Tragic landslide prompts QC mayor to build hospital near Litex Road

MANILA, Philippines – Following the landslide that killed last week nine persons in Quezon City, Mayor Herbert Bautista issued a warning to barangay officials who fail to curb the influx of informal settlers in the soil erosion-prone area.

The mayor also announced that he would prioritize the construction of a hospital near Barangay Commonwealth.

Bautista observed that a hospital nearer the area, particularly the second district, could have saved some of the victims in last week’s landslide. “It was possible that people could have been saved if they were brought to a nearby hospital,” he said in a statement pointing out that the landslide victims had to be brought to a hospital five kilometers away.

The mayor’s warning to negligent barangay officials is based on a recent declaration by the Interior Secretary Jessie Robredo of the 7,000-square meter landslide area along Litex Road in Barangay Commonwealth as a danger zone.

Robredo had also stressed the urgency of relocating residents in the area to avoid exposing them to danger.

Bautista said that the relocation of the families should not be misconstrued as a demolition but as a rescue effort by the government.

Meanwhile the mayor pushed for the construction next year of a well-equipped medical facility in Batasan Hills saying that the landslide in Litex area, where two shanties collapsed, necessitated the project.

“The construction of a three-story hospital in the District II area will provide better health services to the city residents, especially poor families, who are mostly residing in District II,” he noted.

Bautista pointed out that he will be asking assistance from Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr and some senators to ensure that the project is funded, adding, “I want to make health and medical services more accessible to as many families as possible.”

He noted that most hospitals in the city are located kilometers away from Barangays Batasan Hills, Commonwealth, Bagong Silangan, Payatas, Holy Spirit, Fairview and Greater Lagro, all in District II.

Nine persons were killed on Tuesday last week as the heavy downpour spawned by the southwest monsoon caused a landslide. The victims rescued from the incident had been brought to the East Avenue Medical Center, five kilometers away, causing some delay on their medical treatment.