The government has started distributing food packs and other essential aid to over 80,000 residents affected by the eruption of Mt. Kanlaon on Monday, according to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.
President Marcos assured the government stands ready to address the needs of affected families, noting that Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian had already traveled to Negros Island to oversee relief efforts following the eruption.
The President also highlighted the assurance of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) that funds are sufficient to provide additional support to families temporarily housed in evacuation centers.
“We are ready to support the families who have been evacuated outside the six-kilometer danger zone,” President Marcos said.
“We’re ready. We know what to do and we have already started to send food packs, and we already started to send all of the things that we [need to] bring to those who are in evacuation centers,” he stressed.
He said the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) are closely monitoring the air quality in affected communities. This will help determine whether further evacuations are necessary if Kanlaon continues to emit toxic gases, he said.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) reported Kanlaon erupted at around 3:03 p.m. on Monday. The eruption produced a massive plume that rose rapidly to 3,000 meters above the vent and drifted west-southwest.
Phivolcs then raised the level from Alert Level 2 (increasing unrest) to Alert Level 3 (magmatic unrest), indicating that an eruption has commenced and could escalate into more explosive activity, prompting the evacuation of residents in affected communities. (PND)
