas declared a state of calamity because of the damage caused by the tremor. DMS-Robina Asido