The municipality of La Castellana continues to strengthen its preparations in the event of disruptive activity of the Kanlaon Volcano.

Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office head John de Asis said they are revisiting the memorandum of agreements with the town’s concessionaires on transportation and other evacuation-related activities in the event the volcano alert level escalates.

De Asis said that the town is financially challenged after two evacuations.

The latest of which was last month when 900 families consisting of 2,900 individuals were evacuated to the town proper as Kanlaon Volcano showed signs of severe unrest, he added.

The evacuees from Barangays Cabagna-an, Masulog and Biak-na-Bato were transported back home after staying for a week at the evacuation centers from September 13 to 21.

As of October 3, a low-level sulfur dioxide odor fills the air in the town, and as a precautionary measure, people were advised to wear masks, he noted.

According to De Asis, they are constantly in touch with the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) to update them on the situation of the volcano.

“We get advice from them [Phivolcs] because we never know what will happen next,” he said.

They also depend on the air quality notice from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources from the air quality monitors stationed at the town proper and at Barangay Biak-na-Bato. (PIA-6 Negros Occidental)