By Justin K. Vestil

OFFICIALS of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) 7 urged the Talisay City Government and contractors of an ongoing road project in Barangay Manipis to implement effective engineering interventions to prevent landslides there.

This, after a huge landslide occurred in Barangay Manipis during the weekend, causing problems for motorists using the Talisay-Toledo Access Road.

Al Emil Berador, chief geologist of the DENR 7’s Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), recommended to the Talisay City Government and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to continue monitoring the mass movement in the affected areas, especially along road sections that are being widened.

Berador also recommended to put up several mitigating measures to prevent damage to lives and properties such as the installation of retaining walls, the use of rock enforcement such as pattern of rock bolt with wire mesh and shotcrete; and the use of rock sheds, nets or rock fence to catch falling rocks.

Interventions

Other interventions include flattening or benching the slope or installation of adequate and proper slope drainage. With Barangay Manipis considered as one of eight villages in Talisay that are rated as highly susceptible to landslides, Berador said that continuous heavy rain may further trigger mass movement due to ground saturation and increasing pore water pressure.

The highly-weathered rocks and the steepness of the slope are also contributing factors to Barangay Manipis’s pronounced susceptibility to landslides, Berador added. In a statement, MGB 7 Director Loreto Alburo asked local government units to activate their barangay disaster risk reduction management councils (BDRRMC) and advised the public not to pass by the affected area for safety.

Incident At around 9 p.m. last Saturday, a landslide occurred just a few meters from the village hall of Barangay Manipis due to heavy rains.

Even though no one was hurt or killed during the landslide, a huge mound of earth has covered a large portion of the Talisay-Toledo Access Rd., preventing large vehicles from passing there. Alvin Santillana, Talisay City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (TCDRRMO) head, said that for small vehicles to pass by, residents there have to manually removed some of the debris.

Eventually, heavy equipment from QM Builders, the official contractor of an ongoing road project there, immediately cleared the debris.

The Manipis road is an alternate route from Talisay to Toledo City. It is also an access road to the hinterland villages of Cebu City and the town of Minglanilla. / Sunstar Cebu