By Connie Calipay and Mar Serrano/PNA
LEGAZPI CITY — The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Tuesday morning allowed close to 2,000 stranded passengers in the ports of Sorsogon and Masbate to board their ships bound for Masbate province and the Visayas regions.
The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in Bicol said this was after PCG lifted the “no sailing” policy following the lowering of the storm signal warning by the local weather bureau.
Akim Berces, OCD technical officer, said only 133 passengers from the ports of Pasacao and Tamban in Camarines Sur remained stranded due to bad weather.
He also said decampment of 65 families who evacuated ahead of Tropical Depression Amang was reported in Sorsogon.
In Albay, Eugene Escobar, specialist of the Albay Public Safety and Emergency Office (APSEMO), said the order to allow evacuees to return to their homes was left to the discretion of the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (MDRRMO) of the different towns.
He said there were 2,319 families or 8,319 people who sought shelter in various evacuation centers in Albay.
The MDRRMO in Guinobatan has decamped 887 families or 3,038 persons living in four villages at the foot of Mayon volcano that are vulnerable to lahar flows.
Classes in all levels have resumed today (Tuesday) in the island provinces of Catanduanes and Masbate, while in Albay and Camarines Sur, schools remain closed, the OCD said.
