DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/15 January) – We were prepared to ride the habal-habal once again on Saturday. This time, Toto Lozano will go with me and Ruby will shoot for mining-related issues in Pantukan.

Bibo was already waiting for us near the town hall when we arrived. It was 9:30 a.m.

For an out-of-town coverage like this one, it is important to maintain one driver, especially so because this is not an easy drive to the site. It is important to entrust your safety to someone experienced. Habal-habal drivers also serve as your local guide as almost everyone in the village knows them, and vice versa. Continue reading »

As of January 12, 2012 at least 41 persons were killed while 41 others are missing following a landslide on January 5, 2012 at a gold rush site in sitio Diat Uno in Barangay Napnapan, Pantukan, Compostela Valley province in Southern Philippines.

Retrieval operations was stopped on January 13,2012. The site is now a poor man’s grave.

(A collaboration with Ruby Thursday More, Alex Baluyut and Toto Lozano)

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/14 January) — On our second day of coverage of the landslide in Pantukan, Compostela Valley, we decided to take the Tibagon route because it was still 9:30a.m. Besides, the weather looked fine that Friday, January 6, 2012.

The chopper was on standby in case there would be survivors in the landslide. Or it could be used to transport the cadavers if the weather permitted. But I really had doubts because based on our experience last year in Sitio Panganason, the nearest landing zone was at least three kilometers away.

We asked around if the chopper would really insert additional rescue volunteers or additional soldiers to secure the area, but no one could answer us. Everyone was busy. Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo was coming, and everyone was busy preparing reports or presentations. So we decided to take Tibagon Route so that we don’t have to hike back and forth from the site to Sitio Haguimit. Besides, muscle pain in our legs would slow us down. Continue reading »

View Napnapan Landslide in a larger map

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/12 January) – Ruby and I were supposed to finish editing the photos we took on the aftermath of Tropical Storm Sendong Cagayan de Oro City and Iligan cities when I heard on radio that another tragedy occurred in Pantukan, Compostela Valley, a gold rush site.  I haven’t unloaded some of the things in my backpack after the trip to the disaster-stricken cities, nor drained the water in my bladder pack. The headlamp and some camera accessories were still inside the bag too.

The first report said six persons were already confirmed dead while some were reported missing. A few minutes later, the military reported that 16 bodies had been pulled out from the mud and rubble.

I asked Carol if we could go with Gigi. She said, go ahead.

Although I had no idea where exactly the landslide site is, I knew it would be a long uphill ride because I heard about the gold rush sites, sitios Diat 1 and Diat 2, last year when we covered the landslide in Sitio Panganason in neighboring barangay Kingking. Sitios Diat 1 and 2 are in Napnapan. Continue reading »

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/10 January) – Convinced that chances of survival six days after the tragedy are slim, the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (MDRRMC) of Pantukan in Compostela Valley has shifted work from rescue to retrieval operations in the landslide site that occurred at Sitio Diat 1 in Barangay Napnapan that left 36 persons killed and 36 others missing.

The number of missing people dropped from 42 on Monday to 36 today as four of those in the list were later traced to be alive who had gone home before the incident happened, while two other casualties were already identified by their relatives. Continue reading »

As the world prepares for Christmas and New Year, the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan in Northern Mindanao, Philippines were wrecked and inundated by flashfloods caused by Tropical Storm Sendong (International Name: Washi) on the late evening of December 16, 2011 until the early morning of December 17.

Thousands were killed, many were left homeless, and countless dreams were dashed in a season of merrymaking.

Two weeks after the tragedy, people are slowly picking up the pieces and trying to live normal lives again.

Volunteers at a warehouse in Cagayan de Oro City prepare water containers and water purifiers for tropical storm Sendong victims in this city and Iligan. These water containers and water purifiers are provided by Oxfam Philippines through its local partner Humanitarian Response Consortium (HRC).

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/23 December) – Playing too much computer games makes some sense, sometimes.

When I got a message from Maj. Jacob Obligado, chief of the 10^th Civil Military Operations (CMO) Battalion, saying that as of 8 a.m. on Thursday, they had so far filled up 18 M35 trucks with relief aid for flashflood victims in the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan, the PC game Company of Heroes flashed in my mind, particularly the “Red Ball Express Mission,” which is based on history.

The renowned Red Ball Express was the codename for a massive logistics operation of the Allied Forces during World War II in Europe involving about 6,000 trucks and at least 400,000 tons of ammunition, food and fuel.

The huge convoy had become an easy target by German forces but with Germany’s reduced air power after the breakout of D-Day in June 1944, attacks on the convoy became rare.

But unlike the wartime Red Ball Express, which ran for four months, this version of massive transport of supplies was much smaller and carried not war materiel but precious relief aid for the flashflood victims.

The last time I saw a massive military convoy – with trucks towing several howitzers - was in February 2003 in Pikit, North Cotabato, when a battalion of Philippine Marines was deployed during the Buliok war.  Continue reading »

Some vendors in Agdao Market, Davao City brought TV sets to watch the Pacquiao-Marquez fight. At around 9am, some vendors are already glued on the TV watching the undercard fights.  One of the meat vendors noted that the market goers flock in Agdao as early as 5am until 8am.

In the meat section, I also noticed that only few stocks of meat were left. The vendor said they only butchered one pig because they are afraid that they wont be able to sell all the pork by lunchtime.

Normally, from 5am to 9am is the busiest time every Sunday in Agdao market.  But this morning, it was not an unsual Sunday in Agdao.

On Thursday, Novemer 10, while we were on our way to Davao Oriental, we notice the flooded vacant lot in Carmen, Davao del Norte. We thought it was just in that area. But about 300 meters away from the town hall, we saw some people on board the makeshift water rafts wading through the flooded streets. Most of the houses along the hiway were partly submerged, too.

Ruby and I took few shots. Several displaced residents told us that they evacuated on Wednesday evening when the water started to rise at 7pm. According to them, the flood started to on Wednesday morning after the heavy rains on Tuesday evening.

They admitted that it was not the first time that flood hit their village. In the past, they have been experiencing flood but only up to their waist level. But this time, the flood reached up their chest level. This time, they had to evacuate to safer grounds.