MANILA -- President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. wants national agencies to cover 90 days of relief assistance to Mayon evacuees, which is the estimated maximum period of unrest of the volcano, to unburden the load of local governments units (LGUs) responding to the disaster.
“Let us be prepared to take as much of the load as soon as possible off of the local government units para naman mayroon silang – malay natin magkabagyo pa, may mangyari pa, para mayroon silang reserba pa. Hindi natin uubusin ‘yung kanilang quick response fund, number one,” President Marcos said during a situation briefing on the Mayon Volcano unrest at the Albay Astrodome in Legazpi City on Wednesday.
“Number two, we should use as a working number: a minimum of 45 days. The 45 days to 90 days comes from both the science of DOST and the experience of the locals. Noong tinatanong natin sa kanila ‘usually papaano ito?’ Iyon na nga, 45 to 90 days. Kaya’t iyon ang gagamitin natin na working number.”
Also during the meeting, Secretary Rex Gatchalian assured the President that the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has already dispatched 153,000 food packs for the 90 day cycle for the province of Albay in response to the present crisis.
Prior to attending the briefing, President Marcos visited the Guinobatan Community College evacuation center to assess the condition of the affected families being housed there and also led the distribution of government assistance.
According to the report of the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in the Bicol Region, the DSWD, Philippine Red Cross, Ang Probinsyano Partylist, local government units (LGUs), private groups and non-government organizations have so far provided a total of P29.2 million worth of assistance to the evacuees.
The OCD also said it sent both food and non-food items, and water, sanitation and health (WASH) equipment to Albay province.
These relief items include 3,200 sacks of rice, 320 rolls of sakoline, 1,101 hygiene kits, 424 OCD family packs and one water filtration vehicle to be deployed by the provincial government to affected localities.
The OCD also reported that there are a total of 4,400 families or 15,676 individuals displaced by the disaster, mostly from Albay’s seven out of 18 municipalities and cities: Camalig, Ligao City, Daraga, Guinobatan, Malilipot, Santo Domingo, and Tabaco City. Mayon Volcano is currently under Alert Level 3.
Of the total number of displaced families and individuals, 4,215 families or 15,017 persons have sought shelter in 22 evacuation centers, while 185 families or 659 persons are temporarily residing elsewhere, according to OCD.
The agency also reported that a total of 120 livestock such as carabaos, cattle, and goats were moved to safer grounds from the danger zones in the municipalities of Daraga and Malilipot. (PND)
