MGB 7 geologists to inspect Punta ‘sinkhole' next week

The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) 7 will inspect next week the reported sinkhole in Don Bosco Village, Barangay Punta Princesa, Cebu City.

MGB 7 Public Information Officer Marian Codilla, in an interview, said that they can’t inspect now because their geologists, including Chief Geologist Al Emil Berador, are attending the Coordinating Committee for Geoscience Programs in East and Southeast Asia (CCOP) meeting.

The CCOP is discussing the environment-related concerns, including sinkholes, of several countries.

Last Oct. 16, Don Bosco residents heard a crash in their area and found a big hole beside the Siano family’s house.

Punta Princesa Barangay Councilors Grace Caroline Baquero and Tito Abella said that a team from the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office ( CDRRMO) and Police Station 10 cordoned the area since the hole is getting bigger.

The Siano family also evacuated for their safety.

The family’s neighbors said that there’s a waterway leading to the hole but they had to divert the water so it won’t go directly into the hole.

The hole is also reportedly near a septic tank.

According to Nagiel Bañacia, CCDRMO chief, it is only the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) that can declare it as a sinkhole.

Officials of Barangay Punta Princesa advised the families near the area to evacuate while waiting for the assessment of the DENR and MGB 7. /