As hundreds of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Canlaon City, Negros Oriental returned on Thursday, July 31, to their homes within the vicinity of Mt. Kanlaon, the local government unit (LGU), pledged to continue supporting those still at evacuation centers.

Seth Cabanas Bariga, information officer for the city’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC), told the Philippine News Agency in an interview that the LGU will provide for their needs and other requirements, but with the barangays taking the lead.

“The barangays now have the primary task of supervising and monitoring the evacuation centers as stipulated by the law, but the city government has the resources to cover food and other necessities,” Bariga said.

He assured that other agencies, such as the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), will still actively participate in relief and rehabilitation efforts.

Initially, the EOC identified 1,791 families allowed to return home, while 45 families were to remain in evacuation centers.

Early Thursday, the IDPs headed for home in government-owned trucks and private vehicles.

Only those living in areas outside the four-kilometer permanent danger zone were allowed to go back home after the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) lowered the volcano’s status from Alert Level 3 (magmatic unrest/high level of volcanic unrest) to Alert Level 2 (moderate level of volcanic unrest).

The IDPs have been staying at the evacuation centers for eight months since Mt. Kanlaon erupted on December 9, 2024.

Bariga said they still do not have a final headcount of people who had already gone home, as the “exodus” continued as of press time. (PNA)