Sunday, May 11, 2008 Sinsin residents don't want to leave homes
OFFICIALS of Barangay Sinsin, Cebu City are eyeing a lot owned by former city councilor Procopio Fernandez as possible relocation site for 41 families affected by a massive landslide in Sitio Nangka.
Not all residents, however, are willing to leave the current site, which the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) 7 deemed already dangerous because of soil movement.
Barangay Captain Ramon Ylaya Jr. said he will have them all transferred immediately to the barangay sports complex or even to the barangay hall.
Yesterday afternoon, he met the residents and learned that not all wanted to leave, primarily because they have no other place to build their homes.
City’s support
Ylaya said he asked them if they have relatives nearby where they can stay temporarily, or lots where they can rebuild their houses.
“I told them that the City Government will give them financial support as long as they transfer since the current area is dangerous. The barangay will also provide them counterpart (funding). But the others have nowhere else to go,” the barangay captain said in Bisaya.
He said they actually eyed the lots owned by Esteban Tabasa, Carmen Quijano, Fernandez and the Villagonzalo family as relocation area.
Quijano and the Villagonzalos, he said, refused to sell their land, while Tabasa offered his one-hectare property at P300 per square meter, which is “expensive.”
Pity
He was hoping Fernandez will take pity on the 41 families and sell his estimated three-hectare lot at a reasonable price.
A team composed of personnel from the MGB 7 and the City Government’s Management Information and Computer Services is set to do a more detailed geohazard mapping to delineate the permanent danger zone starting Tuesday.
In a report to the Cebu City Disaster and Coordinating Council, the MGB recommended evacuating the residents immediately and cordoning off the area.
Report
“Tension cracks have been noted upslope and downslope of the affected area, and the onset of the rainy season further necessitates the evacuation of the affected residents, as rains will further aggravate the unstable condition of the slope,” the report said.
The MGB said that rainfall from April 28 to May 1 was “consistently low,” yet it resulted in massive soil movement that threatened homes and led to the collapse of a 300-meter section of the road.
“During the rainy period, water can easily seep or percolate into the highly weathered and fractured bedrock. This process will tend to increase pore water pressure and decrease the shear strength of the materials, thus triggering a landslide,” the MGB officials said in their report.
“People should be prevented from staying around the landslide zone. Warning signs and barricades should be properly installed in the affected zone. The people should be properly and sufficiently informed about the risks of venturing into this zone,” the report added. (RHM)
