• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Almost three weeks after the eruption of Mt. Kanlaon on June 3, majority of the displaced residents in La Castellana, Negros Occidental residents have returned home.
Mayor Alme Rhummyla Nicor-Mangilimutan, in an interview with RMN DYHB, said that there are only 51 families left in the evacuation centers.
These are families residing within the four-kilometer permanent danger zone, she said.
More than 4,000 La Castellana residents fled their homes, following the volcanic eruption.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) has recommended that nobody should be allowed to reside within the permanent danger zone, and it needs a political will to make these people understand, the mayor said.
As of June 23, Phivolcs has logged three volcanic quakes in Mt. Kanlaon, which remains under Alert Level 2.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development reported that it has provided more than P26 million worth of assistance to displaced families in Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental. | GB
