Saturday, January 26, 2008

Responsible Development for Ma-a Shrine Hills

Brgy Ma-a Federation of Home Owner Associations presented its case for responsible subdivision development on Maa Shrine Hill to Acting Mayor Sarah Duterte Friday (Jan.25) afternoon.

Sides of Shrine Hill are unstable and not suitable for subdivision development. We believe the soil layer, a mixture of sea-bottom sand and small pieces of broken coral, three to 30 meters thick overlying the steep sides of Shrine Hill cannot be stabilized and maintained over the years; It represents real danger of landslide and other mass movement to residents and those now living below in older subdivisions. The risks are just too great.

Great Cities and great subdivision are built not only for the present but also for the future, our posterity, our children and great grandchildren and beyond. Let us not mortgage the future to the profits of the present. Let us NOT make our green emerald jewel, Shrine Hills, become another Cherry Hills disaster.

Short term, short sighted current-profit-only subdivision developments combined with inherent climatic and geologic risk have resulted in disasters and loss of life all over the Philippines. Let us learn from history. This is an inherently dangerous situation.

What would happen, for example, if we had several days of monsoon rain and a nearby intensity 6.5 earthquake, as we are prone to have? The hillside with its houses could slide down on residents below like caked sand on the side of a beached banca.

The Maa Shrine Hills range in height from about 100 meter - the length of a Soccer field - to more than 160 meters above our heads. Hillside subdivisions must be clearly and manifestly safe in construction and phsyical location. Hillside slopes above nine degrees or 18 percent with sea-bottom sand and small pieces of broken coral lying on the sides of soft slate do not qualify even remotely. The over-all angle of the slopes along Ma-a road probably average more than 45 degrees. Just look the next time you go by them.

Constructions like these do not provide shared benefit to neighboring subdivisions below. They create high risk and loss of property value. Who wants to buy a house or live below the over-burden of these developments and their monsoon rain run-off

Still, if developers can offer environmentally sound, clear and convincing, tested safe solutions, friendly to natural beauty and without adding unfunded impact on infrastructure, we will certainly review them in earnest. We clearly do not believe they can, but we will certainly listen so long as any further construction movement except remediation is halted.

- Teodorico T. Tinio
Chairman, Brgy Ma-a Federation of Home Owner Associations, Inc.
President, Dinaville Home Owners Association
Tel: 244-1857


For the Federation's Position Statement, please click here or navigate Official Steps Taken at the right side bar. For more photos of what 1999 Cherry Hill disaster was like, click here.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

inquiry: You are only talking about the Ma-a Shrine Hills how about those new subdivision along diversion road (the hi end subd)?

MariaLinda said...

The Federation is focused on the DMC and Crown Communities projects for the member subdivisions will be directly affected by their projects.

What new subdivisions along the diversion road are you referring to?

The Federation and the Environment Committee of the Ma-a Association of Purok Leaders came up with a brochure to educate and advise potential buyers of hillside subdivisions to assist them in making intelligent life and purchase decisions.

I can send you a pdf copy if you like. Thank you for your visit.