The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office-Davao de Oro (PDRRMO-Davao de Oro) clarified claims that non-victims of the Masara landslide were prioritized in providing a relocation site.
Edward Macapili, PDDRMO executive assistant on Information and Communications, explained that even though only Zone 1 was affected by the landslide, people from Zone 2 and other adjacent areas belonging to the no-build zone were also prioritized.
“Dili ingon nga giuna ang dili landslide victims kay di naman pud papuy-an pud to ang Zone 2, di naman papuy-an sa MGB. Kay isa man sila ka evacuation center, so dapat maisa sad sila mga taga-Masara. Dapat di na hulaton nga mu-landslide pa una papahawaon. Dako na kaayo na nga tulubagon,” Macapili said in an interview with dxDC RMN Davao earlier this week.
(It is not that the non-landslide victims were prioritized because Zone 2 is also uninhabitable. MGB banned the area for residential, and because they have the same evacuation center, they have to be united with other people of Masara. We should not wait for a landslide before we evacuate them. That would be a big responsibility).
Thousands of families affected by the landslide in the barangay have since relocated to different evacuation centers, such as the G-Works Kampo Uno site near the Immaculate Conception Quasi-Parish in Barangay Elizalde.
To recall, the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) has declared Masara a “No Build Zone” since 2008, but the area was still inhabited. Thus, when the tragedy struck, it claimed the lives of 98 people and injured 32 others.
As of present, the PDRRMO-Davao de Oro ensures that the residents are treated equally and have nothing to worry about since they are provided with everything, from food to temporary shelter. John Resna Dolendo, HCDC Intern