• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Internally displaced persons (IDPs) in La Carlota City, who are set to return home on Aug. 14, have been assured of aid packages by the city government.
These include cash assistance, food packages, and galvanized steel sheets for shelter reinforcement.
The returning IDPs comprise 61 families or 225 individuals.
Mayor Jose Luis Jalandoni recently convened the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (CDRRMC) to finalize plans to start the return of IDPs to their homes in Sitio Guintubdan of Barangay Ara-al.
The decampment of the IDPs, who are residing outside of the four-kilometer permanent danger zone (PDZ), was initiated after the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) downgraded the unrest status of Kanlaon Volcano from Level 3 to Level 2, which indicates moderate unrest.
Despite the downgrade, Phivolcs emphasizes that Alert Level 2 still carries a chance of sudden phreatic or steam-driven eruptions, stressing that the four-kilometer PDZ must remain evacuated.
During the meeting, the CDRRMC approved six major resolutions designed to bolster La Carlota’s disaster preparedness and response capabilities, which include mandating the decampment plan and prohibiting human activity within the four-kilometer PDZ, among others.
In a move towards sustainable long-term resilience, it also stressed the need for the establishment of a permanent relocation center. | GB
