BAGUIO CITY — Baguio City Representative Mauricio G. Domogan called for strict enforcement of structural regulations and mandatory soil testing, particularly for buildings and other structures constructed along the city’s vulnerable mountain slopes.

He urged authorities to conduct comprehensive ground inspections to determine soil stability during prolonged heavy rains, warning that unmonitored development could pose serious risks to residents.

Continuous monsoon rains recently saturated slopes across Baguio, triggering dozens of soil erosions, rockslides and landslides. Local disaster monitoring recorded more than 40 landslide incidents citywide, displacing families and damaging or destroying homes.

The most severe incident occurred in Purok 2, Barangay Guisad Surong, where a hillside collapsed onto residential homes, killing 10 people and injuring three others while displacing dozens of families.

The recent disasters underscore Baguio’s long history of slope failures caused by heavy rains and other hazards. The city experienced widespread landslides during the July 1972 Luzon floods, while the magnitude 7.7 earthquake on 16 July 1990 triggered massive slope collapses across Baguio and Benguet.

The 1990 earthquake destroyed homes, hotels and critical highways, including Kennon Road and Naguilian Road. More than 1,000 people died in the region, while tens of thousands were displaced. Ground transportation to Baguio was cut off for several days, requiring airlifts to deliver supplies.

Severe storms have continued to trigger deadly landslides. Typhoon Feria in July 2001 caused major slope failures in Barangay Irisan and surrounding areas, while Typhoon Pepeng in October 2009 triggered landslides in communities along Marcos Highway, Kitma and PNB Ville.

Government geologists have estimated that about 85 percent of Baguio’s terrain is hazard-prone, while only 2 to 3 percent is considered geologically stable. The city’s steep terrain and unstable slopes make hillside communities particularly vulnerable when prolonged rain saturates the ground.

Domogan said lessons from past disasters show that natural hazards are often compounded by human error.

Post-disaster assessments, he said, found that some building failures were worsened by compromised engineering standards, including unauthorized floor additions and inadequate site assessments.

He warned that without rigorous enforcement of building codes and mandatory slope inspections, prolonged rainfall could continue to trigger avoidable disasters.

Domogan urged local authorities to treat human oversight with the same urgency as natural hazards, stressing the need to prioritize structural integrity, safer development and public safety to prevent further loss of life.