By CESAR JOLITO III

At least 24 internally displaced persons (IDPs) composed of eight families, among 89 IDPs or 33 families, voluntarily returned to the evacuation center following their unauthorized decampment earlier this week.

John de Asis, head of the La Castellana Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (DRRMO), said evacuees from Kanlaon Volcano’s continuing unrest are now beginning to return to the evacuation center in Negros Occidental’s La Castellana town.

De Asis cited that unsafe living conditions in IDPs’ homes were caused by recent volcanic ashfall.

He added that authorities expect at least three more families to come back within the day.

“These families were convinced to return because some of their houses were fully destroyed by the ashfall,” De Asis said.

“We are also coordinating from the border of the six-kilometer permanent danger zone for the dispatch of vehicles to transport IDPs who want to return to the evacuation site,” he added.

The shift in movement comes just days after it was discovered that more than 33 families had gone back to their homes without the permission of the La Castellana Incident Management Team (IMT) or the local government.

The individual who allegedly facilitated the unauthorized return issued a public apology to the IMT yesterday.

Officials also continue to monitor another individual who posted a video on social media documenting the return of evacuees.

Authorities said he has yet to face questioning and is reportedly avoiding contact with local responders and officials.

The DRRMO said any movement of IDPs must be coordinated with the municipal government to ensure the safety of residents and prevent misinformation or illegal actions./CJ, WDJ