Kanlaon-Affected LGUs Still Await P203M Marcos Aid

By Dolly Yasa

BACOLOD CITY — Local government units affected by the eruption of Kanlaon Volcano are still waiting for the release of the PHP203 million in assistance promised by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Among the hardest hit is the town of La Castellana in Negros Occidental, which continues to support the basic needs of more than 1,000 families across eight evacuation centers.

Donato Sermeno, regional director of the Office of Civil Defense–Negros Island Region, said in a phone interview that the Department of Budget and Management has yet to download the funds through the Local Government Support Fund.

During a consultation-dialogue organized earlier this week by the Department of the Interior and Local Government, Sermeno said DILG advised officials from the affected LGUs to personally follow up with the DBM.

Records from the OCD–Negros Island Region show that 1,883 families, or 6,032 individuals, remain in evacuation centers in Canlaon City in Negros Oriental, and in the cities of Bago and La Carlota, and La Castellana in Negros Occidental.

Sermeno said the supplementary fund is expected to help address gaps in essential services and resources in these communities.

The internally displaced persons have been living in evacuation centers for seven months, following Kanlaon’s explosive eruption on Dec. 9, 2024.

Sermeno explained that the PHP203 million requested by the affected LGUs was endorsed by the OCD to Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, who favorably forwarded it to the Office of the President, assuming it would be sourced from the contingency fund.

It was later discovered that the aid would instead be sourced from the DBM’s Local Government Support Fund, where it remains pending.

Sermeno said DBM officials clarified that many LGUs have existing requests for LGSF funding, and that the chiefs of the affected LGUs should directly follow up.

Earlier, 37 families—comprising 89 individuals—left an evacuation center in La Castellana due to poor living conditions and complaints of weak internet access.

Of those, 28 families eventually returned after learning they would no longer receive food assistance if they remained outside the evacuation sites.

In the same consultation-dialogue, the La Castellana municipal government asked the OCD if it was possible to allow IDPs living within 5.2 kilometers of the Kanlaon danger zone to return home, saying the LGU could no longer afford to feed them.

Sermeno said the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology maintains that no human activity should take place within the 6-kilometer extended danger zone.

However, he noted that the final decision lies with the LGU, as its autonomy is respected.

Kanlaon Volcano remains under Alert Level 3 since its Dec. 9 eruption, which indicates that “magmatic eruption has begun and may progress to further explosive eruptions.”

Of the PHP203 million earmarked for Kanlaon-affected communities, La Castellana is allocated PHP48,521,100; La Carlota City, PHP63,097,000; Canlaon City, PHP29,723,350; and Himamaylan City, PHP62,539,736, where a tent city is being constructed.