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LAST MOMENTS: Photo shows Itogon landslide victim a day before tragedy

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Arianne Merez, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/news/09/20/20180920-landslide-itogon-1.jpg?ext=.jpg"/><figcaption>In this Friday, Sept. 14, 2018, photo provided by Itogon Philippine National Police, police officers and members of the Bureau of Fire and Protection, talk to Edwin Banawol, center in yellow shirt, a leader of a mining group, to convince him and the other miners to abandon the bunkhouse which also serves as their chapel, background, right, and evacuate to safety on as Typhoon Mangkhut approaches northeastern Philippines. Itogon Philippine National Police via AP</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA- It was a tragedy that could have been prevented.On Friday, Sept. 14, local policemen in the mining town of Itogon, Benguet appealed to local miners to abandon their bunkhouse and seek safer grounds as Typhoon Ompong (international name: Mangkhut) closes in on northern Luzon.Photos released by the Itogon Police showed local policemen asking Edwin Banawol, a leader of a mining group, to convince his fellow miners to evacuate.“Some were smiling and there were some who were just quiet. Some were listening to us,” Police Senior Inspector Heherson Zambale told the Associated Press (AP) in an interview.<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/news/09/20/20180920-landslide-itogon-2.jpg?ext=.jpg"/><figcaption>In this Friday, Sept. 14, 2018, photo provided by Itogon Philippine National Police, police officers and members of the Bureau of Fire and Protection, talk to Edwin Banawol, center in yellow shirt, a leader of a mining group, to convince him and the other miners to abandon the bunkhouse which also serves as their chapel, background, right, and evacuate to safety on as Typhoon Mangkhut approaches northeastern Philippines. Itogon Philippine National Police via AP</figcaption></figure></div><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/news/09/20/20180920-landslide-itogon-3.jpg?ext=.jpg"/><figcaption>In this Friday, Sept. 14, 2018, photo provided by Itogon Philippine National Police, police officers and members of the Bureau of Fire and Protection, talk to Edwin Banawol, center in yellow shirt, a leader of a mining group, to convince him and the other miners to abandon the bunkhouse which also serves as their chapel, background, right, and evacuate to safety on as Typhoon Mangkhut approaches northeastern Philippines. Itogon Philippine National Police via AP</figcaption></figure></div>Banawol and other miners, did not heed police&#x27;s call. Banawol&#x27;s remains were later among those pulled from mud and rubble.&quot;Nung nagdaang bagyo daw di sila naapektuhan doon, &#x27;yan ang katwiran nila. Bumalik sila sa bahay sambahan nila &#x27;yun. Pumunta pa dun na nagkakanta-kantahan sila,&quot; Benguet police chief Senior Supt. Lyndon Mencio told radio DZMM Thursday.(They went back and reasoned that they will not be affected just like in the previous typhoons. They went back to their place of worship, singing songs.)Ompong, the world&#x27;s strongest typhoon this year, smashed through northern Luzon over the weekend, triggering floods and landslides in different parts of the country.On Thursday, at least 57 people remain trapped under the mud in Itogon where a landslide buried bunk houses for miners, Mayor Victorio Palangdan told radio DZMM.Of the hundreds digging through the debris, many were miners themselves who were looking for friends and relatives, determined to make sure they received a proper burial.“I really feel sad, I cannot describe the emotion,” Zambale told AP. “It’s not only the people who don’t listen. They have children, wives, elderly parents who will all suffer.”<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/20/18/digging-continues-as-ompong-landslides-toll-rises">Digging continues as Ompong landslides toll rises</a></li></ul>

Banawol and other miners, did not heed police's call. Banawol's remains were later among those pulled from mud and rubble.

Banawol and other miners, did not heed police's call. Banawol's remains were later among those pulled from mud and rubble.

LAST MOMENTS: Photo shows Itogon landslide victim a day before tragedy

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LAST MOMENTS: Photo shows Itogon landslide victim a day before tragedy

Arianne Merez,

ABS-CBN News

Published Sep 20, 2018 04:59 PM PHT

|

Updated Sep 20, 2018 06:00 PM PHT

Read More:

Ompong

Itogon

landslide

Benguet

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