Day of mourning observed in Natonin, Mountain Province

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines — The local government and residents of Natonin, Mountain Province observed a day of mourning and cleansing locally known as ngilin yesterday for victims of a landslide in Barangay Banawel.

Ivy Mariano, incident command post spokesperson, said the 24-hour mourning and cleansing started at dawn yesterday.

Mariano said no resident was allowed to leave or enter the town and no vehicle could pass through the Parecelis-Natonin road for 24 hours. Residents were also advised to stay at their homes.

Mayor Gaspar Chilagan of Aguinaldo, Ifugao had earlier issued an executive order declaring a weeklong mourning, which started on Nov. 6.

Most of the fatalities and those who are still missing are residents of Aguinaldo town. They were in a newly constructed building of the Department of Public Works and Highways that was buried in the landslide.

The incident command post identified the missing as Esther Galong, a resident of Besao, Mountain Province; Randy Sayod of Villaviciosa, Abra; Inocencio Golingoy of Barangay Banawel in Natonin; Noel Alvester of  Lanna, Tabuk in Kalinga, and Eddie Galahya, Obaldo Guihawan and Jonathan Gano, all of Aguinaldo town.

A total of 22 bodies have been pulled out from the mountain rubble.

Local government units and volunteers ended their search and retrieval operations on Thursday, but the relatives of those who remain missing said they would return to the area on Monday.

The municipal government said volunteers should register at the police station for monitoring.  

Kalinga landslide

Meanwhile, in Kalinga, more than 100 people were displaced in Barangay Yogyog Pugong in Pasil town amid threats of a landslide, according to the municipal disaster risk reduction and management office.

The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) reported that fissures on the mountain side had swollen to 250 meters wide and 86 meters deep.

Pasil Mayor Alfredo Malannag has ordered the forced evacuation of residents in the area since Nov. 12 after tremors were experienced and confirmed by the MGB during an inspection. – Raymund Catindig