The government has begun distributing food packs and essential aid to over 80,000 residents affected by the eruption of Mt. Kanlaon on Monday, Dec. 9,President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced.
Marcos Jr. assured the public that the government is prepared to address the needs of affected families. He noted that Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian is on Negros Island overseeing relief efforts.
The President emphasized that the Department of Budget and Management has guaranteed sufficient funds to provide additional support to families staying in evacuation centers.
“We are ready to support the families who have been evacuated outside the six-kilometer danger zone,” according to him.
“We’re ready. We know what to do and we have already started to send food packs, and we already started to send all of the things that we [need to] bring to those who are in evacuation centers,” he added.
Marcos Jr. also stated that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Department of Science and Technology are closely monitoring air quality in affected communities to assess whether further evacuations are necessary, especially if Kanlaon continues to emit toxic gases.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) reported that Kanlaon erupted at 3:03 p.m. on Monday, producing a massive plume rising 3,000 meters above the vent and drifting west-southwest.
Following the eruption, PHIVOLCS raised the alert level from Alert Level 2 (increasing unrest) to Alert Level 3 (magmatic unrest), indicating that an eruption is ongoing and could escalate into more explosive activity.IMT
