MARAHAN, Marilog, Davao City (MindaNews / 18 July 2026) – The road slip here that caused a portion of the Bukidnon-Davao to collapse on Friday night and led to its temporary closure has damaged 11 houses, according to the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO).

According to the CSWDO, five houses were totally damaged while six others were tagged “affected.”

Four of the totally damaged houses were swept down the ridge by the road slip that occurred in Purok 39, Lower West Marahan, while another one was still hanging on the road edge as of Saturday but could fall down any time.

“Affected” refers to those houses that did not slid off the mountainside and were only slightly damaged, with some hanging on the edge and no longer habitable. 

A 27-year-old male, was injured on Friday evening when a nearby wire snapped and hit him, Barangay Chair Jeanette Suam said in an interview on Saturday. 

Faith Torres, Marilog District head of the CSWDO, said the local government was still consolidating the financial assistance for the affected families. 

Torres was at the Eurica SRD building, a private structure that temporarily housed 14 of those families.

SRD stands for Soling Roa Duterte, the mother of former Davao City Mayor and President Rodrigo Duterte, who owns the building.

The CSWDO listed three senior citizens, one pregnant woman, and one person with disability from among those who were housed in the evacuation center. 

The CSWDO said they counted 11 home owners, two sharers, and one boarder from among the affected residents.

The breakdown is typically used by the local government to determine cash assistance. 

Some of the belongings were still inside the houses that have remained standing on the edge, but it wasn’t clear if the owners could still retrieve them. The barangay had ordered a preemptive evacuation Friday night.

One family that had just renovated their home a month earlier said they could not pick up any of their belongings as the member who holds the only key was not around during the incident.

The local government was still consolidating the damage cost.

Road closure

Hauler trucks had to turn back and find another way. They could not pass through the alternative route identified by local officials and the Department of Public Works and Highways XI. 

One truck driver asked officials if he could take a photo of the damaged road. His employer was instructing him to try to find a way to pass through the road to make his delivery. 

Bus passengers from either side of the damaged road were forced to disembark and take another bus waiting on the opposite side. 

Meanwhile, several residents nearby have made the situation an opportunity to earn some money.

Men carried baggage, and it was up to those they helped how much they would pay. 

Others put up sidewalk stores, taking advantage of the sudden influx of workers, visitors, and passengers passing through. 

MindaNews found Erlinda Carbonilla, 55, pitching a makeshift tent as a store using a large unused tarp donated by a nearby resort to their family. 

She was selling snack items and bottled water. “Para naa lang panginabuhi (so we can earn income),” she said. 

She said her home was one of those affected by the landslip. Her family of eight was inside the house when the incident happened.

Carbonilla and Suam said the local government would be looking for relocation sites for the families who are now homeless.

Workers from the Davao Light and Power Company as well as from telecommunication firms were busy reconnecting wires Saturday.

The danger from live wires was among the reasons for the road closure, which prohibited even light vehicles from passing through.

Locals said they heard the ground crack as early as 4 p.m., which continued until around 7 p.m., when the road finally collapsed.

According to Suam, elderly residents said the first time the ground here collapsed was in 1977. (Yas D. Ocampo/MindaNews)