The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) has recommended placing Negros Oriental under a state of calamity due to the continued unrest of Mt. Kanlaon.

PDDRM chief Adrian Sedillo told the Philippine News Agency that the council voted on Thursday, December 26, for the recommendation after the local government unit (LGU) of Vallehermoso declared a state of calamity recently.

The legal requirement of at least two LGUs had been met as Canlaon City has remained in a state of calamity since the June 3 eruption.

The council’s resolution has been forwarded to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan for deliberation, with Sedillo expressing hope for swift approval.

“Once declared, the provincial government can access its quick response fund [QRF] for disaster response and relief,” he said.

Edna Lhou Masicampo, Canlaon City information officer-designate, said yesterday that the city’s QRF has been depleted, and the P30 million from President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. is also slowly draining.

Meanwhile, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Central Visayas distributed food packs and P3,000 cash assistance to families displaced within the six-kilometer permanent danger zone (PDZ).

Cardenas also urged DSWD to include evacuees staying with relatives in the aid program.

As of December 26, a total of 2,421 families or 7,816 individuals remained displaced, with 1,778 families in evacuation centers and 643 families sheltering outside these facilities.

Residents outside the PDZ were advised to return home as fears of a major eruption had subsided. (PNA)