10k food packs sent to Negros amid looming Kanlaon eruption

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Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian has ordered the delivery of 100,000 family food packs (FFPs) to provinces in Negros Island amid the continuing activities of Kanlaon volcano and looming eruption.

The DSWD, in a statement released on Saturday, said the field offices in Western Visayas (Region VI) and Central Visayas Region VII) were expected to start receiving the additional food packs on Sunday.

Gatchalian on Saturday met with the DSWD regional officers led by Region VI Regional Director Arwin Razo and Region VII Regional Director Shalaine Lucero and asked them to check on the situation in the Kanlaon-affected communities after the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) reported about the detection of more ground swelling that could lead to another eruption.

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“We will massively send FFP stockpiles to Negros Oriental (Region 7) and Negros Occidental (Region 6) starting Sunday. We will fill our provincial warehouses on the island to the brim,” Gatchalian said during the online meeting.

He said he wants to have at least 40,000 boxes of food packs each delivered to both Negros Oriental and Negros Occidental by Monday.

“Check the maximum capacity for both sides of Kanlaon. I want maximum capacity at the warehouses of Negros Oriental and Occidental. So we have to be ready,” Gatchalian said.

Razo said they have rented a warehouse in Bacolod that can accommodate up to 50,000 boxes of food packs while Lucero said they are looking at other warehouses that can serve as back-up for the prepositioned FFPs.

As of yesterday, the DSWD has already distributed more than P76.16 million worth of food and non-food relief items to those affected by the Kanlaon eruption, while humanitarian aid from the local government units (LGUs) totaled P13.06 million; P14.66 million came from non-government organizations (NGOs), and P3.49 million from other private partners.

As of January 12, there are 12,284 families or 46,921 persons affected from the two regions including 3,164 families or 10,035 persons who are temporarily taking shelter in 23 evacuation centers and 2,410 families or 7,51 persons who are temporarily staying with relatives or friends.

Kanlaon erupted last December 9 and produced a voluminous plume that rose up to 3,000 meters above the vent and drifted west- southwest.This resulted in Phivolcs’ raising the volcano’s alert level to 3.

Phivolcs, on Saturday, warned that the “overall parameters may indicate that the shallow magma conduit of the volcano is undergoing pressurization that may lead to an eruption broadly similar to the December 9, 2024 event.”

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