MANILA – President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said the government is ready to provide aid to thousands of residents affected by Mt. Kanlaon’s eruption in Negros island on Monday.
In an ambush interview in Pampanga on Tuesday, the Chief Executive said he was briefed by Department of Social Welfare and Development secretary Rex Gatchalian on the situation in Negros.
Gatchalian flew to Negros early morning yesterday to check the situation.
“(The) DBM (Department of Budget and Management) has assured me that they are ready (to provide funds),” Marcos said.
He added: “We are ready to support the families who have been evacuated outside the danger zone.”
Around 87,000 residents were ordered to evacuate following Kanlaon’s eruption, which caused heavy ashfall and strong sulfuric fumes.
On Monday afternoon, Kanlaon Volcano spewed dark gray ash columns approximately four kilometers high, blanketing nearby towns with toxic ash, causing flight cancellations, and prompting evacuations.
The hazardous activity of Kanlaon led the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) to raise the volcano’s alert level from 2 to 3 on a zero-to-five scale.
President Marcos said the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Department of Science and Technology continue to monitor the air quality in Negros.
“We want to determine whether more residents should be evacuated (and whether) toxic gases from the volcano (have) reach(ed) dangerous levels,” the Chief Executive said.
“We know what to do and we already started to send food packs and all (other needed) things to those who are in evacuation centers,” he added./PN
