SAN JOSE, Antique – The mayor of Valderrama, Antique has appealed anew for support to relocate families displaced by a landslide in Barangay Igmasandig.
Mayor Mary Joyce Roquero said on June 18 there were still 40 remaining persons forced to abandon their houses after the landmass displacement on June 11.
“Since the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) had declared the area a no-build zone, the families had to stay temporarily in our evacuation center and at the Valderrama Central School (VCS),” she said.
Other affected families opted to stay with relatives.
“As of our final counting today (June 18), there are 95 families affected, 32 partially damaged houses, and 56 totally damaged houses,” she added.
The local government unit (LGU), Roquero said, continues to provide for the needs of the evacuees but admitted to being unsure until when they can be supported.
The provincial government through the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO) has already brought them relief assistance last week.
Other residents and concerned civic organizations provided food packs to the evacuees, she added.
The LGU is now looking for a relocation site and coordinating with the National Housing Authority (NHA) for the possible relocation of affected families.
Roquero’s administration has already asked for support from Gov. Rhodora Cadiao for the purchase of the relocation site.
“We had talked with a landowner in Barangay Tigmamale about the possible purchase of a relocation site,” she said.
There is an available four to five hectares lot, but it has to be assessed for its safety and the price is also yet to be determined, Roquero said.
“We appeal to the other national government agencies also that could help us in whatever ways considering our plight right now,” she added.
Monsoon rains that poured over the province in the previous days induced the landslide that caused the soil depression in Barangay Igmasandig damaging the village’s hall, houses, and other structures.
This was the initial result of the investigation of a team from the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) in Antique headed by Engineer Abraham Fabila on June 13, according to Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (PDRRM) Officer Broderick Train in a previous interview.
Phivolcs’ investigation matched the findings of MGB in Western Visayas released on June 12. “The MGB Regional Office 6 found the barangay to have a very high susceptibility to landslide,” Train said. (PNA)
