Naga: Rising from dust (A YEARENDER)

CEBU, Philippines —  It was not the usual daybreak in Barangay Tinaan, City of Naga.

Residents on the hilly slopes of Sitio Sindulan woke up to a sound similar to a thunder, not to the usual chirping of birds or crowing of roosters.

Christita Villarba recalls that the thunderous noise was quickly followed by dusts engulfing the vicinity. Then there were shrieks, panic, and chaos.

“Murag naglinog pirmiro unya nakadungog mi’g daguok sa dili layo. Dayon kalit lang niitom ang langit kay nanglupad ang abog. Nagdinaganay, nagsiyinagitay,” she recounts.

It was not long before she and her neighbors realized that a portion of the mountain in Tinaan had eroded, burying scores of households.

In its wake, the massive September 20 landslide left 78 people dead, with at least six people still missing to this day. At least 18 people were reported injured.

Authorities evacuated families near the landslide area to ensure their safety, cordoning  off the place from residents and even the media.

A day after the landslide, Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu was on the ground and made shocking announcements.

He declared forced evacuation for families residing within one kilometer from the landslide area, making the number of evacuees reach over 8,000.

Cimatu also sacked top officials of the regional office of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau and ordered an investigation to determine the real cause of the landslide and the one responsible for it.

He sent a team of mining engineers and geologists to conduct a post-landslide assessment in the city that discovered a dark truth, which the residents and even the mayor were unaware of.

The silver lining? The incident actually exposed the natural hazards present in Naga, whose terrain is mostly limestone.

What Caused It

State geologists revealed, on the heels of the incident, that some structures in Naga are actually sitting above underground caves and rivers.

This theory explains why water spurted from the mountain in Sitio Tagaytay and pushed its side to erode and fall into the residential community in Sitio Sindulan, which had the most number of individuals killed.

Experts described the incident as something “unique” if compared to other disasters across the globe. They call it a combination of a karst subsidence and landslide, particularly planar block slide.

Aside from natural factors, geologists attributed the degradation of the environment to human activities, such as industrialization and quarrying activities that may have contributed to changes and movement of the landscape.

Naga is known as the industrial hub of southern Cebu and home to two large-scale quarrying firms.

During the burial of their loved ones, bereaved families blamed the tragedy to quarrying.

Court Battle

Environmentalists came into the picture.

On November 7, 39 residents of Barangay Tinaan and two others, including the Philippine Earth Justice Center Inc., filed a P4.5-billion class suit before the Regional Trial Court in Talisay City to stop the quarrying in Naga following the massive landslide.

Named defendants were Cemex Holdings Philippines Inc., Apo Land and Quarry Corp., Apo Cement Corp., Mines and Geosciences Bureau Regional Office-7, City Government of Naga, and Cebu provincial government.

The environmental case was for the restitution of damage of the natural and human environment and the issuance of environmental protection order against quarry operations in Cebu Island with prayer for temporary protection order, writ of continuing mandamus for the determination of the carrying capacity of Cebu Island and rehabilitation and restoration of the damaged ecosystem.

It was raffled to Naga City Regional Trial Court Judge Dennis Larrobis.

Acting on the complaint, Larrobis issued on November 9 a 72-hour temporary environmental protection order (TEPO) to stop the quarry activities of Apo Land.

However, on November 15, Larrobis inhibited from handling the case following the motion for voluntary inhibition filed by Apo Land & Quarry Corporation (ALQC) to avoid “slightest suspicion of bias and prejudice.”

“The undersigned opts to receive in sitting this case. This is in view of the innuendos of manifest partiality and allegations that the undersigned could not be able to decide the instant case fairly and impartiality because of the close association with Atty. [Benjamin] Cabrido,” the order read.

“The inhibition is in order to free this court of the slightest suspicion of bias and prejudice, and to preserve the parties’ faith in the proceedings of this case nationwide significance and magnitude.”

ALQC, through counsels, earlier filed a motion for voluntary inhibition ad cautelam to avoid any biases since Larrobis and Cabrido, the lead counsel of the plaintiffs were fraternity brothers in Lex Cervus Fraternity and graduates of the same law school, the University of San Jose-Recoletos.

Cabrido admitted that he and Larrobis belong to the same fraternity but never saw each other in any fraternity activities. Also, he denied the allegation of closeness.

After Larrobis inhibited from the case, the case is now pending before Cebu City RTC Judge Generosa Labra of Branch 23, an environmental court.

Moving On

Despite the charges, the city government continued the distribution of the financial assistance it promised to the affected families.

It is also preparing a relocation site at the Balili property, lying in barangays Tina-an and Inoburan, donated by the provincial government.

The affected families near the critical zone was given cash aid for them to rent a home while the relocation project is still worked on.

A total of 2.1 hectares or 21,566 square meters can be utilized as the project site. The two parcels of land are connected, a portion is part of Barangay Tinaan and another is a part of Barangay Inoburan. It is located along the old Philippine railway system in the south.

Some 444 families whose houses are within the danger zone await relocation.

But at the moment, no land development pertinent to the construction of the relocation houses has been taken pending the transfer of the certificate of title of the two parcels of donated land.

On December 13, after almost three months at the evacuation center, 975 families affected by the Naga landslide were finally given the go signal to return home, just in time for the Christmas season.

Before the evacuees were allowed to leave, they were required to attend an Information Education Communication (IEC) activity. During this time, they were given warning cards and made to understand the risks should they return home as well as what they can do.

“They are allowed to go back but should always be advised nga magbantay gyud sila especially in times of ulan, in times of naay bagyo. Immediately if there’s a need to evacuate nga dili na sila istoryahan sa gobyerno, mo-evacuate gyud sila,” Mayor Kristine Chiong said.

The city government also arranged to give a financial assistance to the families before they can go back to their houses. The amount was yet to be finalized, though.

To further aid the residents, the local government unit has also tapped the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS), and the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAG-ASA).

“We are engaging them to help the LGU come up with an integrated nga early warning system and also kung asa pang other areas sa Naga nga pwede nila nga mabutangan,” the mayor said.

In Chiong's words, the tragedy that had befallen her city may have shaken her people, but not their dreams and their faith. —  JMD (FREEMAN)