Naga landslide: Warning signs ignored?

Over the weekend, authorities concluded the search and retrieval operations in Naga, Cebu, saying that the shaky ground has made it dangerous even for responders.

However, I hope the search for the truth on what really happened does not end. After all, the tragic landslide has raised a lot of questions that are begging for answers.

It is important to find out what really happened to prevent similar incidents from happening again in Naga or elsewhere.

For instance, who were really responsible for allowing a community to thrive in such precarious conditions? Based on news reports, there were numerous assessment reports indicating that the area had cracks and was, therefore, vulnerable to disaster. And yet, there was no forced evacuation even months before the onset of the rainy season.

Did experts from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) or local government executives ignore the warning signs?

What caused the landslide?

It’s easy to point an accusing finger at quarrying as the cause of the landslide. It sounds logical and it’s also convenient. But if it turns out that quarrying had nothing to do with it, then the real reason will remain hidden. Worse, a similar tragedy and senseless loss of lives can happen again in the future.

Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu is not convinced that quarrying caused the landslide. He said the quarry area was there, way ahead of the communities where people lived.

“The quarry site is at an isolated area, but many moved in because of the workers,” Cimatu said in a press conference on Sept. 27. “Until it became vulnerable to landslide,” he said.

I hope there will be a thorough investigation to ferret out the truth.

But whatever it is that made the area vulnerable to landslide, it’s really puzzling why there were communities there and why people were not evacuated when technical reports showed the area had cracks.

Why did the local government not cordon off the area? Did the Mines and Geosciences Bureau’s Region 7 office fail to see the warning signs?

I hope there will be an objective and science-based investigation so we can determine the real cause of the landslide — whether it’s a natural phenomenon, caused by earth moving activities, or both.

On July 26, Science and Technology Undersecretary and Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology director Renato Solidum Jr. went to Cebu to inform officials that the province’s fault lines cross six cities and 11 towns. The city of Naga was on the list.

Meanwhile, in an Aug. 29 report, almost a month before the Sept. 20 landslide, the MGB Region 7 said “the present nature, the number and the distribution of cracks/fissures in the subject site are not considered critical and do not pose imminent danger to the neighboring community.”

It also declared that the sighted cracks and fissures in the area were natural phenomenon and not related to mining operations.

According to reports, the city’s Disaster Risk and Reduction Management Council also submitted an incident report about the fissures which prompted Mayor Kristine Chiong to issue a cease and desist order on quarrying operations in the site. The Apo Land and Quarry Corp. (ALQC) immediately complied with the mayor’s order, the reports added.

Subsequently, MGB 7 regional director Loreto Alburo wrote to Mayor Chiong on Sept. 4 saying that the regional office has allowed the resumption of ALQC’s operations following the results of the technical report which showed that the cracks in the area were not related to quarrying.

The mayor then sought the help of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to further evaluate the site after ALQC reported that a three-millimeter crack on Aug. 31 became 35 millimeters by Sept. 11.

After the landslide, the mayor was quoted as saying that ALQC complied with the condition of monitoring and submitting a report. The company was also quoted as stating that it did not do any operations on that fateful day, save for a minor road development work.

Who’s at fault?

Perhaps, the local government of Naga and the MGB 7 downplayed the cracks as an early warning sign such that there was no forced evacuation of the communities.

The cracks, as the MGB itself has determined, were caused by natural forces but dangerous just the same as the landslide has shown.

One lesson here is that there should be further investigation and assessment whenever concerned agencies receive reports of such nature so that the local government can immediately order an evacuation.

Quarrying

On the other hand, if ALQC is at fault, government should penalize it, including the government unit that allowed it to operate. But if this is a natural phenomenon, the company should not be held accountable for something beyond its control.

Cimatu has already suspended quarrying operations in Naga and Itogon, but he said it’s impossible to order a sweeping halt to all quarrying operations in the country as they are crucial to the production of building materials for the current government’s infrastructure program. The materials are used to construct homes, schools, churches, roads, bridges, cities and communities.

But while they are necessary, there should be stricter enforcement of laws to ensure safe quarrying operations not just for the benefit of workers, but more so for the safety of surrounding communities.

Now all eyes are on the DENR to release a complete and impartial investigation report on the matter.

Iris Gonzales’ e-mail address is [email protected].