Robredo to Itogon residents: Return to your provinces
Residents of Itogon, Benguet who have been displaced due to landslides were advised by Vice President Leni Robredo on Friday to return to their respective provinces.
“Sinabi natin kanina na iyon sana iyong pinakamabuti—na bumalik sa probinsya—kasi gaya nito, iyong Itogon, itong site kung nasaan tayo ngayon, hindi na talaga siya safe,” Robredo said during her visit to the ground zero of the Itogon landslide site.
According to her, most of the people’s worries center on the lack of a resettlement area, and the problems that entail if they return to their provinces.
“As of now, iyon talaga. Iyong worry nila, wala pang relocation site na natuturo. Mayroong mga nag-avail ng Balik Probinsya. Mayroon ding mga gustong mag-avail pero dahil walang kasiguruhan kung may mauuwian na hanapbuhay, nag-aatubili,” she said.
“Kaya iyong pinaka-kuwestiyon talaga, saan sila pupunta? May ibinigay naman sa kanila na evacuation center sa isang barangay; kanina ine-express nila na nag-aatubili din sila doon kasi 18 kilometers away, malayo sa paaralan ng mga bata,” she added.
Itogon Mayor Victorio Palangdan said that a large number of residents in Itogon are not natives of the area — some flocked to the town to engage in mining.
On September 15, miners and their relatives inside a chapel in Barangay Ucab were buried alive after wind and rain brought by Typhoon Ompong softened the land where it is situated. At least 75 bodies were recovered in retrieval operations.
Following the incident, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources closed all mining activities in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).
The Mines and Geosciences Bureau later declared at least 184 hectares of land in the town, which includes the staging area of responders involved in rescue operations and the municipal hall of Itogon itself, are all prone to landslides.
Itogon Mayor Victorio Palangdan said in a previous interview that they have started evacuating people from the affected areas.
READ: Itogon mayor: No resettlement site yet for families living in landslide-prone areas
Meanwhile Robredo asked authorities to make sure that proposed resettlement sites are nearby important facilities such as schools.
“Halimbawa, kung may relocation site, dapat sana may malapit din na paaralan. Siguro i-expand iyong scholarship para doon sa mga may mga estudyanteng mga pamilya. Para lang makatulong,” she said.
“Kasi ngayon pinakamahirap sa lahat iyong uncertainty — iyong hindi nila alam kung saan sila pupunta, hindi nila alam kung ano iyong susunod. Kaya siguro iyon iyong pinaka-tulong na gusto nating tutukan ngayon,” she added.
Robredo also said she hopes government would focus on the lives of the displaced residents after the rescue and retrieval operations have ended, saying the aid from her office and other agencies is not enough.
“Ngayon kasi, busy pa sa retrieval iyong karamihan, pero I would hope that in the coming week, mas definite na iyong tulong,” Robredo said.
“Ngayon naman, as of today, iyong tulong ng office namin iiwanan na namin, with the hope na kahit paano makatulong […] Pero tingin ko kasi hindi iyon enough. Hindi enough dahil, iyon nga, wala ngang kasiguruhan kung saan sila ire-relocate,” she added. /muf
