• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The municipal government of La Castellana in Negros Occidental is considering the permanent relocation of residents living within the four-kilometer permanent danger zone (PDZ) of Mt. Kanlaon.
Mayor Alme Rhummyla Nicor-Mangilimutan said on Wednesday (June 19) her proposal for the permanent relocation of about 100 families is in support to the recommendation of the Office of Civil Defense-Region 6.
The OCD-6 earlier asked the assistance of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources for the actual delineation of the four-kilometer PDZ in coordination with the Philippine Institute of Seismology and Volcanology (Phivolcs).
The PDZ is composed of portions of the cities of La Carlota and Bago and the municipalities of Murcia and La Castellana in Negros Occidental, and Canlaon City in Negros Oriental.
It should not be occupied by residents, OCD-6 Regional Director Raul Fernandez said.
The mayor admitted though that the municipal government cannot afford the relocation program on its own, and needs the support of the national government to evacuate the affected families permanently.
As of June 19, Mangilimutan said that there are still 891 families, composed of more than 3,000 individuals, occupying the five evacuation centers in La Castellana as Alert Level 2 remains in effect at Mt. Kanlaon.
Phivolcs logged five volcanic quakes at Kanlaon volcano as of June 19.
Since the eruption of Mt. Kanlaon on June 3, internally displaced persons (IDPs) in La Castellana continue to have enough food, with minimal problem on health condition, while being monitored closely by health personnel deployed in evacuation centers.
Mangilimutan thanked the local government officials, national government agencies and private organizations for providing assistance to the IDPs. | GB
