The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has delivered P94.861 million in humanitarian assistance to internally displaced persons (IDPs) affected by the eruption of Mt. Kanlaon in Negros Island since December last year.
Data of the DSWD’s Disaster Response Operations Monitoring and Information Center (DROMIC) yesterday showed the figure include P56.594 million provided to Negros Occidental province and P38.266 million to Negros Oriental.
“The reflected assistance covers the cost of food and non-food items and financial assistance provided to the affected families or persons,” the report said.
In Negros Occidental, La Castellana has received P36.975 million; La Carlota City, P11.911 million; Bago City, P4.847 million; Murcia, P1.482 million; Pontevedra, P1.216 million; and San Carlos City, P161,530.
Negros Oriental, which has only one affected local government unit (LGU), Canlaon City, has been given P38.266 million in assistance.
The P94.861 million assistance extended by the DSWD is part of the total P153.483 million worth of humanitarian assistance provided to the affected families, following the volcanic eruption on December 9.
The rest came from LGUs, P16.814 million; non-government organizations, P33.351 million; and other partners, P8.456 million.
The February 18 DROMIC report showed that 2,684 families or 8,552 persons are still staying in 22 evacuation centers.
These include 1,768 families or 5,631 persons from the cities of Bago, La Carlota and San Carlos, as well as the municipality of La Castellana, all in Negros Occidental.
La Castellana is the hardest-hit LGU, hosting 1,362 families or 4,264 persons in various evacuation centers.
In Negros Oriental, 916 families or 2,921 persons are staying in evacuation centers in Canlaon City.
“As of February 17, Kanlaon Volcano remains under Alert Level 3, which means that magmatic unrest could generate similar ash emission and even short-lived explosive eruptions that may generate life-threatening volcanic hazards,” the report said. (PNA)