• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
After almost six months of staying in evacuation centers, the 897 internally displaced persons (IDPs), composed of 254 families, in La Carlota City, Negros Occidental have started to return home on Friday (June 13).
These IDPs are residents of Sitios Nailab, Tinin-awan, Gama, and Mansibanga in Barangay Ara-al; Sitio Jamindang in Barangay Haguimit; and Sitios Labinsawan, Bais, and Batacon in Barangay Yubo, all located outside the six-kilometer extended danger zone of Kanlaon Volcano.
Following the Dec. 9 eruption, the affected residents were temporarily housed in several facilities, including the City Evacuation Center, La Carlota South Elementary School- (South II), La Carlota North Elementary School (LCNES), and La Carlota City College-Cubay Campus.
The decision to decamp the schools used as evacuation centers came after the recommendation made by the La Carlota City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council during a meeting on June 10 to allow the resumption of regular classes in those schools.
Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said on Thursday that the Department of Education has already informed the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council that they need back the classrooms occupied by the evacuees.
However, the remaining 64 families, comprising 232 IDPs, from Sitio Guintubdan in Barangay Ara-al that is within the six-kilometer extended danger zone, will not be allowed to return home yet.
These families, primarily sheltered at South II and LCNES, will be transferred to the City Evacuation Center and City Gymnasium 1 for continued safety and support, the city government said.
It added that they will continue to monitor the situation and provide assistance to IDPs in evacuation centers while supporting the reintegration of returning families into their communities,
Lacson said that more IDPs will be allowed to leave the evacuation centers if they decide to move in with relatives living outside the six-kilometer extended danger zone.
“We are also looking at those who are residing along the road as maybe the next group to be allowed to return home,” he added.
Lacson also said they are now in the process of negotiating with the owners of two properties in La Castellana being eyed as permanent relocation sites for IDPs.
Alert Level 3 remains hoisted at Kanlaon Volcano, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, which recorded nine volcanic quakes as of midnight of June 12. | GB
