THE ground shook, followed by the rumbling sound of thunder. Then Cristita Villarba noticed smoke and flames coming out of a neighbor’s house.
Pandemonium ensued.
“‘Tabang, tabang’ unya nanagan mi padung sa ubos (Everyone was shouting for help and we ran downhill),” said the 53-year-old.
Boulders and earth came rushing down, covering the house of Villarba’s brother, Lauro Campanilla, in Sitio Sindulan, Barangay Tina-an, City of Naga at 5:20 a.m.
His house was just a stone’s throw away from Villarba’s.
Lauro, his wife Marcelina, their children Lemuel, Lexter and Leo and their respective spouses and children had yet to be found, as of press time.
Paz Capoy, 59, was forced to go to a relative’s house at 5 a.m. so she could cook rice because her stove outside had been soaked by the rain.
She left behind her daughters Lauren, 22; Teresa, 19; and her eight-year-old grandson.
While she waited for the rice to cook, the earth shook. She looked up towards the direction of her house and saw a huge mound of earth and rocks fall from the hillside.
At least 70 residents, including her daughters and grandson, were buried.
Waiting for rescue
“Ngano man nahitabo man ni? Ngano man (Why did this happen)?” asked Capoy, who couldn’t stop crying while rescuers and neighbors tried to dig through the earth rubble.
At 5 p.m., Capoy had a bittersweet reunion with her daughter Lauren and her grandson. Their dead bodies were recovered half an hour earlier.
Also confirmed dead were Olivia Moral, 63; Sheila Mae Campanilla, 24; Annabel Lobiano, 40; Romeo Jaballa, 50; and an unidentified child.
Despite the risk, some residents returned to Sitio Sindulan after receiving text messages from relatives trapped underneath.
“TABANGA MI, TABANGA INTAWN MI KAY NAA MI SA SULOD (Please help us, we’re trapped inside),” read the text message that Julieta received from her sister, whom she has yet to find.
Others rushed to the incident command center to check if their relatives were safe, hoping that family members who texted them were there.
The City Government has placed Barangays Tina-an, Mainit, Pangdan, Cabungahan and Naalad under a state of calamity.
According to Tina-an Barangay Captain Teodoro Cantal Jr., the residents of Sitio Sindulan were informed that cracks were found in the mountains in Sitio Tagaytay.
He said he also brought the matter up with Apo Land and Quarry Corp. (ALQC).
He said families living on the mountaintop were evacuated last week. Last Wednesday night, more families were asked to leave Tagaytay.
“Ang uban wa mobakwit tungod kay way kwarta. Ang uban nagbantay sa ilang kahayupan (Some refused to leave because they had no money. Others didn’t want to leave their livestock),” he said.
Cantal said that Sitio Tagaytay is part of the quarry site of ALQC, while Sitio Sindulan is located at the bottom.
“Kada adlaw sige na og quarry diha. Ang Tagaytay ang unang affected sa lanslide unya pagdahili sa yuta padung sa ubos, naapektuhan og apil ang Sindulan unya natabunan tong mga balay sa ubos (There is quarrying in the area every day. Tagaytay was first affected by the landslide. When the ground gave way, it all headed to Sindulan, covering houses there),” he said.
The rains last Wednesday night and Thursday morning may have contributed to the incident.