MALACAÑANG on Monday, September 24, announced its plan to check the measures taken by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in response to a 2015 warning by a group of geologists about a possible landslide in Itogon, Benguet.
In a press conference, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. bared that prior to the landslide in Itogon during the onslaught of Typhoon Ompong, the government was aware that such incident might happen.
Roque said he would want to determine if the massive landslide that killed dozens of people was due to the negligence of the DENR, which is currently headed by Secretary Roy Cimatu.
"They (geologists) found out na mayroon ng liquid penetration sa ilalim ng mga dams... Ang ibig sabihin po doon, may tubig sa ilalim ng lupa. 'Pag may tubig sa ilalim ng lupa, lalabas at lalabas 'yan. Samahan mo pa ng matinding ulan eh talagang ang lupa po ay guguho," he said, citing the warning about the possible landslide.
(They found out there is liquid penetration under the dams... Meaning, the water began to seep through the land. If the water is seeping into the land, it would eventually come out, especially if there is heavy rainfall. It would really trigger a landslide.)
"Pinarating ko 'tong impormasyon kay Secretary Cimatu. At si Secretary Cimatu, sa harap ni Presidente [Rodrigo Duterte], inamin naman niya na nalaman niya rin ang impormasyon," the Palace official added.
(I have informed Secretary Cimatu. And in front of President [Rodrigo Duterte], he admitted that he also knew the information.)
Itogon is home to Binga Dam in the Agno River, which has been operating since 1960. The dam, currently owned by SN-Aboitiz, supplies electricity to the northern part of Luzon.
The DENR's Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) was reportedly informed about the warning as early as 2015, or a year before the Duterte government assumed office.
Asked if he thinks the DENR has liability for the landslide that hit Itogon, Roque said: "We'll withhold judgement because although Secretary Cimatu acknowledged he received the information, I do not know what action they took."
"Now I'm in the process of inquiring from MGB if they took any steps," he added.
On September 17, Cimatu ordered all small-scale mining firms to stop operations in the entire Cordillera Administrative Region, following the deadly landslide in Itogon. (SunStar Philippines)