The Energy Development Corporation, in cooperation with the local government units of Bago and Murcia in Negros Occidental, held a two-day disaster preparedness workshop on June 3 and 4 in Bacolod City.
The Department of Science and Technology – Philippine Institute for Volcanology and Seismology (DOST- PHIVOLCS) was invited to provide context on volcanisms.
The workshop was organized to equip the barangays within Bago City and Murcia with necessary knowledge to better respond to the impacts of Mt. Kanlaon’s continued unrest, a press statement from EDC said.
Representatives from the Department of Education in Bago and Murcia were also present.
“This is a great opportunity for us to come together with a shared purpose: to enhance our understanding and readiness for disasters, especially given Mount Kanlaon’s recent activity,” Erwin Magallanes, EDC’s head of Corporate Relations in Negros, said in his welcome remarks.
“For many years, EDC has partnered with you on projects on education, enterprise development and the environment. Now, we face a greater challenge: ensuring our preparedness for natural disasters, particularly the volcanic eruptions to which we are currently susceptible.”
Ma. Antonia Bornas, Chief Science Research Specialist of the DOST-PHIVOLCS’ Volcano Monitoring and Eruption Prediction Division (VMEPD) opened the two-day workshop with a lecture on volcanoes and its corresponding hazards.
Her discussion touched on how volcanoes form and the causes of eruptions, stressing that human activities do not trigger these eruptions.
She also touched on the volcanoes in Regions 6 and 7, where under the DOST- PHIVOLCS volcano classification, Mt. Kanlaon is the only active volcano in the Negros Island Region; three as potentially active, namely Mandalagan, Silay, and Cuernos de Negros; and Pan de Acuzar in Iloilo as the lone inactive volcano.
However, she noted that the potentially active Silay volcano is a candidate to be downgraded to inactive status.
This workshop is particularly timely as Mount Kanlaon, which experienced an explosive eruption at its summit vent on June 3, 2024, marked its first year of unrest. Mt. Kanlaon is currently under Alert Level 3.
Dr. Ted Esguerra, EDC’s Emergency Management Expert, supplemented the PHIVOLCS discussion with a hands-on workshop on extraction and evacuation protocols. He shared his experience in responding to emergencies, drawing from his numerous deployments, most recently as part of the Philippine Urban Search and Rescue team for Myanmar this year and Turkey in 2023 for earthquake rescue.
During his session, he stressed on the potential cumulative effect of Mt. Kanlaon’s ashfall events on people’s health.
DepEd Negros Occidental representative Carla Mae Makilan, who attended the workshop, said that it helped her realize the importance of being prepared for any hazards that may arise anytime.
Makilan added, “As an emergency responder, I need to fully equip myself and my family with skills in order to survive and save more lives.*
