MANILA — Four Filipinos in Mandalay are unaccounted for after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar, according to Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Undersecretary Eduardo De Vega.

Two of the four are a married couple, and all four are professionals.

Meanwhile, the families of two overseas Filipino workers in Mandalay, Alexis Gale Adalid and Edsil Jess Adalid, continue to plead for help in searching for the two.

ABS-CBN News is awaiting confirmation from DFA on whether or not the two individuals are the married couple documented missing.

The OFWs are teachers residing in Sky Villa condominium, one of the many buildings that collapsed due to the earthquake. There are various accounts on where the two are now, according Edsil’s mother, Hermosila Adalid.

READ: Myanmar quake toll passes 1,600 as rescuers dig for survivors

“Hanggang ngayon wala pa kaming correct na information na na-recover na sila. Kasi nakita namin ‘yung video na ‘yung gumuho, may jacket niya na nakasampay doon sa iron. Then may naghanap sa kanila doon. Tinatawag pangalan niya at pangalan ng asawa doon sa gumuho na structure. ‘Yung debris,” Hermosila Adalid told ABS-CBN News in a Zoom interview, adding they were able to get information from the community of Filipino teachers in Myanmar.4

A comment on the post of her daughter-in-law’s sister claimed the two were already found and are now in the hospital. “Pero ‘di namin alam kung [totoo.] Sana totoo ‘yun,” Hermosila said.

Hermosila added she hopes the government would extend help in finding the two as other family members tried to reach out to the Philippine Embassy in Yangon, Myanmar, but cited challenges due to a language barrier.

“Wala siyang nakausap na naintindihan kasi iba ang lenggwahe. Parang may chaos pa rin,” Hermosila said.

READ: Global aid effort begins for Myanmar quake relief

ON-THE-GROUND ASSESSMENT TEAM IN MANDALAY 

In an advisory, the Philippine Embassy in Myanmar (Yangon) said it is preparing to deploy a team in Mandalay for “on-the-ground assessment and direct welfare checks on Filipinos in the area.”

It also encouraged continued communication among Filipinos in the community for everyone’s safety.

"I’m also hoping po dahil dito—increase of manpower, ganoon—mapapabilis po ‘yung search, operation and rescue for Alex and Edsil kasi more than 48 hours na po silang missing [...] Sana po mayroong progress with all these plans na ginagawa ng embassy ng Pilipinas doon," Adalid's sister, Veronica May Concepcion, said regarding the team promised by the Embassy.

In an email to ABS-CBN News, the embassy said it is also conducting status verification for all Filipinos in Mandalay. The city has over 1.7-million residents and is among the areas hardest hit by the earthquake.

The embassy’s assistance-to-nationals (ATN) hotline (+95 998 521 0991) and the official Philippine Embassy in Myanmar Facebook Messenger is open for those in need of help following the earthquake.

De Vega added there are no reports yet of casualties among Filipinos due to the earthquake. There are also no reports of missing Filipinos in Thailand following the quake. The death toll from the earthquake has reached over 1,600.