LEGAZPI CITY (PIA) — Albay Governor Edcel Grex Lagman called for a housing summit meeting on June 19, Monday,  to deliberately discuss various considerations regarding the permanent relocation of  residents within the 6km Permanent Danger Zone (PDZ) of the Mayon Volcano.

‘’The Housing summit will involve all the departments concerned like Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development, Dept. of Agriculture, Dept. of Agrarian Reform, Dept. of Labor and Employment,’’ Lagman said during the press press briefing on Mayon Volcano response operations on Monday. 

‘’Malaki itong summit na ito para malaman talaga natin once and for all kung ano ang kinakailangan to permanently resettle [the residents] in the most humanitarian way possible,’’ Lagman added.

Lagman noted that housing for residents within the 6km PDZ is a big investment thus, the usual cycle of evacuating and giving them aid every Mayon’s unrest provides a bigger cost and heavy burden to the local government.

‘’We can be as proactive as we can but we cannot just go through this every now and then, every 3-4 years or even every year when we [also] have typhoons,’’ Lagman said.

Lagman urged local government units with barangays within these areas to follow after Legazpi City's move to establish a permanent relocation area for the residents within the 6km PDZ. 

‘’Nagawa yan ng City Gov. of Legazpi in 2006, I can’t see any reason why the other LGU’s can’t do this,’’ Lagman said.

As of June 19, Albay Public Safety and Emergency Management Office (APSEMO) has recorded a total of 5,813 families of evacuees or 20,049 individuals.

Decampment

Lagman called on Sto. Domingo Mayor Joseling B. Aguas Jr. and Guinobatan Mayor Chino Garcia to justify the evacuation of residents outside the 6km PDZ.

''Dapat nga in the first place wala sila doon sa mga evacuation centers unless there are compelling reasons that they can actualy provide us with to justify kung bakit nila ginawa iyon," Lagman said.

He noted that 44% of the evacuees do not belong to the 6km PDZ. This includes 1,688 families or 5,473 individuals from Sto. Domingo and 377 families or 2,972 individuals in Guinobatan.

In an interview, Garcia said that his decision to evacuate some families outside of the 6km danger zone is his response to the complains and fear of his constituents regarding the sound of rockfalls, ashfall, and sulfur inhaled by the residents within the 7-8km PDZ.

''Sa recommendation naman na ibinigay ni Governor na i-decamp yung nasa evacuation site dito sa Guinobatan siguro naman hindi naman mapanghinayangan ang ginagastos ng gobyerno kaysa naman na may mapahamak sa oras na biglang pumutok yung Mayon,'' Garcia said.

''For the meantime hindi kami magdedecamp and syempre gusto lang natin ma assure naman na iyong dinidecamp natin ay hindi na lalala ang sitwasyonn,'' he added.

Aguas issued an advisory today ordering the decampment of evacuees from brgy. Lidong, Fidel Surtida, Sta. Misericordia, and San Fernando on June 21.

‘’[Ito ay] bilang pagsunod sa satuyang Gob. sa saiyang kasuguan sa decampment kan mga residentes na nasa 7-8 km PDZ [This is relative to the order of our governor for decampment of the residents in 7-8km PDZ,’’ Aguas cited.

With the declaration of Alert Level 3 over Mayon Volcano, PHIVOLCS directed the evacuation of residents within the 6km PDZ. Currently, the 7km extended danger zone is declared under preparedness status for evacuation anytime in case of escalated alert level. (SAA/CLM-PIA5/Albay)