By JEN BAYLON

La Castellana Mayor Rhummyla Nicor-Mangilimutan has requested the national government for P714 million in financial assistance to address the needs of residents displaced by Kanlaon Volcano’s ongoing unrest.

The funds are intended for immediate relief, relocation and infrastructure development for affected communities.

Mangilimutan disclosed on Monday, April 14, that she has requested P47 million to replenish municipal funds used for feeding evacuees, providing electricity, education and burial assistance, and fueling water rationing efforts.

These expenses have strained the town’s resources, she said, which were already depleted following the eruption last December.

Additionally, she also submitted a P167 million proposal to the Office of the President to permanently relocate residents living within Kanlaon’s four-kilometer permanent danger zone and construct an evacuation center.

For those within the six-kilometer expanded danger zone, Mangilimutan has requested more than P500 million to build another evacuation center and an integrated school for displaced families.

Meanwhile, La Carlota City Mayor Rex Jalando-on is also awaiting the national government’s approval of his P63.097 million fund request to cover expenses for evacuees in the city.

Jalando-on said Office of Civil Defense administrator Ariel Nepomuceno informed them that the funds were already approved and signed.

“We don’t know how to process the funds for it to be released,” Jalando-on said.

Earlier, Nepomuceno said local government units affected by Kanlaon’s eruption in Negros Island will soon receive P63 million in additional financial assistance from the Office of the President./JB, WDJ