By KEITH BACONGCO
DAVAO CITY — Amid the risk of imminent massive landslides, Philippine Army troopers trekked for at least five hours to locate and rescue at least 21 villagers who have been trapped for five days in the mountainous village of Barangay Loayan in Makilala, North Cotabato, on Sunday.
The residents, four of them were children, had been trapped in sitios of Bagong Silang and Kapatagan of Barangay Luayon since October 29 when the 6.6-magnitude earthquake hit.
Pfc. Jacil Joe Tupa, member of the Army’s10th Infantry Division’s Emergency Response Company (ERC), said that the villagers were not able to evacuate to safer grounds as massive landslides have blocked the roads due to series of earthquakes.
The landslides isolated several villages, including Luayon, in Makilala and were only accessible by foot. Thus, ERC troopers along with elements of the 39th Infantry Battalion started to trek on Saturday, November 2, going to the mountainous village.
Acting vice governor Shirlyn Macasarte-Villanueva said that they only learned about the trapped villagers on Friday, November 1.
The villagers from Luayon, who were able to evacuate on October 29, were ones who informed the authorities that there were still left on the mountains.
Villanueva joined the rescuers onboard two Philippine Air Force helicopters — A Bell UH-1 of the 505th Search and Rescue Group and the Bell 412 helicopter which is often used to transport VIPs including President Duterte especially during the Marawi siege.
The soldiers were assisted by personnel of the Bureau of Fire Protection who also boarded the helicopters.
Tupa further said that it was already dark when they arrived at the village, prompting them to spend a night with the residents.
“We admit, we were a bit nervous because we know that it is a landslide prone area and some cracks might cave in anytime,” he said in local dialect.
While admitting that the terrain was quite difficult, he added that they were able to locate the villagers by just trailing the road leading to the village.
After securing the landing zone, which sits on top of ridge surrounded by vegetation, it was then that the soldiers called for the airlift on Sunday morning.
The landing zone is at least 600 meters away from houses of the villagers, the soldier added.
While the soldiers were confident that the pilots are skilled enough to find means to be able land the helicopters, Tupa bared that they were also ready to escort the villagers to safer grounds by foot should the helicopters could not land.
“If there was no landing zone, we have to take a hike but the residents will be forced to leave some of their heavy belongings,” he said.
The soldier added that he was astounded by the skills of the Philippine Air Force pilots who were able to land on top of ridge amid the cracks.
Of the 21 villagers, only 14 of them were airlifted before noontime to the Incident Command Team headquarters in Amas Capitol Compound in Kidapawan City. The rest preferred to walk, along with 14-man team of Army responders, because they had to bring along with them some livestock and motorcycles.
Soon as they touched down in capitol grounds, Villanueva disclosed that two of the children were sick and have been immediately brought to the hospital.
Located in the foothills of Mt. Apo, Makilala is the hardest-hit town in North COtabato following the powerful earthquake that also jolted Kidapawan City and Tulunan (also in North Cotabato) and the neighboring town of Magsaysay in Davao del Sur.
A total of 20,704 families or 103,520 individuals from the 38 barangays of Makilala have been affected by the earthquake, while more than 20,000 houses in the town have been damaged, according to the report of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).
The powerful tremor left a trail of destruction leaving at least 21 dead and over 400 others injured.
Since October 31, thousands of families have been sleeping along the road and open grounds and in dire need of food, temporary shelters and water.
Authorities have ordered forced evacuation in villages affected by landslides. Experts have warned that aftershocks and rains could trigger more landslides especially in areas where massive cracks have appeared. Aside from landslides, massive cracks have also appeared in many of the villages including in Luayon.
But amid of the risk of landslides, for Tupa the rescue mission must be accomplished. “We didn’t mind the cracks or the landslides, we stick to our mission to rescue the villagers by all means.”
RELIEF ASSISTANCE
Meanwhile, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has assured earthquake victims in hard-to-reach villages of Makilala of continuous delivery of relief assistance.
So far, a total of P1.4 million worth of assistance has already been provided to the affected families in the town.
“We assure our kababayans in Makilala that help is on the way. We are looking for the fastest way possible to deliver assistance, especially in areas isolated due to landslides,” DSWD-SOCCSKSARGEN Director Joel Espejo said. (with report from Ellalyn de Vera-ruiz)
