Mayor Jose Chubasco Cardenas on Tuesday, Oct. 29, suspended classes in both public and private schools in Canlaon City, Negros Oriental, due to severe weather conditions brought by Tropical Storm Leon and the elevated sulfur dioxide emissions from Mt. Kanlaon.
Teaching and non-teaching personnel were also not required to report to work, as the city prioritizes community safety, a press release from Canlaon City said.
The Department of Education and private school administrators are advised to implement alternative learning strategies to minimize academic disruption, it said.
The city has activated all available resources and reinforced barangay response teams to respond to the unpredictable weather and volcanic conditions, it also said.
Meanwhile, about P15 million worth of rice assistance was given by the Office of House Speaker Martin Romualdez to 20,000 families in Canlaon City, Negros Oriental, affected by the unrest at Mt. Kanlaon.
Cardenas told DIGICAST NEGROS the rice assistance was being distributed to families in the 12 Canlaon City barangays.
The budget was downloaded to the LGU in the last week of August and they have been continuously distributing the assistance as the city’s State of Calamity has not been lifted since June, he said.
Aside from disaster preparedness, the city is continuing its education campaign, especially for residents within the permanent danger zone, which includes barangays Masulog, Linuthangan, Pulaw, Lumapao, and Malaiba, Cardenas said.*