Albay (CNN Philippines, June 19) — Community pantries in three evacuation centers in Guinobatan, Albay offer fresh vegetables and crops to residents who fled the erupting Mayon Volcano.
The vegetables and crops were sourced from women farmers groups organized by Albay 3rd District Rep. Fernando Cabredo years ago. The funding came from the Office of the House Speaker.
Last week, House Speaker Martin Romualdez said his office turned over ₱500,000 cash assistance to the three congressional districts of Albay.
Mayon Volcano’s slow and quiet eruption has disrupted the lives of nearly 39,000 residents, or around 10,000 families, in the province, the latest data from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) showed.
The agency also reported that 20,127 people were evacuated from the volcano’s danger zone. Of the number, 18,892 residents are staying in evacuation centers while the remaining are either in temporary shelters or houses of their relatives.
The government has provided assistance worth over ₱71 million to affected residents, the NDRRMC added.
In its bulletin, @phivolcs_dost says it recorded five dome-collapse pyroclastic density currents that lasted 3 minutes and 265 rockfall events in Mayon. No volcanic quakes were logged in the past 24 hours. Steam-laden plumes rose to 600 meters.
Mayon is still in Alert Level 3.
— CNN Philippines (@cnnphilippines) June 19, 2023
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) has warned of possible hazardous eruption within weeks or even days. Authorities are expecting the volcano’s unrest to last for months.
The Phivolcs is monitoring parameters, including increase in lava extrusion and sulfur dioxide emission, seismic activity, and edifice swelling before raising Mayon’s alert level to four.
Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian, meanwhile, has called for non-government organization partners and volunteers who want to organize activities for preschool children living in evacuation centers.
“Kids are in the evacuation center — small kids not the school-aged kids because school-aged kids meron silang [they have their] modules — and they are just running around, so the president was saying maybe some NGO partners can donate time to organize activities inside the evacuation centers for the smaller kids,” Gatchalian told CNN Philippines’ The Source.
“It’s a perfect opportunity actually for NGOs to engage…If you’re a group that wants to help keep kids entertained or amused,” he added.
Interested groups and individuals can reach the DSWD and its resource logistic office through their hotline and contact numbers posted on their webpage (dswd.gov.ph).
