(Updated 10:30 a.m.) The death toll from the landslide that occurred at dawn Thursday at a small-scale mining site in Pantukan town in Compostela Valley has risen to 25 while 15 were reported injured, a provincial police report said.
In fact, several other landslides have been recorded in Compostela in the recent past years.
In a report aired over GMA News TV's Balitanghali, reporter Mariz Umalis said that the most recent landslide in Compostela Valley also occured in Pantukan town in April 2011.
A report by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said that at least 14 were confirmed dead while 14 were injured in the landslide.
Two landslides likewise occured in Maco, Compostela Valley in September 2008 where 28 people were killed while another landslide in May 2009 in the same province killed 24 people. Umali said three separate landslides also occured in the province in 2004.
The report said the landslides, which usually killed small-scale miners, were usually caused by heavy rain.
Umali quoted Pantukan Mayor Cesar Sarenas as saying that they had already prohibited mining in their area but the small-scale miners asked for an exemption because they had no other means of livelihood.
He said he permitted them on condition they would not live in the area and would not mine when it rains.
However, Sarenas said that the miners did not fulfill their end of the bargain.Read more
Heavy rain and a predawn quake were eyed as possible causes of the landslide, according to National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) head Benito Ramos.
"Dalawa ang theory dito, nag-uulan pa rin diyan at maski malayo ang low-pressure area doon, apektado ang probinsya ng Compostela Valley. May report din na (may lindol) sa Davao Oriental. Ang Davao Oriental at Compostela magkatabi yan," he said in an interview on dzBB radio.
Ramos said rescuers have to manually dig for survivors as equipment is still on its way to the area.
Senior Inspector Werenfredo Regidor Jr., chief of police of Pantukan, said at least 16 bodies were recovered hours after the landslide that occurred around 4 a.m.
In an interview on dzBB radio, he said initial reports indicated that as many as 100 people were missing after the incident. Most of these are likely small-scale miners and their families who stay in the mining site, he said.
"Doon natutulog, doon nakatira ang nagmimina ... Maraming tao sa area," he said.
He said there were few other details as the cellular phone signals in the affected area were weak.
"Madilim kanina nang nag-landslide. May contact person tayo sa area pero mahirap kumuha ng details kasi walang signal," he said.
Citing information from the Pantukan Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (MDRRMC), the Compostela Provincial Police Office said two Armed Forces of the Philippines choppers and several personnel were on standby at the Pantukan Municipal Hall.
Culpability?
Compostela Valley Governor Arthur Uy said there was a ban on residential construction near the small-scale mining area in Sitio Diat I and II in Barangay Napnapan.
"Hindi natin pinapayagan... pero napakalayo ng lugar at mahirap i-monitor kung may bumabalik na mga miner doon ... I want to talk to the mayor bakit nakabalik ang minero," Uy said in a separate interview on dzBB radio.
"Sitio Diat I and II are old small-scale mining areas," he said. Local officials had ordered the forced evacuation of residents from the area after a recent landslide, the governor added.
He also said it had been raining in the area for at least two weeks.
"Since Dec. 16 may advisory tayo sa lahat na minahan to vacate the area," he said. "Some people are really hardheaded and sneaked back despite our warnings."
Quake and rainfall
Ramos of NDRRMC said the agency is not discounting the possibility that an earthquake, even if relatively weak, may have triggered the landslide.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology had recorded a magnitude-3.0 quake at 12:01 a.m. Thursday, with the epicenter traced to 121 km southeast of Mati, Davao Oriental.
"Mahina ito, Intensity III, pero apektado ang lupa dahil sa ulan," Ramos said.
Citing initial reports reaching the NDRRMC, he said the 16 initial fatalities included six from Sitio Diat I and 10 from Sitio Diat II.
Ramos said the local government is sending some equipment while the Davao Mining Corp. had also been requested to send a payloader.
In the meantime, he said rescue teams, including members of the Army's 71st Infantry Battalion at the site, may have to conduct search operations "mano-mano (manual rescue operation) for now." — with a report by Mark Merueñas /LBG/KG/YA, GMA News
Citing information from the Pantukan Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (MDRRMC), the Compostela Provincial Police Office said two Armed Forces of the Philippines choppers and several personnel were on standby at the Pantukan Municipal Hall.
Brig. Gen. Rainier Cruz III, deputy commander of the 10th Infantry Division was also in the area, the report added.
Culpability?
Compostela Valley Governor Arthur Uy said there was a ban on residential construction near the small-scale mining area in Sitio Diat I and II in Barangay Napnapan.
"Hindi natin pinapayagan... pero napakalayo ng lugar at mahirap i-monitor kung may bumabalik na mga miner doon ... I want to talk to the mayor bakit nakabalik ang minero," Uy said in a separate interview on dzBB radio.
"Sitio Diat I and II are old small-scale mining areas," he said. Local officials had ordered the forced evacuation of residents from the area after a recent landslide, the governor added.
He also said it had been raining in the area for at least two weeks.
"Since Dec. 16 may advisory tayo sa lahat na minahan to vacate the area," he said. "Some people are really hardheaded and sneaked back despite our warnings."
Quake and rainfall
Ramos of NDRRMC said the agency is not discounting the possibility that an earthquake, even if relatively weak, may have triggered the landslide.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology had recorded a magnitude-3.0 quake at 12:01 a.m. Thursday, with the epicenter traced to 121 km southeast of Mati, Davao Oriental.
"Mahina ito, Intensity III, pero apektado ang lupa dahil sa ulan," Ramos said.
Citing initial reports reaching the NDRRMC, he said the 16 initial fatalities included six from Sitio Diat I and 10 from Sitio Diat II.
Ramos said the local government is sending some equipment while the Davao Mining Corp. had also been requested to send a payloader.
In the meantime, he said rescue teams, including members of the Army's 71st Infantry Battalion at the site, may have to conduct search operations "mano-mano (manual rescue operation) for now." — with a report by Mark Merueñas /LBG/KG/YA, GMA News