More than a hundred landslide victims still buried under rocks, mud

GOVERNMENT and civilian workers yesterday stepped-up their search for more than 100 people reported missing and buried in a landslide that killed 25 others Thursday in a gold panning site in Pantukan, Compostela Valley.

A report to Philippine National Police chief Director General Nicanor A. Bartolome said that of the 25 dead, 18 have already been retrieved with 12 of them still unidentified.

Sixteen others were pulled out from under rocks and mud that covered the site Thursday afternoon. Soldiers, policemen and civilian volunteers using manual tools temporarily suspended their search-and-rescue operations at 2:30 p.m. Thursday due to heavy rains but resumed the grim search for bodies yesterday morning.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) identified at least nine of the fatalities as Romnick Diagdal, 22; Arlene Señoron, 23; Bea Tolentino, 6; Ivy Tolentino, 14; Sheena Mae Tolentino, 12; Susana Velasquez, 48; Ruel Zamora, 27; Rodel Taping, 29; and Christopher Dayami, 7.

Eight of the hospitalized survivors were identified as Jimboy Andao,24; Leoncio Baclayon,40; Clark Casera,22; Melvin Cuadrado,19; Moito Recaña,44; Ronald Sanchez,22; and Edgardo Cacho and Arnel Nicolas whose age were not listed.

The missing eight were identified as Ruperto Velasquez,49; Ramil Señoron,21; Roger Diagdal; Micheal, 23; Jennievie Paumbat,19; Man-ao Yogon, 22; Kiko Señoron,52; and Reglyn Evangelio,25.

NDRRMC chair Undersecretary Benito Ramos said the landslide struck the site in the wake of heavy continuous rains in the last several days .   

The ill-fated Barangay Napnapan is one of the 1,912 barangays nationwide that have been identified by experts as exposed to the great danger of landslides.

Officials said they warned Napnapan residents last November of the danger of landslides but the warning was ignored.

In April last year, another landslide also hit Pantukan municipality killing 14 people.

Police Regional Office 11 director Chief Superintendent Jaime Morente said the landslide buried several shanties and houses built at the gold panning area in Sitio Diat 1 and 2 in Bgy. Napnapan.

Pantukan Municipal Police Station chief Senior Inspector Werenfredo Regidor Jr. said the old mining site is home to small-scale miners and their families. He said that the miners and their families stay in the site while they tunnel their way for gold.

Local government officials have also started pinning the blame on each other. Governor Arthur Dy said the tragedy could have been prevented had the local municipal government strictly enforced an order banning miners from establishing homes near the mining area. Dy said he would ask the local mayor to explain the return of the workers and their families.

Who’s to blame?

Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo flew to Pantukan to personally find out who should be held liable for the landslide tragedy.

Robredo said local government officials in the area would be asked to explain why they should not be cited for dereliction of duty for their failure to implement forced evacuation of the residents at the mountainsides.

The government had already imposed measures to stop illegal mining activities in the place after parts of the mountain, which is only a few kilometers away from the landslide site, collapsed in April 2010, burying houses and leaving some 20 people dead.

Even Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Ramon Paje and Defense Secretary Voltaire Guzman during a visit, April of last year had told local officials in Compostela Valley that the place was a geohazard site.

Robredo said that he will personally determine the liability and culpability of the local officials particularly the mayor of Pantukan town and the village chairman of Barangay Panganasan.

The Panganason mining site, the DILG chief added, had been declared  by the DENR as a “geohazard” site as early as October last year.

It was reported that local officials had ordered forced evacuation of the illegal miners in the high-risk mining site but they apparently were not able to stop the people from returning to the area.    With Joel dela Torre