OCD urges crackdown vs irresponsible mining after deadly Davao landslide

Davao de Oro map

MANILA, Philippines — The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) is recommending a crackdown on irresponsible mining practices following the landslide in a Davao De Oro mining village which claimed six lives and dozens remaining missing.

OCD Administrator Ariel Nepomuceno made the suggestion, among other things, before President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. in a situation briefing in Davao City on Wednesday.

Nepomuceno said there is a need for interventions like “revisiting and formulation of new policies and plans that will cover all major river basins; strict implementation against human activities that aggravate the problems such as irresponsible mining practices; environmental protection; improvement of flood-control projects and other engineering interventions; and permanent relocation of vulnerable communities.”

“We cannot deny the fact that there are challenges and existing problems that need to be resolved with regard to the recurring problem of flooding in various areas of the country and these are pressing concerns,” Nepomuceno also said.

As of 2:00 p.m., six miners were killed, 31 injured, while 46 people remain missing after several buses carrying 86 workers of Apex Mines were buried in a landslide at around 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday at Barangay Masara in Maco town, according to the Eastern Mindanao Command.

Nepomuceno noted that multiple weather disturbances like the shear line, northeast monsoon and the trough of a low pressure area hit Davao region this month, which caused widespread flooding and landslide incidents in the region.

“The continuous rains in the upland areas, the heavy siltation of Tagum-Libuganon River, and the rise of water levels in several river systems due to excessive rains have caused landslides and flooding in the region,” Nepomuceno noted.

“We are discussing these concerns alongside the ongoing response operations in the area,” he also said. “Clearer accountabilities must also be drawn.”