Duterte sad over Cebu landslidePublished September 21, 2018 7:55pm
Updated September 21, 2018 9:17pm
By VIRGIL LOPEZ, GMA News
President Rodrigo Duterte on Friday expressed sadness after a landslide hit Naga City in Cebu which killed at least 29 people.
"Nalungkot ako dahil sa nangyari. Hindi biro ang krisis na hinaharap ninyo ngayon. Sobrang bigat [sa kalooban] hindi lang dahil sa dami ng tao na napinsala at mga namatay," Duterte said in a speech in his native Cebuano, as he expressed again his disdain for mining.
Duterte made the statement during his visit to an evacuation center which houses 400 families affected by the landslide that struck near a quarry site in Barangay Naalad and Sitio Sindulan in Barangay Tinaan on Thursday morning supposedly triggered by heavy overnight rains.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources earlier in the day ordered a halt to all quarry operations in eight regions of the country and to have their safety assessed in the wake of the landslide.
The regions covered by the suspension order are Ilocos, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Bicol, Central Visayas, Northern Mindanao, Davao and Caraga.
When Duterte asked the evacuees if they had any concerns, a woman came up to the stage and said they want Apo-Cemex Corporation to stop its quarry operations. The company earlier denied that there was quarrying in the landslide area.
Duterte said the Naga City government plans to relocate the victims to a land owned by the Cebu provincial government.
He directed National Housing Authority General Manager Marcelino "Jun" Escalada Jr. and Housing Secretary Eduardo del Rosario to immediately visit the city, and to coordinate with the provincial government and Naga Mayor Kristine Chiong for the provision of housing for the victims.
The President also ordered concerned agencies to ensure that the medical needs of the victims are attended to, and burial assistance to all the victims are provided.
The victims received food packs, sleeping, dining and hygiene kits and water.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development will extend P25,000 cash assistance to the families of those who died while the Department of Health is providing round-the-clock medical assistance and psychosocial aid and stress debriefing
Accompanied by some of his Cabinet members including Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu and Interior and Local Government officer-in-charge Eduardo Año, Duterte talked to some of the Naga evacuees and local officials including Cebu Governor Hilario Davide III.
Duterte was supposed to grace the 25th anniversary celebration of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process in Pasay City on Friday afternoon but his attendance to the event was canceled.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano went to the event in his stead.
The incident came days after landslides hit the Cordilleras during Typhoon Ompong's onslaught, prompting Duterte on Monday to repeat his desire to shut all mines in the country as he insisted that the environmental damage far outweighs any benefit to the economy. —RSJ/NB, GMA News
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