Some residents in Ronda barangay refuse to leave danger area

Monday, February 13, 2012

CAPITOL’s Engineering Office has yet to check the reported cracks in the mountains of Ronda, saying the issue is not their concern yet.

Provincial Engineer Eulogio Pelayre said the matter is the jurisdiction of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

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He said DENR should assess how dangerous the mountains are. The Province will only step in if they are needed.

Pelayre said he will meet with Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia tomorrow to discuss how to assist Ronda.

Ronda Mayor Mariano “Nonie” Blanco said the municipal council has passed a resolution allowing him to provide construction materials to residents of Barangay Vive whose houses were damaged by the recent earthquake. 

The amount was not yet specified as of yesterday because the municipal social welfare office is still doing the assessment report. He said there are five affected families.

Despite the risks, mat-weaver Paulina Pulgo does her daily tasks in Vive in Ronda. She starts her day by cutting leaves of a pandan tree near her hut. The hut is at the foot of a mountain, which is feared to collapse anytime because of the cracks.

She and her family narrowly escaped death after a huge boulder rolled down from the mountain.

Pulgo refused to leave the area, saying her livelihood is there.

“Diri ko nabuhi. Diri pud ko ganahan mamatay (I live here, I will die here),” she said.

Senior Geologists Maria Elena Lupo of Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) 7 said the barangay is in critical condition as soil continues to loosen and the cracks continue to get wider.

“They have to leave before anything bad will happen,” she said.

Vive, which is about 20 kilometers from the town proper, has been declared non-habitable since 1996.

Lupo conducted a geological survey in the area last Saturday to assess the extent of the damage. The cracked was estimated at three kilometers long.

They used a global positioning system (GPS) to trace the cracks. They said continuous rain will saturate the soil even more, resulting in landslides.

Blanco said the problem on mountain cracks has been felt since 1980s.

The residents have already moved in with their relatives in safer barangays. They are only allowed to return to their place at daytime to till their lands.

Blanco said those who refuse to transfer to a safer place will not receive construction materials. 

He said he will also seek assistance from Gov. Garcia.

The affected families don’t have a problem with food supply since they have enough rice in their farm. 

He said they have sent an assessment report to the provincial social welfare office.