• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Negros Occidental 5th district Rep. Emilio Bernardino Yulo III expressed his support to the call for a comprehensive and transparent investigation on the root causes of landslide at Mt. Kanlaon and the flashfloods in the downstream communities.
Yulo, whose congressional district was devastated by flooding and landslides triggered by Typhoon Tino, admitted that he is curious as to the widespread flooding in La Castellana and Moises Padilla, which also affected Hinigaran, Isabela, Binalbagan and Himamaylan City.
In an open letter, LC Outdoors Mountaineering Club and allied organizations, the concerned residents of La Castellana and neighboring towns and cities, called for immediate and decisive action, noting also the potential roles of illegal logging, quarrying operations, and any issuance of permit within the protected area.
“Recent events have demonstrated the severe vulnerability of our communities,” they said.
The groups pointed out “the accumulation of volcanic sediments on the slopes, uprooted trees, stones combined with heavy rainfall, and dangerous mudflows that sweep down the rivers, destroying property, farmland and posing an extreme risk to human life.”
Yulo said he is ready to join, participate, and is even willing to extend help in the conduct of a probe.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) attributed the recent landslides and flashfloods in central Negros to 10 hours of incessant rains prior to the landfall of Typhoon Tino earlier this month.
DENR-Negros Island Region director Charlie Fabre said the rains loosened the compactness of soil, bringing down trees and boulders to communities on the slopes of Mt. Kanlaon and affecting almost 800,000 people.
Fabre noted that although the forest cover of Mt. Kanlaon Natural Park has significantly increased, a large portion of land cover is made up of crops, grassland and open barren areas that cannot hold large amounts of torrential rains.
He said ground assessment teams found no indications that the trees carried down by severe flooding were illegally cut, as suggested by affected local government units and communities.
As for the flash flood in Canlaon City on the Oriental side, Fabre said it was caused by a combination of torrential rainfall and presence of volcanic debris on the slopes of Mt. Kanlaon prior to the typhoon.*
