TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan, Philippines -- As debris left by typhoon "Pepeng" littered the streets of this Cagayan capital on Sunday morning, residents went out of their homes and gathered at the Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral to hear Mass.

Cagayanos offered thanks that Pepeng?s onslaught was not as bad as the devastation left behind by tropical storm Ondoy in Metro Manila, Rizal province and parts of the southern Tagalog region

Disaster response officials said people in Cagayan Valley should also thank themselves for heeding reason. Many took precautions or evacuated two days before Pepeng hit land.

Ondoy, which dumped a record-setting volume of rainfall, left 280 dead and properties worth hundreds of million-pesos damaged or destroyed.

Typhoon Pepeng so far left 14 dead, based on reports from the regional disaster coordinating councils in Northern Luzon and the Cordillera on Sunday.

Twelve of these victims died in landslides in Benguet, as strong rains on Saturday afternoon until Sunday morning loosened mountainsides.

Pepeng slammed into Tuguegarao City on Saturday afternoon, tearing off billboards and rooftops, toppling electric posts and felling trees, yet the Cagayan Valley OCD recorded no fatality in the province on Sunday.

Strong in faith

Old timers like Eliseo Ave, 72, said the typhoon was the strongest since a 1991 typhoon flooded the city's main streets up to their ankles.

"I don't remember the typhoon, but that was all about water and we are used to water. But this was a lot of wind and we were scared," Ave said.

The Tuguegarao cathedral stands a few meters from the banks of the Cagayan River, where the river had swollen.

By then, people had already left their homes, and had been sheltered by neighbors, two days before Pepeng hit.

A churchgoer said they were never in real danger because "all Cagayan residents have faith in the Our Lady of Piat." "She has promised us we will never fall into disaster," she said.

Another churchgoer here credited the prayers read by local priest, Gary Agcaoili, which were broadcast live by local radio stations as people counted down the hours to Pepeng's onslaught.

In Benguet, 12 people, four of them children, were killed after separate landslides spawned by heavy rains accompanying Pepeng buried their houses in Itogon and La Trinidad towns on Sunday morning.

Reports from the provincial disaster and coordinating council in Benguet said Ernesto Gabayne; Alex Rufino; Junie Cadasa Jr., 8; Jerick Cadasa, 10; Lanoy Cadasa, 12; and two others were killed when a landslide swept down a house under construction in Barangay (Village) Ampucao, Itogon.

The victims? bodies have been recovered but two of the seven have yet to be identified.

Ampucao residents called for help when they noticed that the Cadasas' house was no longer at its spot on Sunday morning.

Another landslide hit Sitio Bosi in Beckel village in La Trinidad, burying a family of five.
Rescuers have recovered the bodies of Laruan Tabora, Catalina Tabora, spouses Rustom Galbey and Zenia Galbey, and their one-year-old child, Daphe Galbey.

Reports from the OCD in the Cordillera said Jericho Rimando, 17, remained missing. Rimando fell into a swollen creek in Camdas village in Baguio City on Saturday.

OCD reports said 2,179 families, most of them in Apayao and Kalinga, were evacuated as major rivers and waterways in the region started to swell.

Heavy rains fell in Baguio City from Saturday afternoon until Sunday morning, flooding low-lying areas of City Camp, Mirador, Queen of Peace, Marville Subdivision, DPS Compound and Irisan.

A small landslide in Ambassador village in Tublay, Benguet, closed Halsema Highway but personnel of the Department of Public Works and Highways managed to clear the road.

Benguet Gov. Nestor Fongwan said the typhoon damaged farms but he ruled out a shortage of vegetable supply. Benguet supplies most of the vegetables in the Cordillera, Ilocos and Metro Manila.

"We have yet to assess the damage. But there is no reason to panic," Fongwan said.

The Benguet Truckers and Traders Association (BTTA) said buying and selling remained normal at the trading post on Saturday and Sunday but noted a decrease in the number of trucks that hauled vegetables to Metro Manila.

In Pangasinan, Raymund Naval, broadcaster of the flood forecasting office of the San Roque Power Corp., said the water level at the San Roque Dam in San Manuel town on Sunday noon was at 281.86 meters, still below its 290-meter critical mark.

Naval, however, said the dam might release water if heavy rains continued in upland Mountain Province, whose watersheds feed the dam.

He said the last time the San Roque Dam released water was in 2006, but this lasted for only 30 minutes.

The San Roque Dam catches water from Ambuklao and Binga dams, both in Benguet.

As of 11 a.m. Sunday, reports from the Cordillera OCD said Ambuklao Dam's level was recorded at 742.75, still below its 752-meter critical mark. Water level at the Binga Dam was 573.7, also below the critical mark of 575 meters.

The OCD, however, said six gates each in Ambuklao and Binga dams have been opened.

The Ilocos OCD said at least 5,100 people were taken to evacuation centers in Pangasinan, La Union, Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte.

In Isabela, authorities reported two deaths. Chief Insp. Roberto Bucad, Isabela police spokesperson, said Ilagan resident Benjie Ido, 25, died of extreme cold at the height of the typhoon on Saturday.

Bucad said Ludivilla Abarra, 54, a resident of San Mariano town, died of lung illness as she could not be immediately taken to a local hospital for treatment.

About 400 Ilagan residents, who were evacuated to school buildings in the town, returned to their houses on Sunday.

Damage to agriculture

The devastation was greater in the province's agricultural areas as water from swollen rivers and creeks found their way into corn and rice farms.

Reports from the provincial government said at least P13 million worth of palay and corn in 10 Isabela towns was lost to the typhoon.

"It has been a recurring problem for us. We plant but our crops get swamped during typhoons and heavy flooding. We replant [hoping to recover our losses]. Sometimes, we are lucky, but most of the times, we are unlucky," said Nick Fugaban, whose corn farm in Camunatan village in Ilagan town was submerged in floodwaters.

Camunatan village officials and residents on Saturday joined hands in bringing at least 30 farm animals in front of the town hall to avoid the rising floodwaters.

Power supply was restored to many parts of Isabela on Sunday.

Emilio Paddayuman, 64, church worker from Ramon town, said the province was generally spared by Pepeng due to the power of prayer.

He said the town's patron, San Roque, interceded on their behalf. Three weeks ago, the image of San Roque was displayed in 19 villages in Ramon.

Estelita Eugenio, 67, who lives with her husband and their grandchildren in a rundown house along the national highway in Ramon, said she prayed out loud that the typhoon would veer away from its original path.

Eugenio said she prayed all day because strong winds could knock down their house.

In Nueva Ecija, officials manning the Pantabangan Dam ordered the release of water on Sunday due to heavy rains.

Antonio Nangel, operations manager of the Upper Pampanga River Integrated Irrigation Systems (UPRIIS), said the reservoir's level reached 220.28 meters on Sunday, almost reaching its 221-meter critical mark.

He said the dam started releasing water at 120 cubic meters per second at 11 a.m. Sunday. The release will continue until the 219-meter mark is reached.

President Macapagal-Arroyo, who visited Cabanatuan City and Gabaldon town on Sunday, asked Gov. Aurelio Umali and members of the Nueva Ecija PDCC to ensure that no areas would be flooded as a result of the release of water from the dam.

Ms Arroyo told Umali to submit a report about the palay damage in the province and a proposal on how the national government could help farmers.

Serafin Santos, provincial agriculturist, said palay damage in the province from storm Ondoy and Pepeng could be between P150 and P200 million.

In Gabaldon, Ms Arroyo and Social Welfare Secretary Esperanza Cabral distributed assistance for education, health and livelihood.

In Bulacan, the more than 2,000 families, who were evacuated as the Ipo Dam released water on Saturday, started to return to their homes on Sunday as the weather improved.

These families live on river banks and low-lying areas along the path of Angat River in Norzagaray, Bustos, Baliuag, Plaridel and Calumpit towns.

In Zambales, at least 4,000 more evacuees were housed in elementary schools in the province.
Graciela Macabare, Zambales PDCC chief, said 903 families in the coastal town of Sta. Cruz were taken to 18 evacuation centers.

Floodwaters in Botolan town, which was hit by widespread flooding in August, reached up to five feet on Saturday night.