• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
About 1,800 individuals displaced by the Kanlaon Volcano eruption in La Castellana, Negros Occidental on Sunday, July 13, returned to their respective homes located within the six-kilometer extended danger zone.
Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officer John de Asis said on Monday the local government unit (LGU) could no longer afford to support them in the evacuation camps as it has already ran out of funds.
The Incident Management Team and the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council have allowed internally displaced persons (IDPs) to decamp the three evacuation centers, he added.
They have been staying in the evacuation centers since the explosive eruption of Kanlaon Volcano in December last year.
De Asis said some IDPs returned to their homes near the highway beyond the 5.2- kilometer radius zone from the summit while the others are staying in family tents in two identified camp sites in Barangay Cabagna-an.
The latter is still within the six-kilometer extended danger zone of Kanlaon Volcano.
For more than seven months now, the municipal government and the Negros Occidental provincial government have taken turns in feeding more than 3,200 IDPs.
They were also provided food packs by the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
There are still about 1,400 IDPs, who are residents of Barangays Biak Na Bato, Masulog and Mansalanao, who are occupying the evacuation centers in the town proper.
Two weeks ago, some 37 families left their evacuation center without the consent of the municipal government due to poor accommodations and being fed up of staying in the temporary shelter.
Donato Sermeno III, regional director of Office of Civil Defense-Negros Island Region, said the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology maintains that there should be no human activity within the six-kilometer extended danger zone.
Sermeno, however, said the concerned LGU has the final say as they respect their autonomy.
Kanlaon Volcano remains under Alert Level 3 since its eruption last Dec. 9, indicating that “magmatic eruption has begun and may progress to further explosive eruptions.” Mayor Añejo Nicor has reiterated his call on the national government to help the IDPs in his town.
Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said they want to continue the Capitol community kitchen, which is serving hot meals to IDPs, using the remaining funds of the P50 million given to them earlier by the national government. | GB
