Igbaras landslide damage to agri, houses reaches P29.3M

SOURCE: Panay News

Barangay Captain John Noe Tacan of the village of Igpigus in Igbaras, Iloilo points to one of the areas where a landslide occurred early morning on Saturday, Aug. 4. Twelve houses were completely covered by earth. IAN PAUL CORDERO/PN

LOILO City – Saturday’s landslide damage to agriculture and houses in Sitio Rumbang, Barangay Igpigus, Igbaras, Iloilo reached P29,307,264, according to Mayor Vicente Escorpion Jr.

But this could still increase, he said yesterday.

The initial estimate of damage to agriculture (livestock, poultry, rice, fruit-bearing trees) is P3,647,264.60 while to properties (47 houses), P25,660,000.

Of the 47 houses, 18 were totally damaged, said Escorpion.

The number of displaced villagers reached 223 (from 58 families). As of this writing, they were still temporarily staying at the barangay’s daycare center and Igpigus Elementary School.

Igpigus is a mountainous village some 10 kilometers away from the town’s poblacion or center.

Yesterday morning, a minor landslide was recorded in Igbaras’ Barangay Barasan. A portion of the road became temporarily impassable to vehicles for some 30 minutes.

After loose soil, mud, stones and rocks were cleared, the road became passable once more.

Igbaras was one of the 10 municipalities in Iloilo that MGB in Western Visayas identified as prone to landslides. The nine other towns were Leon, Tubungan, Miag-ao, San Joaquin, Maasin, Janiuay, Calinog, Lambunao, and Alimodian.