• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Residents within the four-kilometer permanent danger zone (PDZ) of Kanlaon Volcano in Negros Occidental may soon have a permanent place to stay.
Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz II said the provincial property is set to purchase an 8.6-hectare lot in Barangay Talaptap, La Castellana town for the relocation site.
Diaz said Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson has already signed the deed of sale.
La Castellana Mayor Añejo Nicor said that 27 families who reside within the four-kilometer PDZ in the barangays of Masulog, Biak-na-Bato, and Cabagna-an are still staying in evacuation centers.
Diaz said the provincial government is making a follow-up on the commitment of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development to develop the land that will cost about P210 million.
“We hope that the response will be very swift,” he said.
Diaz said half of the relocation site will be used for farming by the relocated residents.
“If the property is not enough for the evacuees, there is an adjacent 11-hectare area that the provincial government could also purchase,” he added.
After the downgrading of Kanlaon unrest status to Alert Level 2, thousands of residents outside of the PDZ in La Castellana and La Carlota City in Negros Occidental and Canlaon City, Negros Oriental have returned to their respective homes last week.
With this development, Diaz said the provincial government will reduce its supply in the community kitchen for evacuees, with the closure of majority of the centers. | GB
