• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday (Dec. 13), assured Negrenses that the government will step up its response to help individuals affected by the eruption of Mt. Kanlaon.
“We will step up. We will level up. Any escalation in damage and destruction will be met with a stronger government response,” Marcos said in a video message.
Marcos said the government is focused on providing immediate assistance, adding that concerned agencies are closely coordinating with the local government units (LGUs) to ensure the safety of displaced individuals.
Over 45,000 residents have been evacuated from the six-kilometer radius danger zone.
Marcos said the target is to evacuate a total of 84,000.
During a special session on Friday presided by Vice Governor Jeffrey Ferrer, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Negros Occidental adopted the recommendation of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council to place the entire province under a state of calamity.
The eruption of Mt. Kanlaon on Dec. 9 affected 33,806 persons residing within the six-kilometer radius.
Due to the forced evacuation mandated by the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC), these individuals are unable to remain in their homes.
They face the risk not only of respiratory health problems, resulting from the ashfall, but also the hazards associated with contaminated food and water sources.
Marcos said that the Department of Social Welfare and Development is making sure that there are enough family food packs, non-food items, clean water, and hygiene kits for the affected individuals staying in evacuation centers.
He also directed the Department of Budget and Management to release funds for the displaced residents.
Marcos said that the NDRRMC has prepared to respond to a worst-case scenario, even before the volcano erupted on Monday.
He also placed all units of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police and the Bureau of Fire Protection in Negros Island on high alert.
He said that the Department of Health is also ready to provide services, adding that additional medicines from Metro Manila would be airlifted, if necessary.
In the past 24 hours, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) logged 13 ash emission events at Mt. Kanlaon.
In an advisory, Phivolcs said that the volcano continues to exhibit “moderate” degassing, accompanied by occasional ash emissions.
The ash emission varied, lasting from two minutes to one hour and 18 minutes.
Marcos said that the Task Force Kanlaon is coordinating the right response based on the strength of the volcanic eruption and the damage it may cause.
In Negros Oriental, Gov. Manuel Sagarbarria announced that the provincial government will give P5,000 in financial aid to each family in Canlaon City affected by the eruption of Mt. Kanlaon.
The City of Canlaon, where several barangays are also affected by the volcanic eruption, is calling for donations of essential items such as large cooking pots (kaldero), large pans (kawa), diapers and milk for the evacuation centers.
The city government has maintained its state of calamity since the volcano first erupted on June 3 this year.
Mayor Jose Chubasco Cardenas urged residents in the permanent danger zone to evacuate, assuring them that relief goods and other essential supplies are sufficient.
As of Friday, a total of 1,029 families, comprising 3,397 individuals, are staying in five evacuation centers of Canlaon City.
Phivolcs Director Teresito Bacolcol said that they are monitoring the volcano’s activity under the current Alert Level 3 status.
If the restiveness increases, the alert status could be raised to Alert Level 4, which would expand the permanent danger zone from six kilometers to 10 kilometers and force more evacuations. | GB with PNA reports
