Fate of Little Kibungan folk still uncertain
ROAD BLOCKA landslide hit this section of Kennon Road in Barangay Camp 6 in Baguio City as Typhoon “Egay” dumped heavy rain in the Cordillera over the weekend. A few vehicles passing the route had to endure single lane sections as clearing operations continue. RICHARD BALONGLONG/INQUIRER NORTHERN LUZON
BAGUIO CITY—Survivors of the storm-triggered landslide that buried houses on a mountain slope at Little Kibungan in La Trinidad, Benguet province, killing 77 people, are still staying in the geologically hazardous area more than seven years after the calamity, even as new settlers have arrived to replace some of them.
La Trinidad Mayor Edna Tabanda said the local government’s plan to relocate them had been obstructed by land claims and sinkholes found in the site, which was segregated by then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo from Benguet State University (BSU) reservation.
Structures have mushroomed near the Little Kibungan landslide area in Barangay Puguis, despite the declaration by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) of a “no-build zone.” These were not issued building permits and could be demolished, Tabanda said.
“We issued cease orders over these constructions,” she said, “and I think they already stopped.”
Some of the houses are now occupied by nonresidents, suggesting that Little Kibungan’s long-time dwellers have abandoned the area. But the Inquirer visited the area recently and found that some residents had been renting out their properties while awaiting the fate of their promised resettlement.
Tabanda cited recent surveys showing the existence of sinkholes in the relocation area. “Why should we transfer the survivors from one dangerous area to another?” she asked.
“We will not return the area. We just need to study very well how to resolve problems [regarding cross claims made by some people] and the safety of the area before we let the Little Kibungan victims occupy it,” the mayor said.
Faye Apil, MGB Cordillera director, said Tabanda need not fear the existence of sinkholes along a 4,600-square-meter section of the 1.6 hectare relocation area. These have been identified and separated from the proposed resettlement site, she said.
Municipal engineer Benedict Pineda said his office discovered four sinkholes, the largest of which measures 3.9 meters wide and 8 meters deep, in 2011.
In January, BSU president Ben Ladilad said the university might reclaim the lot should the local government fail to use it for its intended purpose. “We did not donate the lot. We acceded to the President’s request then,” he said.
On June 22, Feliciano de los Santos, an official of the BSU land reservation office, said the university had already asked the Office of the Solicitor General to help it reclaim reservation lands that have been illegally occupied by or were titled to other claimants.
He was, however, silent about Ladilad’s proposal to recover the lot.
Informed about people claiming rights over the relocation site, De los Santos said the property was free from land claims when it was part of the university’s reservation. “I don’t know why claimants surfaced after the proclamation,” he said.
