President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. directed the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to ensure that the families affected by the continued unrest of the Kanlaon Volcano in Negros Island, get a steady supply of food including hot meals.
He also enjoined the DSWD to see to the welfare and comfort of all those in temporary evacuation centers who have not been allowed to return to the volcano’s danger zone after the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismoloy (Phivolcs) raised Alert Level 3.
A total of 12,285 families or 46,922 persons are affected in 27 barangays in Regions VI (Western Visayas) and VII (Central Visayas) which include 5,574 families or 17,619 persons who are still displaced.
There are 3,166 families or 10,043 persons currently taking temporary shelter in 23 evacuation centers and 2,408 families or 7,576 who are temporarily staying with their relatives or friends.
A total of P109.17 million worth of assistance has already been provided to the affected families composed of P77 million from the DSWD, P14 million from the local government units (LGUs), P14.66 million from non-government organizations (NGOs), and P3.49 million from other private partners.
“The President said that, while we cannot provide them the comforts of home, we must ensure that they are comfortable in the evacuation center and their basic needs are provided,” DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian said during the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon program.
Gatchalian on Tuesday updated the President and the Cabinet economic team during a meeting in Malacanang, on the situation of the evacuation centers and the communities affected by the Kanalon unrest.
He also relayed the request of some local government officials for continued assistance especially for food and non-food relief items after Phivolcs 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 event.”
Kanlaon erupted last December 9 and produced a voluminous plume that rose to 3,000 meters above the vent and drifted west-southwest. With this, Phivolcs raised the volcano’s alert level to 3.
The President acknowledged the report and reiterated that the evacuees have continued access to food, including hot meals.
Gatchalian said apart from the close to 100,000 food packs that are delivered in Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental, hot meals are also provided in the evacuation centers. Some of the evacues also help in cooking food.