BAGUIO CITY, Philippines — The province of Benguet, including this city, is now under state of calamity due to the massive damage sustained from the recent onslaught of typhoon “Mina” recently.

The declaration of state of calamity was made by the respective local legislative bodies in separate special meetings called by Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan and Governor Nestor B. Fongwan.

This allows the local governments to utilize a portion of their 5 percent calamity fund for the implementation of several post-disaster projects.

In this city, seven people died and two people were injured while an elderly woman still remains missing since the typhoon battered northern Luzon last weekend.

Five of the city’s seven recorded deaths came from the Irisan area as their respective houses were buried by tons of garbage that spilled over the Irisan open dumpsite, following the collapse of a portion of its retaining wall.

Domogan said part of the city’s calamity funds will be used to address the problems created by the “trash slide” that continues to threaten life in limb in several barangays in that area.

Initially, the city government was able to open a portion of the 20-meter Asin road which was blocked by a 15-feet high pile of garbage to one way vehicular traffic to the delight of thousands of local residents living in the areas who were stranded for almost three days.

In Benguet, the calamity funds will be used to assist in the formulation of appropriate solutions to totally open major roads to vehicular traffic and enhance the delivery of basic services to calamity-stricken victims in the 13 towns.

Fongwan underscored the importance of making all provincial and national roads open to vehicular traffic immediately to prevent the existence of an artificial shortage of highland vegetables which will eventually send the wrong signal to enterprising smugglers to take advantage of the situation by flooding the markets with smuggled vegetables that could greatly affect the farmers who rely on vegetable farming as their main source of livelihood.