Search and retrieval goes on
THE BODY of a church leader and a miner was recovered Monday noon as search and retrieval will continue in Ucab, Itogon, Benguet where some 100 residents are believed to be buried alive during Typhoon’s Ompong wrath on Saturday.
Rescuers recovered the body of UCF president and miner Ediwn bannawol at Monday noon with his 60 – year – old father in law Pio Badangayon waiting at the sidelines.
Pio tearfully relays his daughter, Jasmine and four grandchildren aged 13 to two – year – old are still trapped in the rubble.
He says he hopes
they are alive and resolves to wait until his entire family is found, refusing to leave the rescue site.
As of press time, there are nine recovered bodies from the mining site alone.
Mayor Victorio Palangdan of Itogon said over the weekend he can't begin to accept but it looks like the casualties here are going to go up to at least 100 where two small scale mining bunkhouses and a church have been buried.
The town teems with small scale mining consessions from Benguet Corporation where thousands of miners work for a living.
Solpico Orina, a miner rescuer from Patina said there are several smaller boot camps in the area where families reside which have also been covered by landslides.
"The casualties can rise because we fear there are people in the bunkhouse because we are not certain of the numbers. We are saying that 40-50 people were there. They were inside when the building went missing, people saw that. That is what I fear. That if this is true, the number of dead here due to Ompong could really rise beyond 100," Palangdan said.
Philippine Army rescuers note the area where the bunkhouses are lies in a very steep angle, making it difficult to implement rescue and retrieval.
"When I sat as mayor in 2013, I recommended that those should be stopped. The abandoned mining areas of the Benguet Corp. should have reverted back to the government as public lands to develop as tourism area or agricultural, because in the Itogon municipality, more than half of it is mining area, the other half is agricultural," Palangdan added.
Palangdan meanwhile plead to authorities in helping them clear the roads after almost all of its major road networks were wiped out leaving Barangay Tuding, which is near Baguio the only access to the municipality.
Itogon Councilor Arnel Bahingawan meanwhile is still optimistic the ongoing search will find survivors underneath the rubble of two bunkhomes and a two storey church.
Bahingawan admits the mining site has been tagged as a geohazard area but is still mined for ore and inhabited despite the danger.
The Born Again Christian church, UCF, under the Assembly of God is a feeble two storey structure built for an office and a gathering area for worship while the two bunkhomes house as many as 50 people at any given time.
The three structures served as evacuation centers when Typhoon Ompong raged Saturday.
Walter Coteng Jr., a volunteer rescuer from Barangay Ucab said the situation is difficult because of the steep slope and lack of equipment adding A backhoe is needed to empty the area of soil and debris as well as flood lights to allow a 24/7 operation.
"We don’t know how many people were here," said Coteng adding the manifesto before the onslaught of the storm shows less than 50 people.
Coteng said work stops in the evening giving rescuers time to rest, as shifting schedules have not been finalized.
"We worked till 8 p.m. (Sunday) with about 100 volunteers, now (Monday) we have more than 200," Coteng said.
Meanwhile, Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Roy Cimatu declared a cease and desist order of all small-scale mining operations in the whole Cordillera Administration Region.
During a press briefing on September 17 Cimatu declared the stoppage of all mining activities especially in Itogon, Benguet.
“In view of the current situation in the Cordilleras, to prevent further danger to the lives of our small-scale miners, with austerity, I officially order cease and desist of all illegal small-scale mining operations in the whole Cordillera Administrative Region.”
Cimatu urged all stakeholders to cooperate with the order while waiting for the approval of a minahang bayan in the region.
Cimatu said the DENR will be sending men from the Armed Force of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police to effect mandatory relocation of all individuals in the areas classified as geohazards and to prevent further loss of lives.
Cimatu’s announcement came after Itogon was ravaged by Typhoon Ompong leaving 34 casualties and 42 missing.
Mines Geosciences Bureau Cordillera regional director Fay Apil meanwhile said there are only 10 small scale mining associations with 10,000 members given with temporary contract pending the declaration of a minahang bayan.
Cimatu however expressed to cancel the existing permits.
“I will be revoking those permits starting today,” said Cimatu.
Palangdan however appealed to Cimatu to conduct a technical conference to determine areas where small scale mining should stop which the secretary. With a report from Lauren Alimondo
As of September 17, Ompong left Cordillera with at least 54 dead, 49 missing, and 33 injured.