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In this photo Friday, September 14, 2018, photo provided by the Itogon National Police in the Philippines, police and members of the Fire and Protection Bureau, to convince Edwin Banawol, center in yellow shirt, leader of a mining group . he and the other miners abandon the bunkhouse which also serves as a chapel and evacuate safely while the Typhoon Mangkhut approaches the northeast of the Philippines. Police inspector Heherson Zambale and other authorities persuaded a village chief, Banawol, to leave this high-risk mountainous area on Friday 14 September, with dozens of gold miners and their families for a safer evacuation. camp in the city of Itogon north in the approach of the powerful typhoon. Banawol and other villagers refused to leave immediately. Banawol's body was among more than a dozen unearthed by avalanche rescuers in Itogon, and more than 50 others were found, Zambale said. (Philippine National Police Itogon via AP) (Associated Press)
ITOGON, Philippines – These are strange photographs, probably the final images of some Filipino villagers who are standing quietly outside the gently sloping buildings the day before the mountainside collapsed behind them. The huge landslide buried dozens of poor miners and their families as typhoon Mangkhut worsened in the north.
A village chief, a fragile umbrella resting above his head, talks to police officers wearing helmets, boots and raincoats on photographs obtained Tuesday by the Philippine Police Associated Press.
Chief Inspector Heherson Zambale, who is seen in the photos, told AP that he and other officials were trying to persuade the village chief, Edwin Banawol, to evacuate on Friday tens of Mining miners and their families. . The authorities were worried about the approach of the powerful typhoon. Banawol and the other villagers refused.
The body of Banawol was among more than a dozen extracted by the rescuers of the avalanche of mud and earth in Itogon, in the province of Benguet. More than 50 people are missing, Zambale said.
This year, one of the worst disasters has been to hit the Philippines and refocus attention on a persistent dilemma: what to do with the large number of poor who live and work on rugged mountains, volcanoes, earthquakes and vulnerable coast storms in desperation?
"Poverty should not prevent people from not knowing and not acting," said Renato Solidum, a senior government official who has conducted in-depth studies and worked on natural disasters and ways to minimize risks.
He said local officials could decide the best course of action if the signs of imminent danger and that people remained unmoved.
While the Philippines has made progress in mapping natural hazards, information on hazards in a specific area could be made more accessible, Solidum said, citing a project called "Hazard Hunter" that informs residents of the dangers.
Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu ordered that all the small mining operations in Benguet and the peripheral provinces cease indefinitely after the Itogon disaster, where people went to fetch gold and settled in shantytowns.
Mining Fidel Ngipol said he understood and acknowledged that mining is dangerous, but that the government should help thousands of poor miners find livelihoods. "It's lucrative, even if it's difficult, but when we win, that's enough and we can support our family," said Ngipol.
The Mayor of Itogon, Victorio Palangdan, told the press that he had ordered the evacuation of the inhabitants but some, including the villagers who had sought refuge in the chapel and dormitories, refused. Some even laughed at the police and told them that their temporary shelter was safe, he said.
Forcibly moving people from their homes could open government forces to human rights complaints, Palangdan said.
Mangkhut has killed at least 81 people and 70 others have disappeared, the police said. Most of them occurred in the mountainous provinces of Benguet and the surrounding area, where about a hundred landslides were recorded, the avalanche at Itogon being the largest and most deadly.
Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, disseminated, rewritten or redistributed.
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