High-tech military equipment were dispatched by the Philippine Army (PA) to Davao de Oro to hasten search and rescue operations at a landslide area in Maco town which has since claimed 28 people as of Saturday, Feb. 10.

A total of 32 individuals were also injured while 77 others remained missing as authorities acknowledged that time is ticking down to find more survivors after the Feb. 6 landslide that buried two buses ferrying employees of Apex Mining Company and dozens of houses in Barangay Masara.

The PA headquarters deployed additional search and rescue personnel from the 525^th Engineering Construction Battalion based in Quezon City to the Incident Command Post (ICP) in Maco on Friday night, bringing with them three thermal scanners that can detect bodies up to 30 feet underground and snake eye cameras that can look into tight spaces for survivors.

"With these new equipment, we are hoping these can help our rescue units to find more victims of the landslide," Brig. Gen. Felix Ronnie Babac, commander of the 1001st Infantry "Pag-asa" Brigade, said in a press conference.

Although hopes were up that more survivors will be found following the successful rescue of a three-year-old girl on Friday, the rescuers were aware that every second counts when it comes to finding alive persons buried underneath the rubble.

Beverly Mae Brebante, division chief of Davao de Oro Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB)-Geosciences Division, said that the landslide in Barangay Masara was primarily caused by the saturation of the soil due to the heavy rains experienced in the province in the past weeks.

A large part of Mindanao had been drenched due to the combined effects of a low pressure area (LPA) and northeast monsoon (amihan) since Jan. 28.

"The factors that caused the landslide, first, was the heavy rainfall and the antecedent moisture of the soil because the rains have been non-stop since January," Brebante said.

Barangay Masara was actually declared a "no-build zone" by the MGB after it was nearly wiped out by a similar rain-induced landslide in 2008, Brebante noted.

"The slope of the mountain is very steep. Lastly, Masara lies on the Philippine Fault Line so it contributes to the reason why the foundation of the soil in that area was weak," she explained.

Brebante said that the MGB has coordinated with the provincial government of Davao de Oro for the relocation of residents in Barangay Masara to a safer area.

"We will be providing all the necessary technical information to our partner agencies. We recently talked with [Davao de Oro] Governor [Dorothy Montejo-Gonzaga]. They will strongly implement the 'no-build zone policy' and we will help in finding possible relocation sites," she stated.

Brebante further stated that the management of Apex Mining Company has been very cooperative in the search and rescue, as well as the ongoing investigation to determine if their mining activities also contributed to the landslide.

Apex earlier stated that the landslide occurred outside their active mining site.

"The landslide was outside the mining site of the company but I did not say that the mining company has no liability," Brebante said.

"Investigation and analysis are being undertaken by the department and agencies. Whatever findings we have, if ever they are liable, we will hold them liable but that will be subject to the findings and investigation that will be done by the MGB," she added.

Meanwhile, the municipal social welfare and development (MSWD) in Maco have distributed relief assistance to 1,559 families that were displaced by the landslide and currently sheltered in eight evacuation centers.