• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Kanlaon Volcano lahar sediments that were washed down by heavy rains have for the nth time overflowed on Friday, along the highway of Sitio Tamburong in Brgy. Biak-Na-Bato, La Castellana, Negros Occidental.
The highway was rendered impassable on Thursday night, due to volcanic materials that overflowed from the Ibid Creek in the barangay, where it is now filled with lahar sediments, composed of a mixture of volcanic ash, tephra, rocks, and water, which flows down the slopes of a volcano like a river of wet concrete.
Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson attributed the overflow of volcanic materials at the Tamburong bridge to the design of the current box culvert, which is not ideal for the flow of volcanic sediments. He already asked the Department of Public Works and Highways to redesign the bridge
La Castellana Mayor Añejo Nicor yesterday said that the affected highway at Sitio Tamburong is now passable.
Lacson said they will start removing new lahar sediments that flowed down due to heavy rains from upstream, when the weather clears.
The provincial government of Negros Occidental and local government of La Castellana have joined hands to clear the creek, which has been widened by the lahar sediments from Kanlaon Volcano.
The Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) of Mt. Kanlaon Natural Park has requested Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Raphael Lotilla to authorize Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson to issue a special permit for the clearing of lahar sediments at the creek in Barangay Biak-na-Bato in La Castellana town.
Lacson wants to tap private companies or contractors to hasten the clearing of volcanic materials from the Ibid Creek in Sitio Tamburong, instead of just using the equipment of the provincial government in the extraction operations.
The volume of the volcanic sentiments is estimated at 25,189 cubic meters, as of September 24, based on a report of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB).
The special permit would also grant the governor the authority to manage the utilization of sand, stone, and moulding stones extracted during the process for rehabilitation and reconstruction projects within La Castellana.
The MGB has recommended that stockpiles of lahar deposits at the creek should be removed and transferred to the designated sites to prevent erosion and remobilization of materials during intense rains, which could lead to further accumulation along the Ibid Creek.*
