By Connie Calipay | Philippine News Agency
The Department of Social Welfare and Development in Bicol (DSWD-5) continues to provide humanitarian assistance to 525 families or 1,729 individuals in Albay displaced by the ongoing unrest of Mayon Volcano.
In a message to the Philippine News Agency on Monday, DSWD Bicol Disaster Response and Management Division Chief Claudio Villareal said 517 families or 1,714 individuals are still staying in 11 evacuation centers, while eight families, or 15 individuals, are temporarily seeking shelter with relatives.
“Since Oct. 30, DSWD Bicol has provided assistance worth P3.47 million,” Chief Villareal said.
The assistance includes 768 drinking-water supplies, 3,815 family food packs (FFPs) and 768 ready-to-eat food (RTEF) packs.
The agency also distributed eight information boards, eight signages, and eight gender-based violence referral pathways for evacuation centers.
In Tabaco City, DSWD Bicol provided 152 internally displaced families in four evacuation centers in the villages of Buang, Buhian, Mariroc, and San Antonio with one RTEF pack each and 6.6 liters of bottled water.
An additional 220 FFPs were distributed to evacuees in four evacuation centers in Tabaco City, serving families from the villages of Magapo, Buang, Mariroc (Nagsipit), Oson and Buhian.
In Camalig, 167 FFPs were delivered to displaced families staying at Tagaytay Elementary School and the Camalig Bungkaras Evacuation Center.
Meanwhile, in Malilipot town, DSWD Bicol distributed 404 RTEF packs, 6.6 liters of distilled
water and 91 FFPs to families from San Roque and Calbayog villages.
To strengthen response, Villareal said DSWD Bicol raised its Emergency Operations Center to Red Alert status and activated its Quick Response Teams to intensify monitoring, coordination, and relief operations.
“The agency also maintained coordination with local government units and response partners to ensure the timely delivery of assistance and protection of affected families,” he added.
Mayon Volcano’s alert level was raised to Alert Level 3 (increased tendency towards hazardous eruption) after a moderately explosive eruption on Friday.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) reminded the public that the volcano has an increased chance of lava flow and hazardous pyroclastic density currents affecting the upper to middle slopes of the volcano.
