Bukidnon Road Impassable for Months Due to Massive Debris

A vital road network in San Fernando, Bukidnon, connecting to neighboring Davao del Norte, is expected to take months to become passable as efforts to remove massive debris are being conducted cautiously due to unstable slopes, a Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) official said. Engr. Rainer Valderrama, district maintenance engineer of the DPWH First District Engineering Office in Malaybalay City, said that clearing operations along the landslide-hit Kapalong-Talaingod-Valencia (KTV) road in Sitio Balacayo, Barangay Kalagangan, are expected to take months, with thousands of cubic meters of mud, rocks, trees, and other debris that buried the highway yet to be removed. The massive landslide struck before dawn on July 6 after days of heavy monsoon rains enhanced by the incoming Super Typhoon Inday (international name: Bavi), which entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility on July 8. The landslide cut off the vital KTV road and isolated several hinterland and Indigenous Peoples (IP) communities. Valderrama said clearing operations are progressing cautiously because the slope remains unstable. “We are removing the debris layer by layer because of the unstable slope,” Valderrama told the Inquirer in a phone interview on Sunday. Heavy equipment from DPWH Region 10, the DPWH First District Engineering Office, and the San Fernando local government have been deployed to clear debris and reopen the road. A DPWH Region 10 geologist, Ely Daniel Camillio, inspected the site on July 11 and found that prolonged rainfall had saturated the soil, according to Valderrama. Valderrama added that seismic activities may also have contributed to the slope failure. Tree-cutting operations are ongoing in the upper portion of the landslide to prevent additional debris from falling on personnel and heavy equipment below. Crews continue clearing the estimated 200-meter slide in a bid to establish full access across the blocked section. Residents have opened a temporary footpath through a community ‘bayanihan’’ effort to allow pedestrians to cross even as authorities continue to warn the public against unnecessary travel in the area. The road closure has disrupted daily life in nearby IP communities. Jei Capao, a 27-year-old Matigsalug teacher assigned to Panuluanan te Masalugpok, an Indigenous Peoples school in Sitio Masalugpok, said teachers have been unable to report to their assigned school since the landslide. “The road is extremely difficult to pass. We cannot reach our school, and our pupils’ education has been affected,” Capao said. Teachers have temporarily been reporting to Cabuling Elementary School while access to the IP school remains blocked. Capao said residents who rely on motorcycles must pay P200 to have their units manually carried across the landslide area. He added that farmers are also struggling as the road closure has increased transportation costs for agricultural produce and disrupted the delivery of food, fuel, and other essential goods. Capao appealed to the government to expedite the clearing and rehabilitation of the road, saying its reopening is critical to restoring access to education, markets, health services, and other basic needs for affected communities.