THE Provincial Government of Davao de Oro conducted a groundbreaking ceremony on Friday, June 14, 2024, to initiate housing interventions for residents affected by the recent Masara landslide.
The Maco Bagong Bahay Bagong Buhay Permanent Resettlement program will be established in Barangay Calabcab, Maco town.
Sponsored by Apex Mining Inc., the 3.6-hectare relocation area will accommodate over 200 housing units.
Elizabeth Uy, Maco's Municipal Social Welfare and Development Officer (MSWD), highlighted that the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) endorsed this site as suitable for resettlement housing.
Earlier, provincial officials convened a stakeholders forum on May 24, 2024, at the Molave Hotel, Tagum City, aiming to initiate timely housing and community-building interventions for affected families from the barangays of Masara, Mainit, Tagbaros, and Elizalde.
The disaster, which claimed 93 lives, struck on February 6, 2024, following heavy rains from the Northeast Monsoon and a Low-Pressure Area. It primarily impacted Masara, characterized by volcaniclastics like agglomerate and tuff.
Despite being designated a "No Build Zone" since 2008, Barangay Masara continued to be inhabited, hosting various infrastructures and a large-scale mining operation, as revealed during the February 10, 2024, Budyong Online session by MGB-Davao. RGP