DAVAO CITY – Barangays Mainit and Masara in Maco, Davao de Oro are in danger of turning into "ghost villages" as the provincial government of Davao de Oro will no longer allow the return of displaced residents due to the deadly landslide two weeks ago.
DISPLACED children from Maco undergo psychosocial intervention activities in an evacuation center in Mawab, Davao de Oro. (PIO Davao de Oro)
Villagers were forced to flee to safer grounds following the landslide that swathed Zone 1 in Barangay Masara on February 6. Residents of the neighboring Barangay Mainit and nearby areas were also forced to evacuate due to the threat of landslides.
Days after the landslide, Gov. Dorothy Gonzaga vowed to implement the no-build zone policy in the identified geohazard areas not just in Barangay Masara but also in other parts of Davao de Oro.
Gonzaga admitted that the Mines and Geosciences Bureau-Davao has declared Masara a no-build zone following the massive landslide in 2008 that killed 24 people.
Vice Gov. Tyron Uy said that the provincial government and concerned agencies are still determining how the two barangays could still function even as they are in temporary relocation sites.
Uy admitted that the idea of dissolving the barangays surfaced during initial discussion. However, barangay officials rejected the idea.
For now, the vice governor said, Mainit and Masara are now considered ghost barangays due to absence of constituents and economic activities.
He added that the provincial government will build a tent city for displaced residents.
The two-story Masara barangay hall built in 2021 was among the buried structures along with at least 55 houses.
At least 580 families evacuated from Masara and 202 families from Mainit, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported.
Moreover, the local government has yet to decide if the displaced residents from Barangays Elizalde and Tagbaros can still go back to their homes.
Masara is one of the host communities of Apex Mining Co. Inc. that holds a gold and silver mining contract under the Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA).
Earlier this week, MGB-Davao said that they are still conducting an assessment in a property near the Immaculate Conception Quasi-Parish in Barangay Elizalde as one of the proposed temporary sites for landslide survivors.
Most of the evacuees have sought shelter in neighboring Mawab, Davao de Oro, particularly at the Andili National High School, Bawani Elementary School, Nuevo Iloco Elementary School, Nuevo Iloco National High School, and Nueva Visayas Elementary School.
Displaced residents have to be moved to temporary relocation sites as schools that serve as evacuation centers will resume regular classes soon.
Citing a Department of Education policy, Gonzaga said that school facilities may be used as emergency evacuation sites for a maximum of 15 days.
Gonzaga was referring to the DepEd Order No. 37, Series of 2022, that provides guidelines on the cancellation or suspension of classes and work in schools in the event of natural disasters, power outages or interruptions, and other calamities.
Search and retrieval operations terminated
Two weeks after the incident, the local government of Maco terminated search and retrieval operations for eight missing victims.
Ninety-three persons were retrieved from the landslide area after two weeks of operations.
On February 22, Maco Mayor Arthur Carlos Voltaire Rimando issued Executive Order No. 17, Series of 2024, terminating operations at Ground Zero.
On February 14, the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Office of Maco transitioned the search, rescue, and retrieval operations to search and retrieval as hopes to find more survivors dim.
Only 32 individuals were rescued since the landslide hit.
Former Davao de Oro Gov. Arturo Uy bared that many of the fatalities are transient workers of the mining firm. Uy added that many residents left Masara when it was declared a no-build zone following the landslide in 2008.
He said that about 200 families have been relocated to Barangay Kinuban, also in Maco.
“Many of them will just go to Masara to work and return to Kinuban and other areas at night. They have already settled in Kinuban,” said Uy, governor from 2007 to 2016. “It’s not true that the residents resettled in Masara.”