PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday assured the public, especially the people of Negros Island, that the government is putting in place measures to ensure the safety, the minimal disruption of lives, and recovery of residents affected by the continued unrest of Kanlaon Volcano.
In a social media post after his meeting with several government officials in Malacañang on the creation of the National Task Force on Kanlaon Volcano, he talked of the uncertainty as to when the volcano’s restiveness would end.
“We know there is uncertainty when Kanlaon will cease to be active, so we have steps in place for now, in the coming months and in the future to ensure your safety and future,” he said in Tagalog on his official Facebook and Instagram accounts.
“I will not let the life of our countrymen in Negros stop,” he added.
LONG-TERM PLAN
During his visit to Negros Island in February, Marcos announced that he would create a task force composed of various government agencies that would craft a long-term redevelopment plan for communities affected by Kanlaon Volcano’s unrest.
Among the priorities of the Task Force, which will be led by the Office of Civil Defense, is the construction of permanent evacuation centers outside the volcano’s six-kilometer danger zone.
The Presidential Communications Office (PCO), in a news release, said the president wants to keep the composition of the task force small, with the Department of National Defense-OCD as the lead agency.
Marcos said the priority is to move the people out of the six-kilometer danger zone and identify where to build a large evacuation center for the Kanalon-affected residents.
He ordered closed coordination with the local government concerned on the identification and construction of evacuation sites.
“They already have some proposals. Tingnan lang natin kung talagang (let’s just see if it’s really) scientifically correct in terms of the choice,” said the PCO, quoting the president. “And then [let’s see] how we regulate the rebuilding in the different towns.”
Marcos also reiterated that agencies should sustain the support provided to affected localities to address the needs of the people.
STILL DISPLACED
Data from the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Disaster Response Operations Management, Information, and Communication division as of March 3 showed 5,745 families or 18,444 persons are still displaced in Regions VI (Western Visayas) and VII (Central Visayas).
They include 2,621 families (8,378 persons) still in 22 evacuation centers and 3,124 families (10,066 persons) still temporarily staying with their relatives or friends.
A total of 12,630 families or 48,528 persons in 27 barangays in the two regions are affected by the activities of Kanlaon, which started with an eruption at the summit vent of the volcano on December 9, 2024.
It resulted in the raising of the volcano’s alert level to 3 which still remains at present.
DSWD said Alert Level 3 means that magmatic unrest could generate similar ash emissions and even short-lived explosive eruptions in the short term, which may generate life-threatening volcanic hazards.
It is recommended that communities within a six-kilometer radius from the summit crater remain evacuated due to the danger of pyroclastic density currents (PDCs), ballistic projectiles, ashfall, rockfall and other related hazards.
