SEVEN persons have died while 48 others remained missing yesterday after a landslide hit an area near a mining site in Maco town, Davao de Oro on Tuesday night.
Thirty-one others, all injured, were rescued by search and rescue teams that included Army soldiers, according the Davao de Oro provincial government.
The landslide occurred at 7:50 p.m. Tuesday in Barangay Masara, burying two buses transporting workers of Apex Mining Co. and an undetermined number of houses, said Davao de Oro spokesman Edward Macapili.
Apex Mining said the landslide cite is outside its mining operations and is used as a vehicle terminal for buses and jeepneys servicing employees, service providers and members of the community.
The Davao de Oro government, in its Facebook page, said seven bodies have been retrieved from the landslide as of 4:30 p.m. yesterday. It said 31 injured were rescued.
“Meanwhile, there are 48 reported missing individuals,” it said, adding 758 families have been evacuated.
Macapili said there was no sign a landslide will occur as the area stopped experiencing rains since last Thursday. Before that, he said, they experienced rains in the past two weeks due to the shear line and trough of a low pressure area.
Macapili said the rains may have saturated the soil, causing a large portion of the hill to slide.
“This landslide can be attributed to the almost 15 days of rains,” Macapili said in a radio interview.
“I cannot attribute it to the mining operation because Apex Mining has been taking care of the environment… The forest is being taken care of by Apex Mining,” he said.
Macapili said Apex workers who had just finished their shift were aboard the buses which were at a terminal at that time of the incident. He said 18 workers were aboard the first bus and 12 at the second.
A third bus, carrying an undetermined number of Apex workers, left the area moments before the landslide, he said.
The Maco municipal government said based on initial reports, the landslide was caused by “continuous rains brought by the shear line and, recently, (by) the trough of LPA.”
Before the Maco landslide, the combined effects of the shear line, trough of the LPA and northeast monsoon, left at least 36 people dead in the Davao and nearby regions due to flooding and landslides.
SEARCH OPERATIONS
Macapili said the rescue operations had to be stopped on Tuesday night because of light rains and it was dark. Such conditions, he said, pose danger to search and rescue workers.
The search and rescue operations resumed yesterday morning. An incident command post had been established to facilitate the operations, he said.
Macapili said the landslide covered a road, leading to the nearby barangays of New Barili and Teresa.
The AFP Eastern Mindanao Command (Eastmincom) said troops from Army’s 25th Infantry Battalion have been deployed to the site to help in the search and rescue efforts.
“A total of 14 military vehicles have been mobilized to support rescue operations, alongside other vehicles from various organizations and agencies,” said Eastmincom spokeswoman Lt. Col. Rosa Ma. Cristina Manuel.
Manuel earlier said 86 Apex Mining employees were “trapped,” with 45 of them later rescued. Three were in critical condition.
She said 41 were missing. “Efforts continue to locate and rescue the remaining 41 individuals, as declared by Apex Mines,” said Manuel.
In Davao Oriental, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said it towed a distressed yacht in Mati City on Tuesday.
It said the yacht towed by PCG’s BRP Suluan was actively engaged in relief efforts.
On board the yacht was British national Christopher James McGeough.
The yacht is now at the Island Garden City of Samal for repair.
“Mr. McGeough also received medical attention to ensure that he was in good physical condition,” the PCG said.
FUNDS
President Marcos Jr. yesterday released P265 million from the Presidential Social Fund (PSF) to assist communities affected by the floods and landslides that hit Davao region last month.
Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian said this is on top of the Emergency Cash Transfer (ECT) that his department started to distribute yesterday.
The ECT was initially awarded to 500 families affected by shear line in Barangay Cabayangan in Braulio E. Dujali in Davao del Norte.
Some P4.98 million, or about P9,960 per family, was distributed on February 7. The ECT payout will be done until February 9.
The President, in a ceremony in Davao City after a briefing on the effects of the shear line and LPA, handed checks of P30 million each, sourced from the PSF, to the governors of Davao de Oro, Davao Oriental and Davao del Norte.
“From the reports that we have had, I think that we are doing all right in the provision of food packs, etc. But as the Secretary was explaining, it gets to the point that the people do not only need food. They need to buy other things for their household,’’ Marcos said in mixed English and Filipino.
He added that this is the reason the DSWD started distributing the ECT.
The President said he wants the affected population to be able to secure their immediate needs and at the same time make sure that they feel the help from the government.
The government of Agusan del Sur was also given P30 million in aid, P25 million each to Surigao del Sur and Maguindanao del Sur, P20 million each to the cities of Davao and Butuan and the province of Davao Occidental, P15 million to Agusan del Norte, and P10 million each to Cotabato and Bukidnon.
The amount is based on the number of barangays and communities affected.
DIRECTIVES
Marcos was in Davao yesterday to lead the inauguration of the Davao City Bulk Water Supply Project, and the distribution of 2,500 Land Electronic Titles (E-Titles), and to witness the signing of the civil works contracts for the Davao Public Transport Modernization Project (DPTMP).
He later conducted an aerial inspection of the communities affected by the shearline and trough of LPA.
The President, during the briefing, said he is satisfied with the immediate distribution of food and non-food relief items but ordered the immediate delivery of potable water and purifiers to the affected communities especially those in isolated areas. Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. said the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is sending 80 teams carrying bags of water on Thursday.
Marcos also ordered concerned government agencies to complete the assessment of public infrastructures that were damaged by the shear line and trough of LPA, adding that the assessment will be the basis for the funding of the repairs and rehabilitation efforts later.
He directed the Department of Public Works and Highways to prioritize bridges and roads that need repair to hasten not just the delivery of relief items but also to enable the affected population to resume their jobs and trade.
The President ordered the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to work with concerned agencies and local government units on the identification of areas where infrastructure should be built.
Davao de Oro Gov. Dorothy Montejo Gonzaga said initial assessment showed that damage to local and national roads, bridges and flood control infrastructure in the province due to the two weather disturbances has reached P3.664 billion, and they would need at least P8.2 billion for the repair and rehabilitation of these infrastructure.
She said damage to agriculture has reached P357 million as the shear line and trough has affected 6,285 farmers.
Davao Oriental Gov. Niño Uy damage to agriculture reached P351.6 million and P44.36 million due to the shearline and trough, respectively, while damage to infrastructure totaled to P498.7 million.
Davao del Norte Vice Gov. De Carlo Uy said damage to agriculture has reached P244.9 million while damage to infrastructure totaled to P1.237 billion due to the shear line and trough.
Davao Occidental sought help for students as most of the schools in the province are already submerged in water. — With Jed Macapagal and Jocelyn Montemayor
