I still remember that day in November 2013 when my friend, then Police Regional Office 8 director, Chief Superintendent Elmer Soria was relieved from his post days after he told media that super typhoon ‘Yolanda’ could have killed more than 10,000.

The PNP then issued a statement that Soria, a member of PMA Class 1982 was replaced over ‘acute stress reaction’ which may require him to undergo stress debriefing. His relief was ordered as then President Aquino and DILG chief Mar Roxas tried to downplay Yolanda’s death toll.

Eventually, the government placed the official ‘Yolanda’ death toll at 6,340 although it has been a very wide belief that the super typhoon killed thousands more, their bodies unrecovered or buried in mass graves in a hurry without being identified.

I’m making this piece amid the effort of some disaster officials this time to ‘downplay’ the death toll as a result of killer typhoon ‘Odette’ which badly devastated Visayas and Mindanao regions last week.

The PNP actually stopped counting and releasing its death toll after being criticized by some quarters including some NDRRMC officials. PNP chief, General Dionards Carlos even issued a statement clarifying their procedures in the reporting of ‘Odette’ casualties.’

“The Philippine National Police (PNP) would like to make it clear that all reported incidents relating to casualties after the onslaught of Typhoon Odette are properly documented and investigated by various police units,” he said.

“The reported casualties are submitted to Office of Civil Defense and these are subject to validation by OCD, DILG and DSWD,” said the top cop in explaining the process. He added that PNP units handling these data exercise due diligence to preclude possibilities of redundant or omitted entry that may compromise the accuracy of information.

According to Gen. Carlos, “ultimately, it’s the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) that takes the role as the over-all in-charge of pre-disaster and post-disaster response in our country. All reported incidents to the police units are further evaluated by the NDRRMC.”

The PNP chief asked for understanding if fatality figures between the organization and other government agencies may not match since there is a protocol for the validation undertaken by the NDRRMC.

“Search, Rescue and Retrieval Operations are still underway in some areas, so it’s premature to conclude the numbers, not to mention the limitation in the communication system due to interrupted signal connection that may delay the reporting scheme,” he added.

Last December 22, the PNP listed the number of deaths brought about by super typhoon ‘Odette’to 375 with 56 others still missing.Majority of the fatalities were recorded by the Police Regional Office 13 in Caraga region with 167 followed by the PRO7 in Central Visayas with 170. The others are the following: 24 deaths by the PRO6 in Western Visayas; six by the PRO8 in Eastern Visayas; one by the PR09 in Western Mindanao; and seven by the PRO10 in Northern Mindanao.

Of the missing, 47 were reported in Central Visayas, eight in Caraga region and one in Eastern Visayas.A total of 500 persons were also injured at the height of the heavy rains and powerful winds triggered by ‘Odette,’ 364 in Central Visayas; 118 in Caraga region; 15 in Eastern Visayas; and three in Northern Mindanao.

However, the NDRRMC on that same day gave a different death toll. It said that 156 were reported dead, 37 were missing and 275 were injured as a result of the ‘Odette’ onslaught.

The NDRRMC said only nine deaths have been validated including two each in Guimaras and Bohol, and one each in Iloilo, Negros Occidental, Bukidnon, Misamis Occidental, and Misamis Oriental.

On Tuesday, the NDRRMC said that the number of ‘Odette’ fatalities had already increased to 389 with 64 still missing and 1,146 injured. Last week, NDRRMC spokesperson Mark Timbal said they are coordinating with the PNP to verify the police regional offices’ total tally of 375 deaths since they may include “verbal items” and multiple entries of single cases.

Based on my experience, police are ‘very reliable’ when it comes to releasing casualty figures in every disasters and calamities that have hit the country. That is because they are among the first responders and are the ones making official ‘spot reports’ on each victim.

The NDRRMC and the Office of Civil Defense as well as the Department of Interior and Local Government actually relies on official ‘spot reports’ from the PNP. This has been proven time and time again. Police have released ‘accurate casualty reports/’ which were proven to be true after full validation. Just ask Gen. Soria who was proven right in his ‘Yolanda’ statement.