CEBU, Philippines - The City of Naga and the Provincial Government are set to give financial assistance to the 26 families affected by last Saturday’s landslide in a hilly portion of Barangay Naalad.
Mayor Valdemar Chiong said that tomorrow, the city will distribute P10,000 cash assistance to each affected household regardless of the damage on their houses.
“Totally or partially damaged, or bisag wa naigo, hatagan nato og cash assistance kay dili naman sila nato pabalikon didto kay delikado naman to nga area,” said Chiong.
At the Capitol, Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia told reporters she is still waiting for the full report of the extent of damage so she can determine how much financial assistance will be given to the victims.
Immediate assistance in kind has been sent by the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office yesterday while it is coordinating with the officials of Naga in assessing the damage.
According to Chiong, the city government is now negotiating with the Hospicio de San Jose which owns a property across the affected area to let the affected families rent a space there.
The mayor explained they cannot provide relocation sites to the affected families, like those whose homes have been destroyed by landslides in the past, because a big portion of the city, about 70 percent, is timberland. Nonetheless, the city government “will continue to assist them in finding safe ways to build their new homes,” he said.
Temporarily, the 26 families are put up makeshift homes near a river just a few meters away from their destroyed homes. The city has been providing food to the 60 individuals living in their makeshift shanties, said Chiong.
Meanwhile, geologists from the Mines and Geo-sciences Bureau said the soil in the landslide-affected area is made of limestone.
In a television report, Josephine Alita, MGB-7 geologist, said landslides are expected to happen in such areas limestones easily get soft. (FREEMAN)