Several Cebuanos answer the urgent call for blood donors by the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu City on Thursday, October 2. VSMMC reported a critical blood supply the day before, October 1, after it received more than 60 earthquake victims. Photos from Cebu Provincial Capitol PIO

The Office of Civil Defense officially ends search, rescue, and retrieval operations in northern Cebu as of 1 pm on Thursday, October 2, saying all reported missing persons have been accounted for and no further signs of trapped individuals were found. Photo from Civil Defense Region VII

Tourism takes a hit

The Central Visayas office the Department of Tourism reported that, as of later afternoon Wednesday, October 1, the 6.9 magnitude earthquake that hit Cebu the night before had caused damage to 80 tourism establishments, 21 tourist sites, 36 accommodation establishments, and 23 other tourism infrastructure in the region. 

The DOT said a total of 711 tourism workers in the region were affected. They included staff from hotels, resorts, restaurants, travel agencies, transport services, and related enterprises.

Fifteen tourists were reported stranded in Bogo City, San Remigio, and Santa Fe.

Tourism Secretary Cristina Frasco, who hails from Cebu, was among the Cabinet members who joined President Marcos on Thursday, October 2, to check on the extent of the damage caused by the earthquake. 

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. inspects the damage to the Archiodesan Shrine and Parish of Saint Vincent Ferrer in Bogo City, on Thursday, October 2, in the aftermath of the magnitude 6.9 earthquake that struck Cebu province. Photos from Presidential Communications Office

TIEZA checking on affected heritage, tourism sites

Tourism Secretary Cristina Frasco on Thursday, October 2, deployed personnel of the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority to inspect the following heritage sites reported to have been affected by the September 30 Cebu earthquake: 

* Fort San Pedro

* Archdiocesan Shrine of Santa Rosa de Lima, Daanbantayan – heavily damaged coral stone church

* Saints. Peter and Paul Parish, Bantayan – partial damage to heritage structure

* San Isidro Labrador Church, Tabogon – facade and roof collapsed

* Capelinha de Fatima Replica, San Remigio – severe structural damage

* San Juan Nepomuceno Parish, San Remigio – reported damage under inspection

* Medellin Tourist Rest Area

* Carmen Tourist Rest Area

On Tuesday night, right after the earthquake, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines issued reminders on how to retrieve and secure historical artifacts in affected structures and sites. 

Marcos orders more than P600 million in initial assistance to Cebu 

President Marcos on Thursday, October 2, ordered the release of the following amounts to the areas, communities, and facilities affected by the Cebu earthquake: 

P50 million - Cebu provincial government

P20 million each to 3 local government units: Bogo City, Sogod, and San Remigio

P10 million each to 7 LGUs: Bantayan, Daanbantayan, Madridejos, Medellin, Santa Fe, Tabogon, and Tabuelan

P20 million each to Department of Health hospitals

P5 million each to provincial hospitals in Cebu

P150 million from the Local Government Support Fund - Cebu provincial government 

P75 million each to 3 LGUs, also from the LGSF: San Remigio, Bogo City, and Medellin

P10,000 cash assistance - families whose homes were damaged 

“I assured all of our local executives that this is not — hindi ito minsanan lang. Baka naman isipin ninyo na pag-alis namin dito tapos na lahat. Hindi,” President Marcos said during the situation briefing at the Bogo City Hall.

“We will continue to monitor. We will continue to coordinate with the leaders, the local leadership to make sure that maganda ang takbo ng ating rehabilitation and all the support na ibinibigay natin,” he said. 

Marcos and several Cabinet officials were in Bogo City, Cebu, to check the damage caused by the 6.9-magnitude earthquake that struck Cebu on Tuesday. 

Tent city to rise in Bogo City for displaced families 

President Marcos on Thursday, October 2, ordered the setting up of a “tent city” in Bogo City to provide temporarily shelter to families displaced by the 6.9-magnitude earthquake.

He said the government will ask the Philippine Red Cross to deploy its medical field tents. These tents were used as staging and isolation ward at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Given the widespread infrastructure damage in the city and in other parts of northern Cebu, Marcos said he understood that residents remained fearful of returning to their homes or even staying in structurally compromised evacuation centers. 

“Kung saan ilalagay 'yung gagawa ng tent city, kung tawagin, ay lalagyan din natin ng siyempre lahat nung facilities. Titiyakin natin na may food supply, may water supply, may kuryente kung kailangan mag-genset,” President Marcos said. “Kung anuman ang pangangailangan ng tao ay titiyakin natin na mayroon.”

Tropical Storm Paolo (Matmo) is already 370 kilometers east of Baler, Aurora, as of early Thursday evening, October 2. https://www.rappler.com/philippines/weather/tropical-storm-paolo-update-pagasa-forecast-october-2-2025-8pm/

PAGASA raises Signal No. 3 as Paolo (Matmo) strengthens into a severe tropical storm on Thursday evening, October 2. https://www.rappler.com/philippines/weather/severe-tropical-storm-paolo-update-pagasa-forecast-october-2-2025-11pm/

PAGASA says Severe Tropical Storm Paolo (Matmo) could make landfall in Aurora or Isabela on Friday morning or noon, October 3. https://www.rappler.com/philippines/weather/severe-tropical-storm-paolo-update-pagasa-forecast-october-3-2025-5am/

BREAKING: PAGASA says Paolo (Matmo) has intensified into a typhoon as of 8 am on Friday, October 3, 2025. Signal No. 4 will be raised in parts of Northern Luzon and Aurora. #WeatherAlert #PaoloPH

Update from Rappler's John Sitchon:

The magnitude 5.1 aftershock at around 5:40 am on Friday, October 3, 2025, has affected the Archdiocesan Shrine of Santa Rosa de Lima in Daanbantayan, Cebu. The entrance archway, where the Porta Mayor is located, sustained further damage. Photo from the Archdiocesan Shrine of Santa Rosa de Lima's Facebook page

BREAKING: PAGASA says Typhoon Paolo (Matmo) made landfall in Dinapigue, Isabela, at 9 am on Friday, October 3, 2025. #WeatherAlert #PaoloPH

Residents of Barangay Caputatan Sur in Medellin town, Cebu, take refuge from the heat in a roadside “tent city.”

Locals say they are too afraid to return to their homes, especially after a magnitude 5.1 earthquake hit Cebu again on Friday morning, October 3.

After hitting Isabela, Typhoon Paolo (Matmo) begins crossing Northern Luzon on Friday morning, October 3. https://www.rappler.com/philippines/weather/typhoon-paolo-update-pagasa-forecast-october-3-2025-11am/

Rainfall warnings and Signal Nos. 1 to 4 remain in effect early Friday afternoon, October 3, as Typhoon Paolo (Matmo) continues to cross land. https://www.rappler.com/philippines/weather/typhoon-paolo-update-pagasa-forecast-october-3-2025-2pm/

JUST IN: Phivolcs identifies fault that caused Cebu earthquake @here

The newly named Bogo Bay Fault triggered the magnitude 6.9 Cebu earthquake, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) announced on Friday afternoon, October 3.

This was after Phivolcs' quick response team found the fault's onland extension in Barangay Nailon, Bogo City. Their drone survey mapped as much as 1.5 kilometeres of ground rupture, with features indicating a right-lateral fault.

"Field verification is ongoing to determine its full extent, with further details to follow," Phivolcs said in a Facebook post. | via @Shay Du - Rappler

Paolo (Matmo) was downgraded from a typhoon to a severe tropical storm late Friday afternoon, October 3, after it crossed Northern Luzon. https://www.rappler.com/philippines/weather/severe-tropical-storm-paolo-update-pagasa-forecast-october-3-2025-5pm/

No more areas are expected to have intense or torrential rain from Severe Tropical Storm Paolo (Matmo) on Saturday, October 4, although moderate to heavy rain may still hit at least six provinces. https://www.rappler.com/philippines/weather/severe-tropical-storm-paolo-update-pagasa-forecast-october-3-2025-11pm/

Portions of Northern Luzon and the northern part of Zambales remain under Signal No. 1 even after the exit of Severe Tropical Storm Paolo (Matmo) from the Philippine Area of Responsibility early Saturday, October 4. https://www.rappler.com/philippines/weather/severe-tropical-storm-paolo-update-pagasa-forecast-october-4-2025-5am/

The Cebu provincial government distributes food, water, and other essentials to 256 families in Barangay Bagacay, Borbon. Relief operations are continuing in other areas, the provincial government adds. Photo from Cebu Province

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology releases field mapping and drone images showing the surface rupture of the Bogo Bay Fault, the source of the magnitude 6.9 earthquake that struck Cebu on Tuesday, September 30. The photos capture fissures and ground displacement caused by the fault's movement. Photos from Phivolcs

A pickup truck en route to deliver relief goods to northern Cebu was involved in an accident, Lapu-Lapu City Representative Junard Chan says in a Facebook post on Saturday afternoon, October 4.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CiPtZM2YN/

After Severe Tropical Storm Paolo (Matmo), PAGASA is monitoring a low pressure area that could be the Philippines' next tropical cyclone. https://www.rappler.com/philippines/weather/severe-tropical-storm-paolo-lpa-update-pagasa-forecast-october-4-2025-11am/

The Cebu provincial government deploys two Black Hawk helicopters to deliver 700 relief packs to households in Carnaza Island, Daanbantayan, on Saturday, October 4. Photos from Cebu province

Pasig social welfare head: Cebu traffic ‘causing much delay’ in relief work

Teresa Briones, social welfare head of Pasig City, lamented the “very, very bad” northbound traffic in Cebu due to the influx of vehicles bringing relief goods, in a Facebook post on Sunday, October 5.

The Pasig City government had deployed 25 of its personnel to Cebu to help out with safety checks on infrastructure and psychosocial efforts for earthquake victims.

“The supposedly one-hour travel from Bogo to Catmon is now taking seven hours and going to Bogo almost five hours…. Ang bagal ng proseso ng trabaho namin, dahil naiipit kami sa traffic (Work for us has been slow because we get struck in traffic),” Briones wrote.

She appealed to private individuals and groups donating relief to course it through operation hubs in the province or through major civic or faith-based groups.

The Sogod municipal government in Cebu debunked a reported landslide that supposedly happened in Barangay Damolog on Sunday, October 5.

The municipal government appealed to the public to refrain from sharing unverified information.

The Tabogon municipal government in Cebu closes the Nipa Bridge in Barangay Muabog — which connects the town to Borbon — to all vehicles to prevent further road collapse, in an advisory posted on Sunday, October 5.

Meanwhile, the Medellin municipal government closes the road beside Saint Paul School of Medellin “as the structure has started to tilt following the recent strong aftershocks, which caused further damage to the building.” https://www.rappler.com/philippines/visayas/cebu-earthquake-updates-news-information-areas-affected-damage-aftershocks-september-2025/#story-3089175

Even the dead were not spared.

Bone chambers and tombs were destroyed at the New Corazon Cemetery in Barangay Sambag, Bogo City, following the magnitude 6.9 earthquake that struck Cebu province last September 30.

Lando Bentulan, a sepulturero and Barangay Sambag councilor, said on Sunday, October 5, that the extent of the damage is difficult to determine as the cemetery has more than a thousand chambers.

Bentulan called on relatives of those buried to visit and pay their respects, as many of the tombs were toppled and cracked open by the tremor. Photos by Jacqueline Hernandez/Rappler

Volunteers gather at the Cebu province’s motor pool on Sunday, October 5, where relief goods are packed, sorted, and then dispatched to victims of the magnitude 6.9 earthquake in towns and cities in the north. Donations may also be dropped off here, as well as in other relief operation hubs in the province. | via @Bea Cupin - RAPPLER