Quarrying partly to blame for Cherry Hills tragedy, says exec

An official of the real estate firm that developed the Cherry Hills Subdivision in Antipolo City admitted before a Department of Justice (DOJ) panel yesterday that the company's quarrying was partly to blame for the landslide that struck the village last Aug. 3, killing 58 people.

The official, Sixto Caday, told the three-man panel that quarrying, besides heavy rainfall and other factors, contributed to the occurrence of the landslide.

Caday claims to have been commissioned by the developer, Philippine Japan Solidarity Corp. (Philjas), to follow up with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources the issuance of an environmental clearance certificate. He said he is no longer connected with the firm.

Asked by Rizal chief prosecutor Gregorio Arizala if Philjas' quarrying of a mountain that left a 20-foot high hanging wall made the site unstable, Caday replied: "Not only (this) development, but there are also other factors like heavy rainfall."

He defended Philjas, nonetheless, saying the firm made sure the ground was "stable" before it quarried the mountain.

He added that Philjas made a thorough study and complied with all requirements for the quarrying.

Another Philjas official, engineer Timoteo Layos, played safe, however, by saying he was "unsure" whether quarrying adversely affected the stability of the mountain's western portion where the subdivision stood.

But Philjas president Timoteo Santillan and general manager Eliezer Rodriguez stood firm in their belief that the quarrying had no ill-effects.

Philjas officials admitted though yesterday that they failed to submit to the DENR any environmental impact statement (EIS), a prerequisite for the issuance of an ECC, which the company eventually got.

Caday, however, reasoned that the DENR did not ask for the EIS, and that the firm complied with all the requirements.

In a report to the Housing Land Use and Regulatory Board (HLURB), Philjas said the subdivision had a 15 percent slope when in truth, as borne out by records of a Senate inquiry, it had a 27 percent slope.

Santillan, however, argued that both figures did not matter as they were still below the critical level of 40 percent slope.

What the firm declared, however, was contrary to the Ombudsman's finding that Cherry Hills sat on an "environmentally critical area having more than 40 percent slope."

Yesterday's hearing was the last in the DOJ's preliminary investigation into charges of reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicide and damage to property filed against Philjas executives by more than 220 complainants.

The case is deemed submitted for resolution, and the panel, headed by assistant chief state prosecutor Lualhati Buenafe with Arizala and state prosecutor Lorna Lee, as members, is expected to issue a ruling by the end of the month.

Philjas blamed the government, the DENR, HLURB and particularly the Antipolo City government for the tragedy.

"These government agencies could have stopped our operations had they not been in compliance with the required engineering standards," Philjas general manager Hiroshi Ogawa said.

He added that the tragedy "is a clear case of force majeure."