Landslide evacuees welcome relocation following 'no build zone' rule

Evacuees from Barangay Masara in Maco, Davao de Oro are ready to move to the temporary shelter area provided by the local government.

This after the provincial government announced it will strictly implement the “no-build zone” policy in the community buried by the massive landslide that killed at least 92 people on February 6, 2024.

While leaving a place they have lived at for years might be difficult, the evacuees said they have to follow government’s order.

“Bisag asa mi ibutang basta tagaan lang mi og balay. Dili na siguro, dili na mi mubalik,” one of the evacuees, Agapita Tulio, said.

(We can be relocated anywhere as long as we are given a house. Maybe not, we will not return [to that place].)

“Muuban, Sir, uy kay wala na man gyud mi panginabuhian, nahurot na gyud. Among gisaligan baya kay tindahan unya way trabaho akong bana. Naa rami didto, ang among tindahan (natabunan). Muuban mi bisag asa mi ibutang,” another resident, Mylene Alonsagay, added.

(We will join the other evacuees, we do not have a source of livelihood. We relied on the income from the store as my husband does not have a job. We were just there, our store was buried. We will go wherever we will be relocated.)

Authorities are currently preparing the relocation site in Barangay Elizalde. It is where the tent city will be built, which will serve as the temporary shelter area for the affected residents.

The Department of Education (DepEd) has given the evacuees 15 days to stay in schools that served as evacuation centers.

“We are willing to go on negotiation kung wala pa talagang nahanap,” Davao de Oro Schools Division Superintendent, Dr. Cristy Epe, said. —GMA Regional TV