Cebu landslide victims, kin filing suit

CEBU CITY – A R4.5-billion environmental class suit is set to be filed by the families of victims of the deadly landslide in Barangay Tinaan in Naga City, Cebu.

The environmental class suit will be filed against Apo Land and Quarry Corp. (ALQC), Apo Cement Corporation, Cemex Holdings Philippines, Inc., Mines and Geosciences Bureau in Central Visayas (MGB 7), city government of Naga and Cebu provincial government.

According to Winley Dela Fuente, a resident of Barangay Tinaan who is acting as one of the plaintiffs as a concerned citizen, the class suit will be filed before the Regional Trial Court in the City of Naga on Thursday, pending the completing of some documents.

“This is an environmental class suit with principal objective of seeking issuance of an environmental protection order and writ for the rehabilitation and restitution of the natural and human environment as consequence of the landslide,” read a portion of the complaint.

The plaintiffs include families of 40 landslide victims and Philippine Earth Justice Center Inc., a non-governmental organization who advocates for the implementation of environmental laws.

In the complaint, the plaintiffs are seeking R1 million in damages for each of the 78 fatalities and six missing individuals (R84 million); P1 million each for the 57 houses damaged by the landslide (R57 million); R100,000 for each of the seven injured persons who also served as complainants (R700,000); and R500,000 for each of the 8,262 displaced individuals (P4.1 billion).

The September 20 massive landslide happened in Sitios Sindulan and Tagaytay near the quarry site of ALQC.