I found myself standing on moving soil over the weekend in Sitio Riverside, Barangay Pulangbato, where three individuals died after a landslide. With every step we took to document the aftermath, portions of the rubble slid to the ground. It was another disaster waiting to happen. What was most painful for the residents was not just the thought of evacuating to supposedly safer ground, but the fact that they lost three members of their community: a senior citizen and two children.
The conversation with the mother of one of the children was quite bearable. She shared how they were happily enjoying their lunch when the incident happened. It was still vivid to her how they ran from the room, but everything was already too late. Both children, who tried to make their way out, suddenly stopped. The father's tears were painful to watch. He recalled how sweet those children were, especially his son, who would always send him off to work with a little thank you. Before they slept, they would play pretend-store and sell blankets to their parents in exchange for kisses.
The family does not want to blame anyone for what happened. To them, it was simply an act of nature, even if they already knew that the ground they were standing on was unstable. The warnings were easy to give, but actual relocation would be impossible as they had nowhere else to go. They held on to properties passed on to them by their ancestors, not knowing that their lives would change forever. Countless reminders had also been given to tell them that the area was no longer safe.
There could have been better intervention from the local government unit had there been urgency in addressing the concerns of our upland communities. We all know that something definitely changed in the terrain after the earthquake and Typhoon Tino in 2025. If there had been intensified assessment and monitoring of communities up in the mountains, we could have prevented another tragedy. The problem goes beyond warnings.
I’d like to think it is more of a political will than telling people to leave their homes with no clear destination, resources to start over, and assurance as they start again. It is an issue of safety and sustainability for a city that claims to be one of the best in the country. As we stood on that unstable ground, it was difficult not to wonder how many other communities were facing the same danger. It is not only the city that has mountain villages, but many others as well. They are pushed to the wall by the effects of extreme weather conditions.
The three lives lost in Pulangbato should remind us that disasters are not always beyond our control. Nature may trigger a landslide, but preparedness, timely intervention, and accessible relocation programs can determine whether a hazard becomes a tragedy. We cannot keep waiting for the ground to move before we act. By then, it may already be too late.