A landslide swept through Purok B, Barangay Sampaloc in Talisay, Batangas due to heavy rains brought by severe tropical storm Kristine. Dennis Datu, ABS-CBN News

MANILA — The mayor of Talisay, Batangas on Wednesday denied that illegal logging and quarrying were supposedly to blame for the massive landslide that killed at least 20 people during the onslaught of severe tropical storm Kristine in late October. 

“Kitang-kita naman ninyo green na green yung bundok, walang activities doon ng logging, walang quarrying,” Talisay Mayor Nestor Natanauan told ABS-CBN News. 

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Instead, Natanauan blamed the eruption of Taal Volcano for the landslide.  

He surmised that tremors from Taal’s eruption in January 2020 caused numerous cracks in the mountains, which filled with water during heavy rains brought by Kristine. 

"Noong pumutok ang bulkan naglilindol, nagalaw siguro, nagkaroon ng kaunting bitak, dumami ang tubig na sinalo" Natanauan said. 

"Kung inyong titingnan, ngayon lamang nagkaroon ng gay-an  dito sa bayan ng Batangas na kalaki ay ilang taon na nakalipas na pumutok ang bulkan at nakalog… Saka lamang nagkaroon ng bulig, natumba yung mga bato na nagkaroon ng bitak yun ang aking pakiramdam," the mayor added.

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Twenty residents, mostly children, were buried alive when the landslide hit Talisay’s Purok B, Barangay Sampaloc. 

Kristine destroyed around 100 houses in the town. 

The local government will not allow residents to return to the landslide site to resettle. Instead, they will provide housing in a relocation site with the help of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD).

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