Thursday, October 16, 2008 City Hall wants independent study on Dakit landslide
CEBU City officials want an independent group to study what caused the landslide in Sitio Dakit in Barangay Guadalupe to find out if Landco Pacific Corp. has any liability.
Until a third party can evaluate Landco’s development project, it will be premature to recommend to completely revoke the real estate firm’s development permit, Acting Mayor Michael Rama said.
City Administrator Francisco Fernandez and City Planning and Development Coordinator Nigel Paul Villarete believe that a hydrology study by an independent body will determine if the Monterrazas de Cebu project caused the landslide in the area.
“Let’s get a third party to evaluate that. If Landco admits they are responsible for it, it’s easy to correct the problem but if they keep insisting they did not cause it, then let’s just have a third party to determine that,” Fernandez told reporters yesterday.
Sitio Dakit was hit by a landslide last April 14 and last Tuesday dawn, covering eight houses in thick mud and other debris that were washed downhill.
Twelve families who were affected blamed Landco for both incidents, saying the soil came from the hills that they are developing.
But until it can be proven that Landco’s project caused the landslide, Villarete said they cannot recommend to revoke its development permit, which was suspended after the landslide last April.
Landco was prohibited from further developing the property until it can construct water retention ponds to regulate the flow of the water downhill.
While its officials insisted they should not be blamed for last Tuesday’s landslide because the retention ponds are already in place, City Councilor Gerardo Carillo said the
ponds are useless because these did not catch the rainwater.
Instead, the water flowed directly towards the houses, leaving an artificial waterway there, he said.
“That is why we need an independent study. If we find out that they are at fault, we can recommend to revoke the permit. An assessment by hydrology experts may or may not state that there was an increase in the discharge of water because of the development, but it can state with certainty if the discharges came from their project,” he said.
Villarete further said that the results of the study will help identify necessary flood mitigation measures.
“And if they still don’t comply, then we can revoke the permit completely,” he told reporters.
During the City Council session yesterday, councilors passed a resolution asking Landco officials, landslide victims, Villarete and an inspection team from the City Planning and Developing Office and the Department of Engineering and Public Works to attend the session next week.
Councilor Rodrigo Abellanosa said the developers and department heads should brief the council on the circumstances of the landslide to clear “nasty” insinuations and comments made by some radio personalities about the incident.
“There were very nasty comments made on air, so we should call the people involved, especially the victims. We need to have official answers to this,” he told the council.
Some radio commentators criticized city officials for seemingly favoring Landco.
In an interview yesterday, Rama said surveys and tests by an independent body would also help determine the stability of the soil in the area surrounding Monterrazas de Cebu, and would allay fears of another landslide.
“As of now, I need to be convinced that there is a reason to revoke their permit. If and when there are violations and non-compliance with what we asked of them and there is gross negligence on their part, I think it’s premature to do so. We just can’t make a judgment based on an outcry, it has to be based on objectivity and intellectual scrutiny,” said Rama. (LCR)
