• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Having realized losing food assistance and with nowhere else to go, 19 families of internally displaced persons (IDPs) affected by the ongoing unrest of Kanlaon Volcano have returned to the evacuation camp in La Castellana, Negros Occidental.
Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office head John de Asis said on Thursday (July 3) these returning families comprise about 45 individuals.
Thirty-seven families, composed of 100 individuals, abandoned the evacuation center on June 30 without consent from the local government unit (LGU) as they complained of poor living condition in tent shelters and other concerns.
Some families have decided to return after they discovered that their homes within the six-kilometer extended danger zone have already been damaged by the series of eruptions, De Asis said.
He added that the families who still refuse to return to the evacuation camp will no longer receive food assistance.
The provincial government of Negros Occidental is providing meals to the IDPs in La Castellana on top of the food packs being distributed by the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
The IDPs, who are residents of communities within the danger zone, have been living in evacuation centers since December last year.
La Castellana Vice Mayor Alme Rhummyla Nicor-Mangilimutan said she has received reports that some IDPs have been selling the DSWD food packs given to them to earn money for their families.
Meanwhile, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) and other government agencies will hold a meeting in Bacolod City on July 7 to address more concerns raised by the IDPs and the difficulties being confronted by the LGUs in dealing with the effects of Kanlaon Volcano eruption. | GB
