Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 17) — The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) on Saturday proposed turning Mayon Volcano’s 6-kilometer radius permanent danger zone (PDZ) into a natural park.
The OCD said discussions on the feasibility of the proposed development project are ongoing.More than 20,000 individuals living within the PDZ have already been evacuated due to Mayon’s eruption.OCD Administrator Ariel Nepomuceno said the danger zone should not have inhabitants in the first place.If the proposal materializes, the OCD said it would lessen the burden of evacuating residents and would help the local and national governments manage disaster and relief funds.Nakakapagod din talaga, tanggapin natin, na pag mag-evacuate, pakakainin natin sila, madi-disrupt yung pag-aaral nila. Madi-drain yung resources ng mga barangay, ng munisipyo, ng national government,” Nepomuceno pointed out. [Translation: It’s tiring that whenever we need to evacuate people, we have to feed them, their studies will be disrupted. So, the resources of the barangay, of the municipality, and of the national government will be drained.]
