AUTHORITIES yesterday shifted to search and retrieval operations, from search and rescue, in the February 6 landslide in Maco, Davao del Norte.
The death toll rose yesterday to 71 from 68 on Monday. Fifty-one persons remain missing.
There is a slim chance of finding more survivors, said Brig. Gen. Ronnie Babac, commander of the Army’s 1001st Brigade, whose men are a playing key role in locating the missing.
“I was informed that the (shift to) search and retrieval was effective today,” he said.
Babac said 71 died in the landslide and nine body parts were also recovered.
Leah Añora, of the Department of Interior and Local Government’s Management of the Dead and Missing, reported the same number of fatalities but fewer missing persons — 47.
It was the second time authorities shifted to search and retrieval operations. The first was on February 8 because of slim chances of finding survivors. The following day, it reverted to search and rescue after a three-year-old girl was found alive.
“During search and rescue, there is very high possibility of finding survivors, so the search is very careful,” said Babac. “During search and retrieval, the chance of finding survivors is already slim,” he added.
Babac said the search was suspended yesterday afternoon because of a small landslide.
As to challenges they are facing on the ground, Babac said “the possibility of another landslide.”
Maj. Mark Anthony Tito, spokesman of the Army’s 10th Infantry Division, said 197 Army soldiers and 18 military trucks are involved in the search and retrieval operation.
Tito said the number includes soldiers from the 525th Engineering Battalion were deployed to the ground zero last Sunday.
“Our operation is continuing in support of the incident command center,” said Tito, adding the military effort will continue unless there is an order from higher authorities to stop.
Armed Forces spokeswoman Col. Francel Margareth Padilla said the military is not only involved in locating the missing but also in providing assistance to thousands of people who were affected by the disaster.
“The Air Force, the Army and the Navy are there,” said Padilla.
Padilla said two US C-130 planes are also helping in the transport of relief goods to the landslide victims.
HOUSE INQUIRY
Rep. Arlene Brosas (PL, Gabriela) yesterday filed a resolution calling for an investigation into the landslide which occurred near the mining operations of Apex Mining Co. in Barangay Masara, Maco town
The area hit by the landslide has been declared a no-build zone in 2008, according to the Mines and Geosciences Bureau.
House Resolution No. 1587 blames the large-scale mining operations of Apex Mining Co. and former president Rodrigo Duterte’s Executive Order 30 which lifted a nine-year ban on new mining agreements.
“Environmental advocates oppose large-scale and open pit mining operations due to their destructive, lasting impact on our communities. What happened in Davao is an example of the devastating impact on communities, which resulted in the deaths of so many workers and residents,” Brosas said in mixed Filipino and English.
She said EO 130 led to an increase in mining activities, with Apex Mining Co. being one of the large-scale mining companies permitted to operate in Mindanao.
“Mining has delivered paltry gains for the past years and has no significant contribution even to employment. Only big businessmen profit from it while the ordinary people suffer its effects on the community and nature,” Brosas said.
Brosas said the government should “at the very least, suspend, if not entirely ban, all large-scale mining operations in the country.”
“With the monsoon season nearly upon us, it is imperative that we take action to prevent incidents like the one in Davao de Oro from occurring in other areas,” she said. — With Wendell Vigilia
