• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) is now making preparations to choose the permanent resettlement sites for families in four local government units affected by the Kanlaon Volcano eruption.
Donato Sermeno III, OCD regional director for Negros Island Region, identified the areas as La Castellana, La Carlota City, Bago City, and San Carlos City.
He said that San Carlos City was not included in the initial deliberations of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council of Negros Occidental.
Sermeno said that the intention of San Carlos City to put up its own permanent evacuation site for residents of Brgy. Codcod will be submitted to the Technical Working Group and their representatives who will assess the proposed site.
In La Carlota City, three sites were submitted as permanent evacuation centers in Barangays Haguimit, San Miguel and La Granja,
He, however, said that those areas are seen to be affected by Pyroclastic Density Currents in case of a major eruption.
Sermeno said the La Carlota City government was asked to look for other relocation sites.
Meanwhile the proposed evacuation sites of La Castellana in Brgys. Talaptap and Lalagsan have already been approved, but Sermeno said the owner of the Lalagsan site does not want to sell the property.
He also said that the proposed relocation site of Bago City has been identified as a tsunami-prone area.*
