Manobos to be evacuated from Kidapawan village due to landslide threat

KIDAPAWAN CITY, North Cotabato, Philippines—The City Public Safety Office has recommended the forced evacuation of 50 families from the upland barangay (village) of Ilomavis here due to massive landslides that could take place anytime as moderate to heavy rains have been softening the ground for days now.

Psalmer Bernalte, chair of the city disaster risk and management council, said they have documented at least six landslide-prone areas in Ilomavis.

“We also recorded a landslide along the national highway leading to Lake Agco at the foot of Mt. Apo,” he said.

Under the proposal, the evacuated families – consisting of Manobo lumads – will be housed in the village’s covered court.

“In the meantime that the weather condition is unfavorable, they will temporarily stay in the designated evacuation sites, identified by the village council,” he said.

Dr. Natividad Ocon, the city schools division assistant superintendent, said classes have been suspended in Ilomavis due to the situation. Three more villages requested the suspension of classes too as rains continued to pour, as of Wednesday.

“Teachers and students have difficulties in going to school due to the bad weather condition and fear that they might be stranded due to landslide along their way to school,” she said.

In Maguindanao, some 2,000 families have been affected by floods triggered by the bad weather but no evacuation have been reported so far, officials said.

“Their communities were flooded but they prefer to stay since water normally recedes after an hour or two when rain stops,” Myrna Jo Henry, spokesperson of the Humanitarian Emergency Action and Response Team (HEART) of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, said.

She said provincial disaster officials have been closely monitoring 17 low-lying towns of Maguindanao and have been preparing for evacuation.

Bernalte said they have also been studying the possibility of evacuating more people from landslide-prone villages.

As this developed, Kidapwan City Mayor Joseph Evangelista announced that the city government would procure four unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to strengthen its public safety campaign.

In a post on his Facebook page, Evangelista said the city peace and order council has passed a resolution for the purchase of the UAVs, which would cost P50,000 each.

“On the issue of disaster mitigation, this drone can also provide us with assessment of areas that would be difficult to reach. It can also hasten the delivery of services to affected communities,” he said.

Evangelista said the drones could be used for such purposes as traffic monitoring and strengthening of peace and order.

“The CPOC was convinced that we need modern technology to deliver better services,” he said.