P203M set for Kanlaon response on Negros Island
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology releases on April 14 a photo of the ongoing ash emission of Mt. Kanlaon that generated ash plumes as tall as 800 meters. — Phivolcs/Facebook
BACOLOD CITY, NEGROS OCCIDENTAL, Philippines — President Marcos has approved the release of more than P203.88 million to three cities and a town on Negros Island in response to the needs of residents who remain in evacuation centers amid Mt. Kanlaon’s unrest.
The President approved the release of the funds, but these will have to be downloaded to local governments after the May 12 elections, said Office of the Civil Defense Administrator Ariel Nepomuceno.
READ: Kanlaon evacuee makes ends meet through her makeshift ‘sari-sari’ store
More than P62.53 million was approved for Himamaylan City, where a tent city is being prepared to accommodate an increase in evacuees if Mt. Kanlaon’s alert level is raised from 3 (high level of volcanic unrest) to 4 (magmatic process can progress into a highly hazardous eruption).
La Carlota City will receive P63.09 million; La Castellana, P48.52 million; and Canlaon City, P29.72 million.
The money, Nepomuceno said, will be used for the evacuees’ food, electricity, medical needs, and gasoline.
He said funds set aside by local governments for the care of the evacuees were almost depleted.
Nepomuceno said they were discussing with local governments a plan to suspend the construction of new houses within the 6-kilometer danger zone of Mt. Kanlaon.
A moderately explosive eruption occurred at the summit crater of Mt. Kanlaon on April 8. The 56-minute blast, the third explosion since June 2024, produced ashfall that hit La Carlota City.
Ma. Antonia Bornas, chief of the Volcano Monitoring and Eruption Prediction Division of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, warned of a possible major eruption following Kanlaon’s ash emissions and minor explosive eruption.
“But there is no telling when the next big event will happen. We have no blueprint for this,” Bornas said. /cb —Carla Gomez
