Aside from Barangay Busay, landslides were also reported in the mountain villages of Sapangdaku and Taptap in Cebu City. This photo shows Taptap Barangay Captain Florentina Malazarte standing at the back portion of the village multipurpose building which fell in part after the soil beneath it gave way in the middle of a heavy downpour.
CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA
BARANGAY BUSAY
Heavy rains that poured since last week finally led to a landslide, long feared, in the mountain village of Busay, Cebu City, on Monday.
In Sitio Graje, huge amounts of soil fell from a mountain where land has been eroding following days of heavy rain.
The eroded soil from the mountain blocked the road going to at least three popular tourist spots: Temple of Leah, Mountain View Nature’s Park and Lantaw Restaurant.
Backhoes, dump trucks, and pay loaders were immediately deployed by the city to help clear the area.
“I anticipated that, I told them to put the equipment upstairs. Why? If there is a landslide, you attack it on both sides,” said Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña.
Busay Barangay Captain Amilo Lopez said that they started to cordon the road beside the eroding mountain at around 5 p.m. on Monday when they noticed some soil falling off the riprap.
At around 9:40 p.m. on Monday, the stone foundation started to tumble, resulting to more erosion in the succeeding hours.
By Tuesday morning, part of the flooring of a house owned by the family of Mountain View Nature’s Park owner, Aurora Castillo, began to give way leading residents in the area to be in constant fear that the house would fall off the cliff anytime, possibly crushing their homes beneath it.
A landslide was also reported in the same area last January.
According to 42-year-old Janet Famador, every time the rain falls, they could not help but feel uneasy.
Famador’s house sits right across the eroded cliff near Castillo’s house.
“Kuyawan uy! Asa man diay na padung kung malagpot nang balay diha nga nagbitay na ra ba na?” said Famador.
(Of course, we are afraid! Where else would that house go if that falls off?)
Winefredo Borres, another resident of the area, said that they could no longer sleep at night out of fear.
“I think it’s better for that house to be taken down or to fall off now that it’s daytime when we are awake than during the night,” said Borres.
Borres, 47, has lived in the area since childhood. He said that the soil started to erode in Sitio Garahe only after people started to pave the roads.
“The roads used to end here, that’s why our place is called ‘Graje,’ but when they extended the roads, the mountain soil started to slide,” Borres said in Cebuano.
He added that there were tunnels beneath the mountains, believed to be made by Japanese soldiers during the Second World War.
“We used to play inside the tunnels when we were kids. I think there were 14 of them,” he added.
Demolition and clearing
Structure Engineer Nilo Igot of the Cebu City Engineering Office has recommended the demolition of Castillo’s house for the safety of other residents in the area and passing motorists.
According to Igot, the possibility of the structure falling down the cliff is not remote, considering that the riprap that holds the soil beneath it has already fallen down.
Igot explained that the soil in the area is already very loose due to continuous rainfall.
“We will have to clear that and then we will set up sheath piles to prevent the debris from getting into the road once it’s cleared,” said Igot.
Deputy mayor for infrastructure, Cebu City Councilor Jerry Guardo said that the Castillos’ have already agreed to take down their house.
“We are more particular with the safety of the residents and the passers-by here, especially that it is along the road. This is very dangerous for our motorists and the commuters,” said Guardo.
Teodorico Adarna, owner of Temple of Leah, also volunteered his heavy equipment to be used for the demolition and clearing operation.
The City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (CDRRMO) is monitoring the situation in Sitio Graje after debris blocked the road leading to the hilltop where Temple of Leah, Mountain View and Lantaw Restaurant are located.
Motorists are instructed to take the longer and only alternative route going to the establishments, via Barangays Malubog and Bonbon, from the lower part of Cebu City.
“We need to increase our fare, but we also have to consider the passengers,” said Ian Patalinghug, a motorcycle-for-hire driver, in Cebuano.
Patalinghug said that habal-habal drivers cannot just stop picking up passengers because of the landslide because this was their only source of income.
Other landslides
Aside from Busay, landslides were also reported in the mountain villages of Sapangdaku, south of Cebu City and Taptap, in the north.
No injuries were reported but in Barangay Taptap, the landslide damaged part of the village gymnasium and multipurpose hall. The soil eroded after a downpour on Thursday, September 21.
The City Engineering Office recommends the installation of a riprap to protect the mountain slopes in Taptap to save what’s left of the structures.
Taptap Barangay Captain Florentina Malazarte said that they would want to save the structures as much as possible, since the gymnasium also serves as their evacuation center.
“My constituents are also in danger in their homes during heavy rains and strong winds. I used to let them stay here [in the gymnasium], but now that it’s damaged I don’t know where else will I bring them,” said Malazarte.
According to Guardo, half of the gymnasium could still be used by the residents.
Guardo also assured that the City Council will be looking closely to rehabilitate the gym, multipurpose hall and other government structures that were damaged by the landslides and the previous calamities.
Pagasa forecast
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) says that fine weather will prevail over Cebu in the next three days as the low pressure area (LPA) affecting the Visayas region the past week, which brought about heavy rains that led to floods and landslides, will exit the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR).
Alice Canasa, weather specialist of Pagasa’s Mactan bureau, told Cebu Daily News that the province’s weather is expected to improve, except for isolated rainshowers and thunderstorms.
The LPA, as of the 4 p.m. forecast of Pagasa’s central office yesterday, was spotted 375 kilometers northwest of Coron, Palawan.
“But there are still isolated rainshowers and thunderstorms, and may bring light to moderate rains. Nevertheless, our available data show that sunny days are ahead,” Canasa added.
Pagasa–Mactan, however, said they are now monitoring a cluster of clouds 750 kilometers outside of PAR.
Pagasa expects the weather disturbance to enter the PAR, passing through the southern portion of Mindanao, this afternoon.
She also said it may pass over Visayas, particularly in Cebu, if it will not dissipate in the coming days.
“Our current data showed that this cluster of rainclouds is moving a northwest-west direction. So if it will not dissipate before arriving in the Visayas, it may bring another round of rains anytime this week,” Canasa said. with reports from Inna Gian Mejia and Morexette Marie B. Erram
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