BACOLOD City – The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) has lowered the alert level status of Mount Kanlaon from Alert Level 3 to Alert Level 2, signaling a general decline in volcanic activity after nearly three months of heightened unrest.
In an advisory released on Tuesday night, July 29, Phivolcs reported that monitoring data from May to July showed consistent decreases in volcanic earthquakes, gas emissions, ash activity, and ground deformation. Volcanic quakes have dropped to eight per day from a high of 14, sulfur dioxide emissions have reduced by more than half, and no ash plumes have been recorded since early June.
These developments come after Kanlaon’s series of explosive eruptions from late 2024 to mid-2025, which forced thousands to evacuate.
Despite the downgrade, Phivolcs warned that the volcano remains under “moderate unrest,” meaning magma is still present beneath the edifice and that hazardous events such as phreatic explosions and pyroclastic flows remain possible. The four-kilometer Permanent Danger Zone (PDZ) remains off-limits to the public, and residents within that zone are still prohibited from returning home.
Meanwhile, Regional Director Donato Sermeno III of the Office of Civil Defense–Negros Island Region confirmed that approximately 3,860 evacuees will now be permitted to return home, except for about 103 families, or 300 individuals, from within the PDZ and geologically high-risk zones.
Sermeno said that 45 families from Canlaon City in Negros Oriental and 36 from La Castellana, Negros Occidental whose homes lie within the PDZ must remain in evacuation centers, while 22 families from Bago City are being permanently relocated due to geographic risks outside the PDZ.
Currently, about 1,281 families, or 4,160 individuals, remain in temporary shelters across the cities of La Carlota, Bago, Canlaon, and the town of La Castellana. With the alert downgrade, local government units have begun gradual repatriation efforts, but are also instructed to maintain readiness in case volcanic activity escalates again.
Civil aviation authorities have also been reminded to continue enforcing no-fly zones over the summit, as even low-level eruptions can generate ash clouds dangerous to aircraft.
Mt. Kanlaon, which spans Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental, is one of the country’s most active volcanoes. (Watchmen Daily Journal)/PN
