Mass burial held for 9 Sarangani landslide victims

KORONADAL CITY — Nine of the 10 people killed in the landslide that struck a village in Malapatan, Sarangani Province were laid to rest on Thursday, July 16.

The fatalities were identified as Alejandro Maladian, Bina Binaton Maladian, Jordan Binaton Maladian, Weljay Maladian, Bonbon Cawari, Therd Yaton Dawang, Prince Yaton Dawang, Save Yaton Dawang, Daniel Binaton Dawang, and Ricky Ben Dawang who, according to Mayor Salway Sumbo Jr, were either related by blood or marriage.

According to the local government unit, a mass burial was held Thursday morning at the Malapatan Public Cemetery in Barangay Poblacion, where grieving families, relatives, friends, and residents gathered to say their final goodbyes.

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READ: After quake, flash floods hit Sarangani, Gensan

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The local government said the mother of Baby Saviour, an infant who remains missing, also attended the burial. Search and retrieval operations are continuing at the landslide site in hopes of finding the child.

As a gesture of sympathy, the local government offered flowers on each grave and expressed condolences to the bereaved families.

Sumbo said the municipal government continues to provide assistance to families affected by the tragedy.

He added that authorities are also enforcing forced evacuations in several areas of Malapatan due to the continuing threat of landslides brought by persistent heavy rains.

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The landslide victims were among the families displaced by the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that jolted southern Mindanao on June 8.

The landslide occurred at around 3 a.m. on July 10 in Sitio Pandao, Barangay Poblacion in Malapatan following days of heavy rain. /mr

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