170 Arayat families living in danger zone

By George Trillo

ARAYAT, Pampanga — Gov. Lilia Pineda has ordered provincial and municipal officials to find ways on how to relocate 170 families living at the foot of Mt. Arayat, which is a landslide-prone area.

“We need to act early. We cannot just gamble the lives of our Cabalens,” Pineda said during a meeting with officials she tasked with studying the relocation.

Earlier, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Central Luzon released a geo-hazard report that identified Purok 6 and 7 of Barangay San Juan Bano here as “a danger zone” and the 170 families living there as “residents living in imminent danger.”

Pineda led an ocular inspection in the said villages over the weekend to seek possible ways to contain the erosion and other causes of wearing down of soil of Mt. Arayat.

She was with Vice Governor Yeng Guaio, other provincial officials, ranking officers of DENR, and other concerned groups.

The lady governor also spearheaded the tree-planting program of the provincial government.

The team has planted about 10,000 mahogany trees in a bid to “strengthen” the foot of Mt. Arayat.

She said she was shocked to hear from the DENR that families residing in San Juan Bano should be relocated from the said area to “escape death” as soon as possible.

“I can’t believe that the problem is as serious as this. We need to relocate our people before any untoward incident would happen,” Pineda said.

Pineda said that relocation is now a priority, adding that a new site would be sought as temporary shelter of the affected families.

Arayat Mayor Chito Espino, said the municipal government has already found a relocation area for the said families.

Espino said the relocation area is located in Barangay San Juan Bano, but he stressed that it is “far from the danger zone.”

Earlier, DPWH also reported that the whole province of Pampanga is in danger of being transformed into a “big flooded zone” if its first line of defense against flood will continue to collapse due to strong water current from Pampanga River and neighboring provinces, a high ranking official from the Department of Public Works and Highway disclosed last week.

Engineer Philip Meñez, director of Major Flood Control and Drainage Projects of the DPWH said the situation of the Arnedo Dike, the first line of defense of the province from waters coming from Nueva Ecija and other high lands, is very critical and needs an urgent action to spare the whole province of Pampanga from being flooded.