CEBU CITY, Cebu — Amidst rescue operations in Barangay Binaliw in Cebu City where a landslide occurred at a sanitary landfill last week, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has announced that it will provide aid under the Assistance to Individuals and Crisis (AICS) program to the affected families in what has been termed as a ‘trashslide’.
The incident occurred last January 8, with reports saying eight people killed and some12 others injured in the fatal landfill collapse. A large section of the landfill operated by the Prime Integrated Waste Solutions Inc. gave way, burying sanitation workers under tons of garbage, soil, steel trusses and office structures located near the base of the landfill.
According to DSWD assistant secretary Irene Dumlao, spokesperson and head of the agency’s Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG), “the(y) are working closely with the local government unit (LGU) to ensure that the affected families are provided with the needed intervention, especially as retrieval operations are still on-going.”
“Kasalukuyan na din pong pinoproseso ng Departamento ang pagbibigay ng Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) sa mga apektado ng krisis na ito (The DSWD is processing the provision of AICS to the affected families),” she noted.
In the days following the incident, DSWD Field Office 7 Regional Director Shalaine Marie Lucero, together with Disaster Response Management Division (DRMD) chief Lilibeth Cabiara, visited the site to assess the situation, monitor ongoing operations and ensure the provision of immediate assistance to the affected families.
Temporary tents were also put up near the landfill to give temporary shelter families seeking updates on their missing loved ones. As of the latest report, 18 individuals remain hospitalized due to injuries while 11 individuals are still missing, and 25 fatalities have been recorded.