Landslide-hit area in Mt. Province 'OK for construction' —barangay captain

A barangay captain from the landslide-hit Natonin, Mountain Province, dismissed the claim that the area was a danger zone.

In an Unang Balita report by Raffy Tima on Thursday, Juan Henry For-Oj clarified that construction was allowed in the area.

"The lot is okay for construction, sir... The whole mountain above the road collapsed so it caused the fall of the DPWH building," For-Oj said.

An official from the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) has earlier said the area was previously assessed as a "danger zone" with a "very high" possibility of a landslide occurring.

On Wednesday, rescue operations were hampered due to the debris from other landslides which had blocked roads going to the location where three buildings of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and four other structures were buried.

Search and rescue operations in the landslide-hit area will continue this morning, according to the report.

Citing information from authorities, the report said it may take one to two weeks to clear the landslide-hit area. As of Thursday, heavy equipment were still not allowed to enter the place. 

The latest death toll on the incident was eight.

More than 30 individuals were believed to be trapped inside the structures. Twenty of them were construction workers of the agency, while seven were said to be evacuees.

President Rodrigo Duterte has said he would visit the landslide-hit areas on Thursday. —Anna Felicia Bajo/KBK, GMA News