Kanlaon evacuees in Negros Occidental town sent home
BACOLOD CITY—Some 586 families composed of 1,850 members kept in evacuation centers since December last year in La Castellana, Negros Occidental, went home on Sunday after the local government unit (LGU) ran out of money to feed them.
Mayor Añejo Nicor on Monday said the families that had to be evacuated from areas within a 5.2-kilometer radius of Mt. Kanlaon since the volcano erupted on Dec. 9, 2024 decamped on Sunday and brought back to their villages.
Residents within the 6-km radius of the expanded danger zone (EDZ) of Mt. Kanlaon were supposed to be still kept in shelters but Nicor said they no longer have funds for the upkeep of these evacuees.
He stressed that not all of the evacuees were sent home, as there were still an undetermined number of villagers from the 4-km permanent danger zone who remained in evacuation centers and have to be cared for by the municipal government.
President Marcos has approved the release of P48,521,00 for La Castellana in May, but the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has yet to download the funds to the LGU, Nicor said.
The mayor said they submitted the necessary documents to the DBM twice but have not received any response.
Nicor said the decision to allow the return of the evacuees was made by the members of the town’s Incident Management Team and the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology earlier recommended that communities within a 6-km radius from the summit crater have to remain evacuated due to the danger posed by Mt. Kanlaon’s current unrest. The volcano has been under alert level 3 since its eruption in December.
Help needed
Nicor has appealed to the national government for help as his town’s funds were already depleted from supporting over 3,000 evacuees.
Negros Occidental Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said the provincial government provided La Castellana with vehicles for the evacuees to return home on Sunday.
Vulnerable individuals, including senior citizens and children, will be transferred to two identified campsites within Barangay Cabagnaan on Monday as tents have not yet been set up, he said.
These sites are at Old Fabrica and the covered court in Barangay Cabagnaan.
