ARAYAT - Governor Dennis "Delta" Pineda recently led a briefing on landslide preparedness in Barangay San Juan Bano here over the weekend.
The governor was assisted by officials of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO), Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), and the barangay.
Some 2,500 families living at Purok 4,5,6,7 of Barangay San Juan participated in the landslide safety meeting.
The MGB confirmed widening landslide scars seen along Sapang Maeyagas located at the upper portion of Mount Arayat after Typhoon Karding hit the country recently.
The villagers were informed about the susceptibility of their areas to threats of debris flows, landslides, and other similar events.
MGB officials warned the resident that this may cause loss of lives and damage to property as experienced in previous incidents during the typhoons Ondoy in 2009, Santi in 2013, Glenda in 2014, and Karding in 2022.
Pineda said the provincial government is set to conduct engineering intervention to reinforce the existing deflection dike, a diversion wall done by Vice Mayor Emmanuel Alejandrino when the latter was still the town mayor.
The governor vowed to ask the assistance of national government agencies for a long-term solution to this problem.
"Inatasan ko po ang mga miyembro ng Engineering Intervention Management Team ng Task Force Sinukuan, sa pamumuna ng DPWH at ang mga kasamahan nito ( MGB, 70IB PA, DENR, PDRRMO, PEO, ENRO at ang LGU na pumanhik para makita ang aktwal na kundisyun, magassess at mag recommend kung anong engineering intervention ang pwedeng gawin," Pineda said.
"Hindi puwedeng pre-emptive lang tayo. We are going to do different approaches para masiguro ang kaligtasan ng mga tao,” the governor added.
During the briefing, PDRRMO Chief Angelina Blanco underscored the importance of the landslide early warning system put up by the provincial government and some safety procedures during evacuation.
“Habang naghihintay pa tayo ng engineering intervention. The provincial government has started implementing ‘yung mga immediate actions natin which include installation ng landslide early warning system na may kasama seismograph at automatic rain gauge," Blanco said.
"Naglagay na rin tayo na barangay-wide siren and PA system na mas lalakasan pa natin. Soon, we are going to put up warning signages and evacuation guides per purok sa barangay,” she added.
Blanco said Governor Pineda has tasked the PDRRMO to identify pick-up points and evacuation sites for high-risk Individuals and conduct house tagging of priority populations.
Some 2,500 pieces of emergency kits called GO bags with whistles, raincoats, and flashlights are set to be distributed to "high-risk" families.
“Lahat po ginagawa natin nila Governor, kompleto po ang mga evacuation centers natin. Sa mga kabarangay natin sa San Juan Baño, huwag po kayong matakot. It’s better to be prepared. Kung walang nangyari, very good. Pero when the need arises, kailangan po nating mag-evacuate para hindi na po ma-endanger yung buhay natin. If kailangan niyo naman pong bumalik, tutulungan namin po kayong makabalik ng maayos,” Blanco said.
The Mount Arayat Community Safety Task Force was also created to activate the early warning system during emergency situations.
The task force is composed of the executive management team, technical support team, community awareness team, engineering interventions management team, evacuation management team, and relocation team.
Mayor Alejandrino thanked Pineda for "ensuring the safety of the communities living at the foot of Mount Arayat.
After the community briefing, the residents received food packs from the province through the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office.