DAVAO CITY – The death toll in the landslide at the gold-rush barangay of Mount Diwata in Monkayo, Davao de Oro rose to 10 as three more bodies were retrieved on Friday, January 19.
Responders were able to retrieve 27-year old Catherine Gumatin, daughters Cristelle, 10; Hannah, 9; Ailee, 9; Dysna, 3, and one-year-old Arjay.
RESPONDERS carry one of the bodies retrieved from the landslide site in Barangay Mount Diwata, Monkayo, Davao de Oro on Friday. (Contributed photo)
Also rescued were Marjorie Nenaria, 33, while Rommel, the patriarch of Gumatin family, is still missing as of 3 p.m. Friday.
Another one-year-old child survived the incident.
Monkayo municipal information officer Jegrace Cabag said that the bodies of Ritchel Rebuldad, Agnes Bitoon, and Elvira Saldua were retrieved on Thursday, January 18, from the landslide site in Mount Diwata, also known as Diwalwal.
Responders were manually digging dirt and rocks using shovels and other hand tools to find the victims, Cabag said.
"We cannot use any heavy equipment because it is too dangerous as the soil is still soft due to continuous rains. It might get stuck in the mud," Cabag said.
Cabag said retrieval operations were suspended at 3 p.m. on Friday for safety reasons, adding that the responders have to travel about 20 kilometers back to the town proper.
She bared that the local government implemented a pre-emptive evacuation in the area on January 16.
However, the Gumatin family and others returned on Thursday and even held a prayer meeting in their house.
Cabag confirmed a circulating video on Facebook posted by Rommel narrating that a small landslide was taking place in front of their house.
She estimated that the landslide site was about 2,000-square meters. "According to a barangay official, the amount of soil in the landslide was about 20 loads of dump trucks."
Cabag said there is no timeline in the retrieval operation, saying that responders will resume operations on Saturday, January 20, with the hope of recovering Rommel.
Also involved in the operations were the Emergency Response Company of the Army 10th Infantry Division, Philippine Red Cross, Bureau of Fire Protection and Philippine National Police.