Trust Phivolcs for Kanlaon Volcano updates

By Dolly Yasa

BACOLOD CITY – The Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Management Officer (MDRRMO) of La Castellana urged residents to rely on the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) for updates on Kanlaon Volcano to prevent undue panic.

“We rely on Phivolcs, not Facebook,” John de Asis, La Castellana MDRRMO, told reporters in an interview on Friday.

He lamented recent social media posts suggesting that the alert status might rise to Alert Level 3 without an official announcement from Phivolcs, causing panic in the town’s upland areas.

“We should rely only on Phivolcs because they are the lead agency for any development on Kanlaon Volcano,” he stressed.

He added that there have been no significant movements concerning Kanlaon Volcano so far.

De Asis noted that the current problem is that individuals whose livelihoods are within the Permanent Danger Zone (PDZ) keep returning to the area.

“They stay in the evacuation center in the barangay at night and tend to their crops in the PDZ during the day,” he said.

These internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Barangay Masulog and Biak na Bato are temporarily sheltered in their respective barangays to remain close to the PDZ, where their livelihoods are located.

“We cannot sustain their livelihood,” he said.

De Asis emphasized the need for relocating the IDPs, but the local government unit (LGU) cannot afford it.

Earlier, Mayor Rhummyla Nicor Mangilimutan said the local government is proposing a permanent relocation site for residents living within the 4-kilometer PDZ of Kanlaon Volcano.

The mayor mentioned she would seek assistance from the national government for this endeavor.

“This is our proposal because the LGU cannot afford to relocate them on its own, so we will be asking for support from the national government to permanently evacuate them,” Mangilimutan said.

She noted that about 200 families live in the PDZ, with around 100 households still remaining in the area.

“We need to relocate them permanently, but we cannot afford it,” the mayor reiterated.

She added that the LGU would need to establish boundaries in the area to prohibit human habitation.

The mayor mentioned that the current situation in the town seems stable, but Alert Level II remains in effect regarding the status of Kanlaon Volcano.