VOL. 9 ISSUE 18 • TUESDAY, MARCH 29, 2016
P 15.00 • 20 PAGES
www.edgedavao.net
EDGEDAVAO
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MAYOR. Presidential candidate and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte blows the candle on his cake during a surprise treat from Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy at the Kingdom of Jesus Christ gathering in Lingayen, Pangasinan Sunday. Duterte turned 71 Monday.
Serving a seamless society
MT. APO INFERNO Duterte orders Central 911 to help contain forest fire By ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.
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abf@edgedavao.net
HE Davao City Central 911 is now waiting for a deployment request from authorities before sending a rescue team to put off the forest fire now spreading in the hills of Mt. Apo. Central 911 head Emmanuel Jaldon said although there is already an order from Davao City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte to respond, his office will still wait for the composition of the management team which should be a unified command between Regions 11 and 12. “May standing order naman si Mayor niyan kasi within the region yan. Pero, hindi man yan na basta-basta lang tayo mag-deploy (The Mayor already had a standing order because it is within the
region. But, we cannot just deploy a team) because the deployment will be based on request and needed resources,” Jaldon said. The Central 911 chief said he will also consider the safety of the responding team since the fire has already burned around 200 hectares of area. “Our resources are on standby mode for its possible deployment. We have standing orders that if needed we will send team there,” Jaldon said. He said fire trucks could not go near the place of the incident because it is too far away. Duterte, who is now seeking the presidency, had earlier ordered Central 911 to respond to a reported massive
fire on Mt. Apo that has affected more than 100 hectares of forest cover. The mayor issued the directive last Sunday, or hours after the fire broke out at around 1 p.m. of March 26 on Mt. Apo, the country’s highest peak. Duterte’s order came after dozens of trekkers, who climbed Mt. Apo during the Holy Week, were evacuated even as personnel from the Makilala and Magpet Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) in North Cotabato battled to contain the forest fire. According to North Cotabato tourism officer Joey Recimilla, the forest fire, which is only about 2 kilometers from Lake Venado, has continued to spread as of Sunday morning.
Lake Venado is said to be adjacent to the reforestation sites in Makilala town. If not contained, Recimilla expressed fear that the fire could penetrate the Kidapawan-Magpet-Makilala eco-triangle. “Davao City’s 911 units are always ready to respond if necessary,” he said referring to Davao City’s Emergency Response Team that addresses calls needing police assistance and any type of emergency. Davao City’s Emergency Response units have been extending assistance beyond Davao City. It can be recalled that in the aftermath of super typhoon Yolanda, Duterte sent
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Who caused the fire?
Authorities probe incident
A
UTHORITIES are still trying to determine the cause of the fire within Mt. Apo that burned huge areas within the mountain range. According to 39th Infantry Battalion- Civil Military Operations (39th IB-CMO) commander Capt. Ray Boy Ibanes, they are probing the incident and would not speculate in the absence of evidence. “Up to now, the investigation is still ongoing on how the fire started last Saturday afternoon because we have no exact evidence to prove on what was source of fire,”Ibanes told EDGE Davao over the phone. Ibanes said investigators in North Cotabato have not released any report surrounding the incident, although several speculations have cropped up on how the fire began. “Maraming stories, pero wala pa talagang facts na na-present doon sa naging source ng fire (There were many stories but no facts have been presented on the source of fire),” he said. Ibanes added that based on information from
mountaineering group Kabalikat, the fire started in the summit near the Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur side and immediately spread going the Kidapawan City area. The fire then spread to the North Cotabato side due to the strong wind going to northern area, he further explained. He said the fire in the Kidapawan City area was put under control last Sunday night around 9:45 p.m. Ibanes said the Kidapawan City council immediately acted on the urgency by forming an Incident Command Post, which sent volunteers to make a fire line to prevent it to spread. “Kahapon (Sunday) po ang hangin is going to Davao del Sur kaya po mabilis anpag spread ng fire doon. Ngayon naman po going north ang hangin kaya pa punta na naman po sa Kidapawan side ( On Sunday, the wind was going to Davao del Sur that is why the fire spread immediately in that area. Now, the wind is going north that is why the fire again reached the Kidapawan City area),” he said.
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