Kitma landslide claims 8 lives, 2 houses

3 MIN READ

By KATHLEEN T. OKUBO
www.nordis.net

BAGUIO CITY — Near midnight of October 8, Belen (not her real name) was already in bed when she heard what seemed to be rocks and soil slipping down the mountainside. In the next room her daughter thought there was an earthquake. There was no light as the storm Pepeng whipped the power out over most of the city.

In the dark, Belen checked on her son, daughter and niece and went back to bed.
Early the next day, Belen went through her usual morning chores. Having done that, Belen decided to go out and look at the area where she believed she felt the land slip. Some fifty meters west of their rented apartment were broken pieces of the house of her neighbor sticking-out of a landslide and another house on top it, that fell almost a hundred meters below the Marcos highway, where it originally was.

From where she stood awestruck and fearful, her eyes swept the mud, rocks and debris for signs of those who lived in the house. Several neighbors who had come at daybreak to help dig were there. The barangay officials knew of this devastation earlier but they were still digging a slide at the nearby PNB Village where they retrieved the first casualty at 4:00 A.M. Four bodies were retrieved from PNB Village. They had already called the City Disaster Coordinating Council (CDCC) for the rescue or retrieval. After retrieving all casualties from PNB Village the barangay officials proceeded to the area where the Picars were buried in mud and debris.

Belen was also told that the owner of one of the houses, Mr. Castillo had also called the CDCC at dawn a number of times. A passerby and resident of Kitma called the fire department too for help that early morning.
She noticed a lone man digging separately from the rest and salvaging items. She approached him and to start conversation, she asked, “‘di ba bahay ni Pablito Manzano yan?”

And, the man sadly said, “ Oo, ako nga po, bahay ko ito.” pointing to the broken house on top the debris. He said he was just stepping out of the door when his house fell under his feet last (that) night.
At the back of Mr. Castillo’s house a whole family of six children were buried, and, at nine in the morning of October 9, no one was retrieved yet.

She sent out SOS text messages to her friends to please help her seek assistance from anyone or anywhere to come and help dig through the mud in search for the victims.

Angry at the helplessness and with strong feeling of concern and sympathy, drenched in the rain and fearing more falling debris she kept watch for those digging as she burned the airwaves with her cellphone calling for help. Her text message said, “pls col mo cdcc or any rescue na may equipment. Nid help d2. Kpitbahay lng nagpapala.”

Mr. Manzano told her that he evacuated his disabled wife earlier to the covered basketball court and he later had come back for some of their things and to secure their house. He was putting his next foot down the front door landing when to his horror the rest of the house went down and he was left standing alone in the dark. He told her that their fateless neighbor was warned the night before by their parents to evacuate as the ground looked unstable. They did not listen.

Simeon Picar, his pregnant wife, and six children were buried along with the house as the mountainside went down at past midnight.

At 10:26 A.M. of Oct. 9, at my text query if any rescue arrived, Belen answered, “kararating, truck lang ang dala.” And, four volunteers from the CDCC arrived too.

At 12:00 noon the Firemen arrived in a firetruck followed by volunteers from the OCD and then police recruits.
At 3:18 P.M., Belen sent a text message to her friends, “Wa pa kmi kuryente. Wla pa naretrieve bodies sa neighbor namin.

On October 12, at 3:30 P.M., the first 2 bodies were recovered, then at 6:00 P.M. the 8th body was recovered.

Two houses fell with the slide from the Marcos highway level on top of the third house below along Kitma road. Belen lived some 50 meters southeast the slide and below the house of Manzano. # nordis.net