• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The Bago City government in Negros Occidental is establishing a “Bahay Kubo” village for its residents displaced by the eruption of Mt. Kanlaon.
It is targeted to accommodate 24 families composed of 50 individuals.
Dr. Merijene Ortizo, head of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, yesterday said they have started to install 14 nipa huts at the seven-hectare relocation site in Barangay Napoles.
Sustainability-wise, the nipa hut will last longer compared to the tent, which cannot withstand winds and would need a floor mat to cover the ground.
Each nipa hut, which will house a family of internally-displaced persons (IDPs), costs P50,000 each.
Ortizo said they requested a budget from Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson, through the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, for the construction of a community kitchen and sanitation facilities.
The road clearing and site development are being undertaken by the City Engineer’s Office.
Aside from nipa huts for the IDPs, who evacuated from the six-kilometer extended danger zone, Ortizo said the city government will also construct temporary shelters for the police, camp management, disaster response and medical teams.
Child and women-friendly spaces and an open area for demo farms will also be put up in the relocation site, she added.
The installation of traditional nipa huts is being targeted for completion and occupancy by the second and third week of February, Ortizo said.
The Office of Civil Defense is putting up tent cities in Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental, and Vallehermoso in Negros Oriental to accommodate the spillover of evacuees from La Castellana and Canlaon City, in case of another volcanic eruption.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology logged two ash emission events at Mt. Kanlaon at 1:53 a.m. and 5:23 a.m. on Jan. 21.
Alert Level 3 remains hoisted over the volcano. | GB
