• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Mayor Alme Rhummyla Nicor Mangilimutan announced that La Castellana has completed its contingency plan in anticipation of a possible Alert Level 4 scenario at Mt. Kanlaon, in response to statements from the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) that the town had yet to finalize its plan.
Mangilimutan said that the town is prepared to utilize the “Tent City” in Himamaylan for its residents, although it can only accommodate 395 families. She said an estimated 10,000 families could be affected if the situation escalates.
While she is grateful for the Tent City, Mangilimutan said that other local government units such as Pontevedra, Hinigaran, Binalbagan, Kabankalan, Bacolod City, Silay, Talisay, and Victorias are being considered as additional evacuation sites.
On Wednesday, Task Force Kanlaon chief Raul Fernandez, also the regional director of OCD for Western Visayas, highlighted the lack of a final and approved contingency plan for La Castellana.
“It is worrisome if not acted on soon,” Fernandez said.
Despite the mayor’s proposal to evacuate residents to two barangays within La Castellana, Fernandez pointed out that specific evacuation sites, requiring approval from the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), have yet to be identified.
During a Kanlaon Volcano risks and hazards communication seminar at the Social Hall of the Negros Occidental Capitol, Ma. Antonia V. Bornas, chief of the Volcano Monitoring and Eruption Prediction Division, warned that communities on the eastern and southern sides of Mt. Kanlaon could be affected in the event of another volcanic eruption.
Bornas indicated that La Castellana faces the highest hazard, with other affected areas including Bago, La Carlota, San Carlos in Negros Occidental, and Canlaon in Negros Oriental.
Atty. Lionel Marco Castillano, Comelec regional director for Negros Island Region, said they need the Phivolcs-approved plans to finalize its own contingency measures for the May 12 elections.
Castillano said they need to establish the location of the polling centers for La Castellana residents if Alert Level 4 is declared, and this will need funding and approval of the Comelec en banc. | GB
