A senior official of the Mines and Geo-Sciences Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Region 7 cautioned officials and residents of Mabinay, Negros Oriental, to be vigilant and continue monitoring the sinkholes that have formed in that upland municipality.

Cebu-based Ma. Elena Lupo, MGB-7 senior geologist, said yesterday in a telephone interview that the sinkholes along the riverbed in Barangay Hagtu, Mabinay currently do not pose an immediate threat to the residents there.

However, constant monitoring is required especially during heavy and continuous downpour as the current condition of the underground cavities could not yet be ascertained, Lupo said.

Lupo led a team of MGB-7 experts last August 20 to visit Mabinay following a request from the town mayor, Ernesto Uy, to have the sinkholes inspected and analyzed.

Before the team's visit, Uy was informed of at least five sinkholes having formed along the banks of the Malaiba River in Hagtu following reports of a perceived mild ground shaking in the area.

It could not immediately be determined whether an earthquake or incessant rains had caused the formation of the ground depressions.

Lupo, however, further explained sinkholes are common in areas like Hagtu that is widely made up of limestone.

She declined to comment on the reported presence of an earthquake fault passing through Mabinay, saying it is out of the MGB's jurisdiction and that the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology would be the proper agency to determine such.

The geologist admitted though that earthquakes, ground shaking or any kind of vibration or movement of high intensity could also lead to the formation of sinkholes especially in an area where the ground is already compromised such as loosened soil due to heavy rains.

The MGB-7 official said for now they are just awaiting further reports from the Mabinay officials on the status of the Hagtu sinkholes, with the barangay captain and the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office asked to do the monitoring.

Depending on the situation there, and in the event of future heavy rains that would show signs of development of the sinkholes and the tension cracks also seen in the vicinity, then the MGB-7 might have to return to the site with their Ground Penetrating Radar equipment used to analyze the underground cavities, Lupo said.

For now, she said constant monitoring is imperative considering there are houses on the slope just slightly above the area where the sink holes and tension cracks are located.

Heavy rains that would inundate that area could cause the slope to collapse if the tension cracks get bigger, she added.*JFP

Resigned prov'l administrator returns to Capitol

Resigned provincial administrator and concurrent provincial legal officer, Richard Enojo, returned to work yesterday after having announced late last week he needed at least two days to reconsider his resignation.

Enojo made the official announcement of his change of heart in yesterday's flag raising ceremony, said Capitol information officer Adrian Sedillo.

Governor Roel Degamo was not present during the regular first Monday of the month activity but he and Enojo had a meeting afterwards at the Capitol, Sedillo added.

Enojo told department heads and other provincial government officials that for the second time around, he has prevailed over his family's wishes for him to depart from Capitol and continue with his private practice.

To recall, the lawyer had tendered his resignation effective Monday last week but the governor did not act on it immediately. In fact, Degamo was reported to have sought Enojo's reconsideration.

At a press conference Thursday, Enojo clarified that he was giving up his concurrent positions so he could pursue his political plans for the upcoming May 2016 elections as well as citing other reasons, such as having to increase his income as his daughter was entering a high-end university this school year.

Enojo had then announced he was most likely to seek the position of municipal councilor of Zamboanguita, a town in Negros Oriental about half an hour's drive south of this capital. The lawyer had also explained that having served at the Capitol for about four years with his cousin, the governor, at the helm, he had lost about 50 percent of his clientele.

He also rejected insinuations by opposition political quarters that he had left Capitol because he was not happy with the so-called unequal sharing of “income” with the provincial chief executive, an accusation that he scoffed at saying that he would be earning so much more if he was still in private practice.

Enojo said he took on the job first and foremost because Degamo was a cousin who needed his expertise, but now that he believes the governor can fare better without him, he had seriously thought of leaving Capitol to enter the political arena.

During the flag raising ceremony, though, Enojo did not make any mention of his political plan, although it was widely perceived by many that he would definitely be giving it up in favor of continuing his services with the provincial government.

He also told those in attendance that his wife had wished him good luck yesterday morning as he departed for the Capitol to resume work, Sedillo added.

During Saturday's launching of the governor's Partido NegOrense, Enojo was seen in his company, sporting a shirt of the local political party which was attended by thousands of Degamo's supporters from all over the province.*JFP

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