But an inspection team the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) 7 sent yesterday advised city and barangay officials to evacuate residents near the tunnel and fill it up as soon as possible.
Acting Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama wants residents evacuated right away.
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?Do not wait for any written order. If there is a threat, then act on it ?Getting them out of the area should be the best thing to do,? said Rama in his news conference.
Initial reports described a collapsed tunnel in the outskirts of Salinas Drive as a sinkhole, but Abraham Lucero Jr., the geologist who headed the MGB team, said the tunnel is entirely manmade.
A sinkhole occurs naturally due to the gradual exposure of limestone to water and carbon dioxide, Lucero explained.
The tunnel, about five meters high and 12 meters long, has a soil cover of about 1.5 meters and may have remained void over the years.
The tunnel probably remained dormant until weather conditions eventually disturbed its soil cover. A steady rain that flooded nearby Sitio Maracas washed away the soil cover, revealing the tunnel.
Lucero said the tunnel stretches under the house of Susan Regidor, 45, who first reported the tunnel?s collapse.
Because of the tunnel, Regidor?s house has moved a little lower and its base is unstable, said Lucero.
The tunnel, according to nearby residents, was believed to have been dug back in World War II and may have been used as a bunker for Japanese soldiers.
Lucero said residents there claimed they found old bullets within the tunnel years ago.
Lucero didn?t discount the possibility that more tunnel veins or connections could lead from it.
After the inspection, the MGB 7 inspection team advised city and barangay officials to temporarily evacuate residents living above the tunnel until it is filled.
?The rain may further disturb the soil, causing further collapse,? said Lucero.
Asked if City Hall will give affected families a relocation site, Rama said there is a standard operating procedure for that.
He raised the need to find out how many households are affected or in danger so the Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor (DWUP) can come in.
He told the Cebu City Disaster Coordinating Council to inspect the tunnel and submit a report to his office so he can check where the City Government can come in.
He assured the city will help the residents of Salinas Ext., Barangay Lahug, even if it is led by opposition candidate and Barangay Captain Mary Ann delos Santos.
?They are still constituents of Cebu City. We don?t think of politics when we are saving lives,? he said. (JKV/PDF)
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