Landslide deaths rise to 26

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – The death toll in Compostela Valley rose to 26 yesterday with 19 others reported missing after several shanties were buried by landslides at a mining village in Pantukan.

Authorities said the bodies of the 26 fatalities had been recovered. Eighteen injured victims were brought to various hospitals in Davao del Norte.

Compostela Valley Gov. Arthur Uy said continuous rains in the past days caused the landslide in Sitio Boringot, Barangay Napnapan last Monday afternoon.

Uy said local officials had previously ordered the residents in the landslide-prone area to transfer to a safer place but they refused.

The residents even signed a waiver last April for their continued stay in Sitio Boringot.

Compostela Valley provincial police director Senior Superintendent Ronald de la Rosa said rescue teams from the police, military and civilian volunteers were deployed to the area, which has been isolated from other villages.

“Right now, we are still clearing the area because it could not be accessed and it is really dangerous to get to the site,” Uy said.

De la Rosa said the survivors reported that the victims sought shelter inside the three quarters of the miners and were waiting for the rain to stop when the landslide occurred.

The three bunk houses of the miners were reportedly buried by the landslide, De la Rosa said.

Uy said local officials plan to implement a forced evacuation of other villages in Barangay Napnapan.

The Philippine Air Force deployed helicopters to conduct search and rescue operations near the disaster site.

Air Force Tactical Operations Group XI chief Lt. Col. Rozzano Briguez said the Huey helicopters that were dispatched to the landslide area were able to airlift 17 injured victims from the disaster site to Barangay Kingking Elementary School grounds in Poblacion Pantukan from where they were brought to hospitals in Tagum City.

South Cotabato residents warned

Local officials have advised residents of the mountain villages in South Cotabato to take safety precautions to prevent another landslide similar to the incident in Compostela Valley.

“It’s part of our job to warn the people about the possible occurrence of landslides, especially nowadays that the some parts of the province are experiencing heavy rainfall,” said Haydee Lacdoo, chief of the disaster division of the provincial social welfare and development office.

Lacdoo said South Cotabato Gov. Daisy Avance-Fuentes is closely monitoring areas where landslide and flashfloods have occurred in the past.

Fuentes also ordered the officials of the barangay disaster coordinating council to monitor and evaluate the water level of nearby rivers.

The Mines and Geo-sciences Bureau (MGB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has identified as flood-prone areas the towns of Surallah, Banga, Sto. Niño, Norala and Koronadal City.

MGB officials said the towns of Lake Sebu and T’boli in South Cotabato, the towns of Malungon, Glan and Maasim in Sarangani and Bagumbayan in Sultan Kudarat are also threatened by landslides. With Jaime Laude, AP