Activists demand corporate and government accountability after a massive landslide struck a mining town in the southern Philippines on Feb. 6, claiming nearly 100 lives and affecting more than 7,000 people. Following nonstop heavy rains that began Feb. 2, a devastating landslide struck Masara, a gold mining village with more than 1,200 residents, at 7:30 p.m., the local government reported. Located in the mineral-rich hinterlands of Mindanao Island’s Davao De Oro province, Masara hosts Apex Mining Co. Inc., a company owned by Filipino tycoon Enrique Razon Jr. “Apex Mining must be held accountable for all the lives lost and livelihoods severely damaged due to their relentless mining in the mountains of Davao de Oro,” Eufemia Cullamat, a former congresswoman and now vice president of Mindanao for the national militant group Bayan Muna, said in a statement. Disaster response has been ongoing since then but was halted by a magnitude 5.8 earthquake that hit the region Feb 11. As of Feb. 18, the government of Maco municipality, which includes Masara, reported 98 bodies recovered and eight people still missing. The Philippine Department of Social Welfare and Development stated that 1,457 families, or 4,966 persons, mainly from Masara were staying in Maco and Mawab town’s evacuation centers as of Feb. 14. A massive landslide struck a mining town in the southern Philippines on Feb. 6, claiming nearly 100 lives and affecting more than 7,000 people. Image courtesy of Civil Defense Davao Region. Mining firm not held liable According to the Department of…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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