City to allot P750,000 fund for Shrine Hills geo-hazard study

DAVAO CITY, Jan. 20 -– The city will allocate some P750,00 budget for the geo-hazard study at Shrine Hills, Barangay Ma-a where construction of two subdivisions are currently put on hold.

The budget was made after a recommendation was released by the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman National Institute of Geological Sciences geo-hazard specialist and associate professor Sandra Catane, who conducted an ocular inspection on November 11 under the initiative of Councilor Pilar Braga, chairman of Zoning Ordinance-Technical Working Group (ZO-TWG) and Councilor Leonardo Avila, chairman of the environment and natural resources committee.

The ocular inspection made stemmed from pending legislation involving land areas on top of Shrine Hills

Meanwhile, Catane’s group showed the following results of their inspection:

– Rocks underlying the Shrine Hill are inherently unstable.

– Evidence of landslides including debris fall, rock fall and creep are apparent in steep slopes bounding the Shrine Hill.

– Groundwater levels in some parts of the hill are elevated as indicated by the presence of several springs.

– Natural drainages of the hill are hazardous areas as floods may inundate the houses during intense precipitation and continuous stream erosion will eventually undermine the foundation of the house structures.

– The newly constructed access road by DMC was built on relatively gently sloping part of the Shrine Hill.

Barangay Ma-a Federation of Homeowners Associations (BMHOAI) head Norma Javellana said during their meeting with City Vice Mayor Sara Z. Duterte on January 13, agreed the study will be headed by Catane.

"The component of the team that will do the study, as Dr. Catane has recommended, will be a geo-hazard expert, a hydro expert, and a geo-engineering expert for mitigating aspect.

Catane also wanted local participation from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) so it will really be a unified study," Javellana said.

Javellana also said BMHOAI is handing out open letters to the residents of Ma-a urging for the protection of Shrine Hills.

"These letters will be to inform the residents of the barangay that Shrine Hills has to be protected being it having geo-hazard signs and also to protect our natural resources in the middle of the city," Javellana said.

Since 2007, BMFHOAI has been opposing the construction of Camella Homes (formerly Crown Communities subdivision) and Palm Grove West of DMC Urban Property Development Incorporated (DMC-UPDI).(PNA) LOR/Jessie L. Casalda/lvp

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