LA TRINIDAD, Benguet(PIA) — Residents living in high-risk and hazard-prone areas in the municipality of La Trinidad are now required to conduct pre-emptive evacuation while authorities will implement forced evacuation, if necessary, amid the prevailing habagat.
Mayor Roderick Awingan issued Executive Order No. 148 s. 2026 on September 3, 2026, mandating a pre-emptive evacuation and forced evacuation, if needed, of residents in high-risk and hazard areas within the municipality due to the imminent threat from the enhanced Southwest Monsoon or habagat to ensure safety and prevent untoward incidents.
“A pre-emptive and, if necessary, forced evacuation is declared and ordered for all residents living in high-risk areas and hazard-prone areas within La Trinidad,” the mayor said
La Trinidad continues to experience moderate to heavy rains. For the whole month of August, Benguet recorded more than 2,800 mm of rainfall which is equivalent to nearly three months of normal rain in August.
“The massive and concentrated amount of water has already saturated the soil across the municipality, drastically increasing the susceptibility of sloping terrains and waterways to landslides, rockfalls, mudslides and flashfloods,” the order added.
Awingan appealed to residents in landslide or flood-prone areas and in places which are potentially dangerous to evacuate the soonest as the effect of heavy rains caused by the habagat and tropical cyclones persists.
Barangay officials are tasked to enforce the order and, if warranted, to conduct forced evacuation. Punong barangays who are the chairpersons of the Barangay Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Committees are authorized to do so.
Families to be pre-emptively or forcibly evacuated shall be transported and temporarily housed in the designated evacuation centers of the barangays.
Awingan’s executive order is in line with the Department of the Interior and Local Government Advisory No. 2 or the Strict Enforcement of Pre-Emptive or Forced Evacuation Protocols.
According to the DOST-PAGASA advisories, continuous moderate to heavy rains brought about by the prevailing Southwest Monsoon are affecting the western sections of Northern and Central Luzon, including the Province of Benguet. The forecasted rainfall may be heavier in mountainous and elevated areas, and the impacts will be worsened by the significant antecedent rainfall that has already saturated the soil. **JDP/RMC – PIA CAR
