DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 7 February)—Rescuers in Masara in the municipality of Maco, Davao de Oro have yet to find 48 missing individuals during the landslide there Tuesday night even as local authorities confirmed that seven people have died.
As of 4:30 p.m., the municipal information office of Maco said that they halted the search and rescue operations due to rains. The PAGASA weather bureau reported that heavy rains are caused by the low pressure area approaching Mindanao.
In the same report, seven were confirmed dead while 31 rescued individuals were injured. Some 758 families near the incident area were scattered among evacuation centers in the municipality.
In an interview with the media, Davao de Oro Governor Dorothy Gonzaga said that the reported casualties—defined as “reported injuries and dead”—do not limit to the mine site of Apex Mining Co., but the whole community in Masara as a whole.
Gonzaga said they had evacuated around 800 families from three barangays near the landslide area, including Masara.
She also confirmed that three buses owned by Apex were buried by the landslide, aside from a jeepney that suffered the same fate. She said the four vehicles buried under mud and debris were still not found by the rescuers as of late afternoon Wednesday.
Gonzaga also said she was grateful that the mining company initiated help to the affected residents and workers, even the rescuers.
“Didto jud siya sa may sentro, barangay proper. Even ang barangay hall natabunan (The [landslide] happened right at the center of the barangay. Even the barangay hall was buried),” the governor said.
Gonzaga said that Apex cannot yet resume operations because there are still minimal landslides reported in the area. But she stressed that the mining company will be advised to go back to work once the local government unit’s security and assessment officers find it safe to do so.
The governor reported to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during his visit at the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) depot in Panacan here today that the floods and the rains, including the landslide in Maco, damaged P3.6-billion worth of local and national roads, bridges, and flood control infrastructure.
Repair and rehabilitation of these infrastructure, Gonzaga said, would cost the government P8.2 billion—P2.181 billion for roads, P2.138 billion for bridges, and P3.889 billion for other facilities and infrastructure.
She also reported that 37,692 families in the province were affected from the bad weather brought by trough of low pressure area and shear line, with 85 houses totally and partially damaged. Damage to agriculture, the governor reported, is P122.50 million, affecting 6,285 farmers in the province.
President Marcos urged government agencies to collaborate with the LGUs in crafting a plan to hastily complete assessment of public infrastructure affected by the heavy rains, and “once plan is made, have it funded”. (Ian Carl Espinosa / MindaNews)
