By Justin K. Vestil

A seven-meter deep sinkhole was found a few meters from a public elementary school in Barangay Bugas, Badian town earlier this week.

Due to the presence of the sinkhole in Sitio Purok 2, Barangay Bugas, officials of Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) 7 urged residents to stay away from the area while the ground there is unstable.

Eulalio Raboy, Barangay Bugas chief, told reporters that the sinkhole was first sighted by residents last Tuesday.

The sinkhole, with a depth of seven meters and a width of three meters, was found a few meters from Barangay Bugas Elementary School.

Luckily, the sinkhole has not affected any school structure or any house nearby, Raboy added.

Raboy immediately reported the matter to the Badian Municipal Government for intervention.

In a separate interview, Marian Codilla, DENR-MGB 7 public information officer, told Sun.Star Cebu that one of their geologists was sent to Badian yesterday to conduct an ocular inspection of the sinkhole.

Per recommendation of their geologist, Codilla said that barangay officials are urged to put up a cordon and signage on the sinkhole area to prevent people from crossing there.

This is not the first time that sinkholes appeared in Badian.

Following the earthquake that hit Cebu and Bohol in 2013, various sinkholes had appeared in Badian.

Sinkholes often appear after limestone deposits corroded from being in contact with weak carbonic acid, a combination of water and carbon dioxide.

They are common where the rock below the land surface is limestone, carbonate rock, salt beds or rocks that can naturally be dissolved by circulating ground water.

In an earlier interview, Dr. Eddie Llamedo, DENR 7 spokesperson, confirmed that sinkholes often appear in Badian as majority of its areas are limestone rich./ Sunstar Cebu