President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to look into the quarrying activities in Guinobatan town in Albay province after hundreds of residential homes were buried in mud due to super typhoon “Rolly.”
In a meeting with his Cabinet secretaries Monday afternoon, Duterte tasked Public Works Secretary Mark Villar to investigate the complaints of residents near the area, who say the mining has caused landslides in the town of Guinobatan.
“Up to 90 percent of homes have been badly damaged or destroyed in some areas. This typhoon has smashed into people's lives and livelihoods on top of the relentless physical, emotional and economic toll of COVID-19, the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) said.
The NDRRMC said the affected houses were in Purok 6 and 7, San Francisco, Guinobatan, Albay.
Villar vowed to immediately conduct an investigation into the quarrying near Mayon Volcano.
The Bicol region was battered last week by typhoon Quinta.
Presdint Duterte visited Albay province following questions about his absence from public view during the disaster.
Duterte led an aerial survey and later appeared before residents of Guinobatan town, where super typhoon Rolly spawned landslides of volcanic ash from nearby Mt. Mayon.
About 400,000 people fled their homes ahead of the typhoon and most of them remain in evacuation centers as authorities scramble to restore power and telecommunications services in the hardest-hit areas.
President Duterte was expected to address the nation Monday night or Tuesday morning after he returned from the Bicol region, the Palace said.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the President did not appear earlier because the local government was “functioning.”
Duterte was in Davao City as this year's strongest storm churned across Luzon, ripping off roofs, toppling power lines and causing flooding in the hardest-hit areas where hundreds of thousands had fled their homes.
Roque also denied suggestions on social media that the government’s closure of ABS-CBN led to an information gap during the height of the typhoon.
Roque said there were other networks that reported on the storm, such as GMA-7, TV5, and the state-owned PTV.
“Radio reporters were on top of typhoon watch too”, he said.
“The communication infrastructure of the government during disaster is working. I think there is no vacuum,” Roque said during the government's first post-disaster press briefing since Rolly drenched Luzon.
ABS-CBN was a trending topic on Twitter on Monday as social media users recalled the network's coverage and public service during past calamities.
The giant network went off the air on May 5 after its 25-year franchise ended. A House panel in July rejected its applications for a fresh license to broadcast after the President threatened the network with closure.