The Office of Civil Defense (OCD in the Negros Island Region is coordinating with the local government of La Castellana in Negros Occidental to address the needs of internally displaced persons (IDPs) affected by the recent eruption of the Kanlaon Volcano.
OCD regional director Donato Sermeno III met with La Castellana Mayor Añejo Nicor on Tuesday following the return of 37 families from Barangay Cabagna-an to their homes within the six-kilometer extended danger zone.
The families had left the evacuation center at La Castellana on Monday without official clearance from appropriate authorities.
“Most of them were still back home, but three families have already returned to the evacuation camp. The LGU continues to convince them to return. Our way forward is to hold a dialogue to address their concerns,” Sermeno said.
He said the OCD also has an ongoing procurement of pre-fabricated emergency shelters to alleviate the living conditions of the affected families.
“On July 3, we will resume meeting with the central office to plan out how to implement this. Still, this is a temporary solution while we are crafting a comprehensive plan — the Kanlaon recovery and development plan,” he added.
The displaced families from Barangay Cabagna-an were initially housed at La Castellana Elementary School, but were relocated to tent shelters at La Castellana National High School – Senior High School when classes resumed on June 16.
According to Sermeno, the evacuees were expected to stay at the school site for only 10 days while preparations were underway at another temporary relocation area near Barangay Cabagna-an.
“However, the plan did not push through because a problem came up regarding the lot ownership. With this, the IDPs were even more frustrated as they got tired of moving from one place to another,” he said.
The OCD-NIR official acknowledged the living condition in the tent shelters was not ideal because the IDPs were hastily transferred and the rains posed additional problems.
“They are also concerned about the situation of their children going to school without transportation. The lack of connectivity in the evacuation site is a concern as well,” Sermeno said.
Kanlaon Volcano in Negros Island remained under Alert Level 3 since its eruption last Dec. 9.
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline: “Civil Defense vows to resolve ongoing issues of Kanlaon IDPs”
