• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Malacañang has released a P50 million grant for disaster response to the Negros Occidental provincial government, as local government units affected by Kanlaon eruption are experiencing fund shortages to feed evacuees, Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson disclosed yesterday.
The P50 million will be good for two months, assuming that we have the same number of evacuees to feed, Lacson said.
As of February 23, the Department of Social Welfare and Development reported that 1,766 families, composed of 5,657 persons, occupying 14 evacuation centers, aside from 2,105 families, comprising 6,789 individuals, staying outside of evacuation centers, in Negros Occidental alone.
If Alert Level 4 is declared, the P50 million fund allocations, mostly for food, may only last two weeks, due to the increased number of families to be evacuated from the extended danger zone, Lacson said.
An additional 90,000 people may be evacuated if the alert is raised to level 4, according to OCD Administrator Undersecretary Ariel Nepomuceno.
In the past two months, Lacson said they spent P40 million in feeding thousands of evacuees, through the provincial government’s community kitchens.
Lacson said that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is aware of the problems of LGU, who are struggling to secure funds.
During a Feb. 21 meeting between President Marcos Jr. and mayors of the affected LGUs held in La Carlota City, Lacson recalled that Canlaon City Mayor Jose Chubasco Cardenas even suggested that the affected evacuees should receive Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) every month.
La Carlota City Mayor Rex Jalando-on also suggested the use of 20 percent Development Fund, which is usually allocated for infrastructure projects, to address the urgent needs of Kanlaon evacuees. Since it was deemed not permissible, the Chief Executive proposed the idea of utilizing the Quick Response Fund instead.
A statement issued by Malacañang said that President Marcos Jr. sees the need to form a national task force composed of vital government agencies, along with local government units, to formulate a long-term redevelopment plan for communities affected by the eruption of Kanlaon volcano.
During a situation briefing, the President emphasized the importance of further synergizing government responses and preparedness on natural disasters.
“Let’s decide what are the agencies that should be involved [in the task force]. And then sit down together with all the relevant agencies, and put together a plan,” Marcos Jr. said during the briefing.
The President ordered the national task force to be led by the Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) and pushed for the building of permanent evacuation centers for displaced residents. Such centers must be located outside the six-kilometer danger zone, he added.*
