Buhisan issue left to disaster council

MAYOR Michael Rama has left the decision of evacuating residents in sito Sandayong, barangay Buhisan to the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, which in turn waits for barangay officials to act on the matter.

“If that (evacuation) would be good for them, so be it. The barangay should also be involved,” Rama said.

Councilor Dave Tumulak, who heads the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CCDRRMC), said the barangay concerned should be the first one to respond to the landslide threat.

“I’ve talked with the captain, he said they are still conducting survey of all the families affected and informing them of the threats of the area, so we still have to wait for them,” he said.

Tumulak said that under RA 10121 or the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act, the barangay, which has its own Barangay Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, can be held liable for neglect of duty if something happens to the residents.

The city government can only come in once the barangay is done with its own response, although he thinks evacuation should be done as soon as possible.

Tumulak also urged the affected residents to avail of the city’s relocation sites through the Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor (DWUP).

Barangay officials met with representatives of around 40 families over the weekend to inform them of the threat and urged them to stay at the barangay sports complex at night. But the warning fell on deaf ears.

Tumulak is now talking with some nongovernment organizations that could provide lumber and roofing sheets for the residents should they wish to relocate. Aside from being in a landslide-prone area, the affected community is also within the three-meter easement of a river in the barangay

“The people themselves know that they should not be in the area. At one side is a river while at the other side is the landslide area,” Tumulak said.

A landslide threat advisory was sent by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) 7 yesterday to barangay Buhisan, stating that the area has “very high susceptibility to landslides.”/CORRESPONDENT JOSE SANTINO S. BUNACHITA