P100M readied for Diwalwal relocation

DAVAO CITY—The Department of Environment and Natural Resources has allotted P100 million for the relocation of hundreds of families living in areas of Mt. Diwata, which are considered to be danger zones, an official said Wednesday.

Compostela Valley Rep. Maricar Zamora-Apsay said the relocation effort was in coordination with provincial officials.

Apsay said the plan was firmed up because of previous cases of disasters, including landslides and mudslides, that killed or injured dozens of people in the gold-rich area.

She said the provincial government could no longer allow the loss of lives and properties as a result of disasters in areas that shouldn’t be populated in the first place.

Apsay said relocating families to safer areas, particularly the lower levels of the mountain, which is also known as Diwalwal, formed part of the short-term solutions that the government has thought of to address the nagging problems of overcrowding and exposure to danger facing communities there for years now.

“It’s very sad now because you can see children walking around Mt. Diwalwal, playing beside cliffs wherein anytime they could fall and die,” Apsay said.

She said another expected result of the relocation effort would be protection from mining hazards of the health of women and children.

“They would be protected from the dangers of small-scale mining operations and at the same time, be provided with education in decent schools,” Apsay added.

She said a similar program was also being finalized and this involved the transfer of small-scale mining operations to the lower levels of the mountain.

“By transferring the operations to the lower grounds, more families would also follow as mining is their sole livelihood. So long as the operations remain in the mountains you can never persuade the families to permanently locate,” Apsay said.

Diwalwal has been the site of clashes between groups of miners in the past until the government interceded and allowed small-scale mining operations there to proceed under a set of regulations. Judy Quiros, Inquirer Mindanao