Cimatu doubts landslide caused by quarrying

BURIED ALIVE A resident points to the spot where he believes a relative was buried in Naga City, Cebu province. —JUNJIE MENDOZA/CEBU DAILY NEWS

Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu expressed doubt that quarrying was responsible for the landslide that killed at least 70 people in Naga City, Cebu province, saying the quarry site was in the area way ahead of the communities where the people lived.

He said quarrying cannot be directly blamed for the tragedy.

“The quarry site is at an isolated area, but many moved in because of the workers,” Cimatu said in a press conference on Sept. 27.

“Until it became vulnerable to landslide,” he said.

Cimatu also announced that he would allow quarrying to resume in areas other than Naga City and Itogon, Benguet province, because of fears that a continued ban would trigger increases in prices of construction materials.

Far from people

A landslide also struck a mining community in Itogon at the height of a storm.

Cimatu said the suspension of quarrying would remain in effect in the two landslide-stricken areas.

“Ninety percent of quarry sites nationwide will resume operations,” he said.

Cimatu added, though, that a condition for resumption of quarrying was that quarry sites should be at least a kilometer away from populated communities.

The decision came barely a week after dozens were killed in the Naga City landslide being blamed by residents on limestone quarrying by a cement manufacturer.

Call from DTI

At least 70 corpses had already been found underneath a 10-meter pile of debris that buried the village of Tinaan and parts of four other villages.

Cimatu said he ordered quarrying to resume after he was warned by Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez in a phone call against the effect of the suspension on prices of construction materials.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Cimatu said, had already anticipated this which would explain why the suspension was good for only 15 days.

SHELTER More than 1,000 families were given temporary shelter at Enan Chiong Activity Center in Naga City after a deadly landslide killed more than 70 people. —LITO TECSON/CEBU DAILY NEWS

Quarrying in Naga City would remain suspended until after the Mines and Geosciences Bureau finishes its geohazard assessment of the area.

Cimatu said after a review, he had ordered quarrying and other mining operations to resume in the provinces of La Union, Pangasinan, Bulacan, Pampanga, Zambales, Batangas, Rizal, Camarines Sur, Misamis Oriental, Iligan City and Davao City.

No community

These were areas with “no communities around quarry sites” which would be endangered, Cimatu added.

DENR records showed a total of 65 quarry operations for limestone, sand and gravel nationwide.

Some of the companies spared from the quarrying ban were Holcim Mining and Development Corp., Northern Cement Corp., Republic Cement, Eagle Cement, Lafarge Holcim Aggregates Corp. and Orophil Stonecraft Corp.

Cimatu said it had been saddening that most of the dead in storms, landslides and flooding had lived in geohazard zones although maps of safe and dangerous areas had been distributed to local government units.