By JEN BAYLON
The additional P203 million worth of financial assistance in response to Kanlaon Volcano’s continuing unrest on Negros Island will go directly to the affected local government units (LGUs), the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) said.
OCD Undersecretary Ariel Nepomuceno said Negros Occidental’s La Carlota City will receive the largest share from the disaster fund, amounting to more than P63 million, while Himamaylan City will get P62.5 million.
P48.5 million has been allocated for La Castellana town, while Negros Oriental’s Canlaon City will receive about P29.7 million.
Earlier this month, President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. approved the P203 million in funds for LGUs affected by Kanlaon’s explosive eruption in April.
The funding aims to support recovery efforts and address urgent needs such as water supply, utilities and other essential services in the impacted communities.
This supplementary aid is expected to help the LGUs address shortages in critical services and resources for their communities displaced or affected by the volcanic activity.
Prior to this, the Department of Social Welfare and Development had already extended over P131 million in assistance to internally displaced persons over the past months, with ongoing relief efforts continuing.
OCD said the funding proposals have been submitted by the affected LGUs in the Negros Island Region (NIR) to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), which will release the financial assistance from the Local Government Support Fund.
Meanwhile, OCD-NIR Regional Director Donato Sermeno III explained that Malacañang referred the matter to DBM, the agency responsible for disbursing the funds.
Kanlaon’s minor explosive eruption on May 13 caused ashfall and damage in La Carlota, La Castellana, Canlaon, and surrounding areas, prompting evacuation and relief operations coordinated by various government agencies.
Choices
The Negros Occidental Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council is finalizing preparations for the choice of permanent evacuation and resettlement sites for residents in five LGUs affected by Kanlaon’s unrest.
Sermeno identified the areas as the cities of La Carlota, Bago and San Carlos, as well as La Castellana.
La Castellana’s proposed evacuation sites in Barangays Talaptap and Lalagsan have been approved, he said.
However, the owner of the targeted site in Lalagsan does not seem to want to sell the property.
Meanwhile, La Carlota City was asked to look for other relocation sites since its proposed sites in Barangays Haguimit, San Miguel and La Granja could be affected by pyroclastic density currents spewed by Kanlaon, Sermeno said.
The proposed relocation site in Bago has been identified as a tsunami-prone area, Sermeno pointed out.
San Carlos City also has a proposed relocation site in Barangay Prosperidad for its residents from Barangay Codcod, who could be affected by the eruption.
Sermeno said the intention of the San Carlos City government to put up its own permanent evacuation site for residents of Codcod will be submitted to the technical working group and their representatives, who will assess the proposed site.
The affected LGUs will have to apply for funding from DBM for their relocation projects, he said.
Furthermore, Sermeno said the NIR Regional Incident Management Team is actively collecting data from affected LGUs to guide their preparations in case of another eruption at Kanlaon.
“One of our priorities is crafting detailed evacuation plans for each LGU. This is separate from the broader contingency plans,” Sermeno told local reporters.
Nepomuceno has directed the agency to ensure clear and specific procedures for affected residents.
These include designated collection points, transportation logistics and evacuation routes in case of a major volcanic eruption.
Nepomuceno emphasized that OCD is preparing for a possible escalation of Kanlaon’s alert level from Alert Level 3 to Level 4.
Such a change would require the evacuation of approximately 100,000 additional individuals within the expanded 10-kilometer permanent danger zone (PDZ).
Currently, more than 1,700 families from areas within the six-kilometer PDZ have already been evacuated.
They are housed in 13 evacuation centers, primarily in La Castellana, La Carlota and Bago./JB, WDJ