By CESAR JOLITO III

A validation team from the National Task Force Kanlaon (NTFK) will arrive on Negros Island in mid-October to inspect and assess additional recovery and development projects under the Kanlaon Recovery and Development Plan, officials confirmed.

Donato Sermeno III, director of the Office of Civil Defense in the Negros Island Region (OCD-NIR), said the projects were proposed by local government units (LGUs) directly affected by the eruption of Kanlaon Volcano and are intended to speed up rehabilitation in hard-hit areas.

The KRDP was created through Administrative Order No. 32 from the Office of the President to fast-track the restoration of infrastructure and services while building long-term resilience in vulnerable communities.

According to Sermeno, most of the proposed projects are located in the cities of Bago and San Carlos, as well as the towns of La Castellana and Murcia in Negros Occidental, and in Negros Oriental’s Canlaon City.

“Most of these projects involve roads, bridges and other essential infrastructure that sustained damage during the eruption,” Sermeno said.

To ensure efficiency, the national validation team will be divided into three groups to cover more sites during their visit.

This follows the earlier approval of two priority projects — a water system in La Carlota City and a bridge in Moises Padilla town — that were initially inspected after the disaster.

Sermeno emphasized that the validation activities in October are a crucial step in securing national support for LGU-led initiatives, as the province continues to balance recovery efforts with preparations for future volcanic activity./CJ, WDJ