Rescuers have to claw through dirt and relentlessly dig up using their respective hand tools overnight to get to the tunnels were more than 21 people are believed to have been trapped based on the list provided by barangay officials, said Senior Superintendent Aaron Aquino, director of the Compostela Valley police.

And their efforts are paying off as two more people were saved Saturday from the mud that buried the tunnels in Sitio Panganason in Barangay Kingking, boosting the morale of the rescuers.

The rescue of the two victims brought to 11 the number of miners saved.

Rescued

Among those rescued were Lambert Detros, 47, of Matiao, Pantukan; Jeffrey Tundag, 15, of Matiao, Pantukan; Gerry Hostil, 21, of Lasang, Davao City; Mike Sarit, 30, of Asuncion, Davao del Norte; Erwin Galorio, 20, of Island Garden, City of Samal – all taken to Pantukan Emergency Hospital; Rico Clase, 29, of Caraga, Davao Oriental, who was taken to Davao Medical Center in Tagum City; Rebecca Recaplaza of Pantukan, who was severely injured and taken to Davao Medical Center in Tagum City; Nicolas Recaplaza, of Pantukan, who is now an out-patient; Relleto Jonathan Bilan, of Pantukan; and Joel Lapates, of Bukidnon.

21 missing

Still missing, based on the list provided by barangay officials are Enand Celestial, Bobil Celestial, Cristituto Torrejos Sr., Andy Lapitas, Juenl Lapitas, Vincent Lapitas, Jerico Caingoy, Cristituto Torrejos Jr., a certain Dennis; Alving Caingoy, Noe Caingoy, a certain Bitoy, a certain Jong-jong; a certain Ju-jun; a certain Erning, Jay Omega, Berto Inay, Marjon Cuilab, Brendo Dani, Relito Tabag, and Marvin Anglai.

It was not immediately known if the last two victims rescued are among those in the list of 21 missing victims.

National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) Executive Director Benito Ramos clarified yesterday that the official death toll from the incident is three, not 10 as earlier reported. They are Jun Rex Torrejos (whose name was earlier reported as Jun-jun Torrejos), 15, of La Filipina, Tagum City; and two unidentified bodies.

Aquino likewise clarified earlier reports that more than 10 cadavers have already been pulled out, saying only the cadaver of 16-year-old John Torrejos was confirmed dead.

Aquino said the two survivors could be among those who were able to run and reached the areas which were not totally buried by rocks and mud when a portion of a hill cascaded below at around 2:30 a.m. last Friday.

He said they are not relying much on the list provided by the barangay officials since some of their relatives might have visited them when the incident occurred. The official said some of the tunnels are also serving as makeshift houses for miners.

Aquino, however, expressed doubts that they could get more survivors from the landslide.

“They were buried in some eight to 16 feet of mud, we are optimistic that we can get more survivors,” said Aquino.

What further dimmed the hope to rescue more people is that the heavy equipment needed to take out the tons of mud and rocks have not reached the landslide site as of Saturday.

Aquino said they were told that various types of heavy equipment is already on their way to Pantukan as of Friday, yet not even one reached the area as of noon yesterday. He, however, acknowledged that it is difficult to reach the landslide site due to narrow roads.

“That is our problem, the heavy equipment, but we are still waiting,” said Aquino.

Top priority

Meanwhile, Malacanang said the search for the missing persons in the Compostela Valley landslide will be a top priority as it assured the nation that the NDRRMC is on top of the situation.
“Top priority is to find the missing,” Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office (PCDSPO) Secretary Ramon Carandang said.

He added that President Benigno S. Aquino III has directed the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to lead the investigation on the incident.

Carandang also said Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jesse Robredo will be coordinating with the local government units (LGUs) concerned to investigate the possible remiss on the part of the local government.

Barangay Kingking is said to be rich in gold and copper-gold and is reported to be an area where small-scale mining operations occur.

Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa, Jr. had earlier urged the cooperation of the public on the full and strict implementation of environmental laws, particularly in small-scale mining activities.
Ochoa had said there has to be a balance between mining activities and protecting the environment.

The Philippines ranks second, next to Indonesia, in terms of mineral resources in the Asia-Pacific.

The country is rich in copper, the leading mineral in the country; chromite, gold, silver and nickel. The mining industry is one of the country’s income generating industries, employing at least 1.5 percent of the labor force.

Aaron Recuenco & Elena Aben, Manila Bulletin