• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
More evacuees, who are residents of areas outside the extended six-kilometer radius permanent danger zone of Mt. Kanlaon, were sent home by their respective local government units (LGUs) on Thursday (Jan. 9).
They are from La Castellana town and the cities of Bago and La Carlota City in Negros Occidental, and Canlaon City in Negros Oriental.
In La Castellana, Local Disaster Risk Reduction Management officer John de Asis said that 1,000 evacuees from barangays Sag-ang, Mansalanao and Cabagnaan were allowed to go home.
These are evacuees who left their homes due to heavy ashfall during the Dec. 9 explosive eruption.
De Asis said they are targeting to decamp about 2,000 evacuees.
About 5,000 evacuees are still occupying the various evacuation centers in the municipality.
Some 128 families decamped in Bago City while in La Carlota City, seven families were allowed to go home.
Also, 278 families in Canlaon City left the evacuation centers, according to Donato Sermeno III, regional director of the Office of Civil Defense-Negros Island Region.
In a press briefing on Jan. 8, Task Force Kanlaon commander Raul Fernandez said he would rather that those living outside the danger zone not go home yet, stressing that the status of Mt. Kanlaon remains unpredictable.
With the volcano still under Alert Level 3, the risk of an eruption remains high.
If another eruption happens, it will be chaotic to evacuate the multitude of people again, he pointed out.
Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said: “We are still within the guidelines (of Alert Level 3). If you live beyond the six kilometers danger zone, it’s up to the LGUs to allow them to go home or not”.
In case of another eruption, those allowed to go home are willing to evacuate again, if the need arises, the governor said.
Fernandez urged residents affected by the Mt. Kanlaon eruption to exercise patience and endurance amid the volcano’s ongoing unrest.
“The government is facing the problem head-on and is batting for zero casualty. Do not give up yet. Nature is just testing our resilience,” he added. | GB
