La Castellana Mayor Says Himamaylan Tent City Insufficient for IDPs

By Dolly Yasa

BACOLOD CITY – Mayor Alme Rhummyla Nicor-Mangilimutan of La Castellana, Negros Occidental, said the Tent City in Himamaylan City will not be enough to accommodate residents displaced by a potential Kanlaon volcano eruption.

“If you were the mayor, would you want your people there? Only 390 families can be accommodated,” she lamented.

She added that if Kanlaon Volcano is raised to Alert Level 4, at least 10,000 families will be displaced.

Mangilimutan said their original contingency plan was to evacuate residents to Bacolod City.

Earlier, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) warned of a shortage of evacuation centers in the event of a worst-case scenario.

Task Force Kanlaon chief and OCD regional director Raul Fernandez urged unaffected local government units to adopt a barangay whose population will be affected if the alert level increases from 3 to 4.

Speaking at the PHIVOLCS InfoPress at the Provincial Capitol Social Hall in Bacolod City, Fernandez said the Regional Incident Management Team has reached out to LGUs in Himamaylan, Kabankalan, Talisay, Victorias, Silay, Bacolod, San Carlos, and Cadiz to accommodate internally displaced persons (IDPs).

About 300 family tents, three communal toilet and bath areas, and three water tanks have been installed at the temporary shelter in Sitio Binging, Barangay 3, through the efforts of the OCD with support from the Himamaylan City Government, according to a report from the office of Himamaylan City Mayor Raymund Tongson.

The installation of electrical facilities is also underway.

Fernandez said the OCD has coordinated with LGUs in the first district of Negros Oriental, including Guihulngan City and Vallehermoso town, to accommodate evacuees from Canlaon City and Moises Padilla town.

Moises Padilla Mayor Ella Garcia Yulo was the first to sign a memorandum of agreement with the Guihulngan City government for the relocation of IDPs in case of an explosive eruption.

Fernandez said the OCD expects about 48,000 families, or 100,000 individuals, to be affected if Kanlaon Volcano is raised to Alert Level 4.

He added that the OCD has yet to approve La Castellana’s contingency plans, as the LGU insists that affected residents should not be evacuated outside the town, arguing that two of its barangays are 16 kilometers from the volcano.

However, Fernandez noted that there is not enough space in La Castellana’s Nato and Talaptap barangays to accommodate 10,000 evacuees due to a lack of facilities.

“On our part, we just prepare in case there is a spillover of evacuees,” he said, adding that they will continue to persuade the mayor to reconsider.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development reported that more than two months after Kanlaon’s explosive eruption on Dec. 9, 3,871 families, comprising 12,446 individuals within the six-kilometer permanent danger zone, remain in and outside evacuation centers.