The Provincial Health Office has dispatched doctors and nurses to check the conditions of displaced residents of Brgy.Carabalan, Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental, who are now staying in evacuation centers, provincial administrator, Atty. Rayfrando Diaz, said.
Diaz said PHO personnel will also check the water sources to avoid waterborne diseases.
As of Oct.10, a total 3,543 families displaced by the ongoing military operations in their areas, has been staying in seven evacuation centers in Himamaylan. They are being taken care of by the local government with support from the provincial government and the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
Diaz said the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office also deployed social workers to help facilitate the distribution of relief goods.
The entire Himamaylan City has been placed under a state of calamity by its officials due to the mass evacuation of residents and the series of armed skirmishes between state security forces and the New People’s Army.
“We are hoping and praying that clashes between the AFP and the NPA will soon come to an end, so that the people may be able to return to their homes,” Diaz said.
In her report to Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson, PSWDO head Merle Garcia said that of the displaced families, 3,061 are residents of Brgy. Carabalan, 454 from Cabadiangan, and 28 from Brgy. 3, all of Himamaylan.
The city government has opened 14 evacuation centers to accommodate these residents.
Garcia said the DSWD regional office is coordinating with its local counterpart “for the immediate relief assistance to the affected families and persons since they cannot leave their houses.”
“The assistance will be distributed once the Armed Forces cleared the venues for distribution,” Garcia said./GB
