Gov’t sets demolition of 720 houses, shanties in Itogon

By Jessica Jane Barriento

ITOGON, Benguet – Some 720 houses and shanties are now ready for demolition in 10 high-risk areas in his mining town following the recent landslide that buried alive around 100 folks at the height of Typhoon Ompong in Sept. 15.

Mayor Victorio Palangdan bared this saying some residents voluntarily demolished their houses to spare some materials which they can recycle such as roofs and woods.

Miners decided to leave the stockpile of mineral ores in their shanties as they deemed it unnecessary to bring them at this time of calamity.

Relief goods are now being distributed in evacuation centers for families who left their homes ahead of Typhoon Rosita.

Members of the Philippines National Police are closely monitoring the areas identified by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau as inhabitable in this mining town due to risk of landslides.

Authorities are also strictly screening residents entering Barangay Loacan. They are required to log in and log out when going in and out of the area to properly account residents.

The deadline for owners of shanties and small scale mines here to vacate and demolish these has lapsed.

These were earlier declared as "no build zones" and owners were given until Oct. 25 to voluntarily dismantle their structures before these would be issued demolition orders.

Based on advisory issued by alangdan dated Oct. 17, all concerned barangay officials and occupants of shanties must comply with the “no build zone” policy.

A report submitted by the local government to the Mines and Geosciences Bureau identified various areas such as barangays Ampucao, Loacan, Ucab, and Gumatdang as highly susceptible to landslide.

A meeting was held by the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council in which they recommended the demolition of structures on high risk areas.

According to Palangdan, this will prevent reoccurrence of the tragedy that killed more than 80 people in this town due to landslide caused by Typhoon Ompong last month.

Based on advisory issued by the mayor, mandatory demolition will be implemented by concerned authorities in coordination with the Philippine National Police or other uniformed personnel.

Before the given deadline, all concerned barangay officials were advised to disseminate the notice to their constituents for compliance.