AFTER undergoing an information and education campaign (IEC), 40 out of 50 families living in proximity of a huge crack by the mountainside in Sitio Sandayong, a hamlet in Barangay Buhisan, Cebu City, are now willing to be relocated.
Buhisan Barangay Captain Gremar Barete said this is a huge improvement compared to the initial data they have collected before the IEC was conducted.
Last week, only 10 families were willing to relocate while the remaining 40 expressed reservations, which the barangay council attributed to concerns on building new homes since most of them are informal settlers. Of the 50 affected families, Barete said only four are lot title owners.
“Amo silang gipasabot sa sitwasyon. ‘Ganahan ba mo nga ang inyong gipuy-an ma-inyoha na gyud?’ Ganahan man pud sila nga ang ilang puy-an ngayuta naa nay seguridad. Nabali na karon. From 20 percent, 80 percent na ang willing i-relocate (We explained to them the situation. They want the place they live in to be safe),” he continued.
Barete will meet with Mayor Tomas Osmeña next week to discuss the relocation of the families.
The barangay council is looking at two possible sites—one in Sitio Dulhogan and the other in Sitio Tubod.
Barete reiterated that negotiations with owners of the private lots eyed as possible relocation sites are still ongoing.
In the meantime, Barete said they will continue educating the affected families on the looming threat the crack poses and what measures to take, until all of them are open to moving to safer ground.
Residents of Sitio Sandayong were also told to immediately evacuate to the barangay sports complex during a heavy downpour.
Warning signs on the landslide threat advisory issued by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) 7 were also installed in the area last Saturday, Oct. 27.
Last Oct. 19, Barete sought the help of the Cebu City Environment and Natural Resources, City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office and the MGB 7 to look at the fissure, which was brought about by the magnitude 7.2 earthquake on Oct. 15, 2013.
Three days later, on Oct. 22, the MGB 7 submitted a landslide threat advisory to the barangay, urging residents to be extra careful because heavy rain might wash down rocks from the top of the mountain.
Geologists Josephine Aleta and Joh Christopher Santos recommended relocating the residents along the foot slope. (RTF)