BOLJOON, Cebu—The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Field Office 7 has already provided relief assistance in both food and nonfood items to the 45 families affected by a landslide that hit Barangay Lower Becerril, Boljoon, in southern Cebu on October 27.
The landslide triggered by heavy rains for five days also affected nearby barangays. This caused barangay officials to declare a state of emergency in the area.
“The regional office of the DSWD will continue to monitor and assess the situation in Barangay Lower Becerril in coordination with the local government of Boljoon in preparation for the provision of other appropriate interventions,” DSWD 7 Regional Director Ma. Evelyn Macapobre said.
Macapobre was in Boljoon recently to attend a meeting called by Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Secretary Michael Dino relative to the landslide incident.
The meeting was attended by different national government agencies like the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Department of Public Works and Highways, the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Boljoon town officials headed by Mayor Merlou Derama.
The nonfood items distributed by DSWD 7 included clothing kit, sleeping kit and kitchen kit while the food assistance had 6 kilos of rice, four cans if sardines, four cans of corned beef or beef loaf and six sachets of 3-in-1 coffee.
Five days of heavy downpour triggered the landslide in a mountain barangay in Boljoon town, southern Cebu, on October 27, prompting barangay officials to declare the entire barangay under a state of calamity.
Authorities also noticed land movement and land cracks in various areas in the barangay, prompting families to evacuate.
Village chief Ma. Patrocinio Castroverde said the barangay council decided to declare the state of calamity so they can access the barangay’s calamity fund to assist the 18 families affected by the land movement.
The MGB in Central Visayas also recommended Sitio Camfranco be declared as a “permanent danger zone and no habitation zone.” The local government unit was also advised to cordon the area.
MGB geologists that went to inspect the site observed two landslide areas. A debris from the landslide blocked a section of the Losapon River, causing the artificial damming of
the river.
Roads going to Barangay Lower Becerril have also been blocked because of the landslides
there.