Government agencies comprising the National and Regional Task Force Kanlaon convened at L’ Fisher Hotel on Monday, July 7, for a joint meeting to address the ongoing Kanlaon Volcano crisis.
Organized by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), the event served as a consultation and dialog regarding the eruption’s impact on affected local government units (LGUs) across Negros Island.
DILG Undersecretary for Local Government Marlo Iringan said that the dialog aimed to “listen to the concerns from the ground and gauge the needed help.”
He said existing programs would be aligned to create an integrated, complementary, and responsive effort to tackle the Kanlaon Volcano concerns.
Maria Isabel Lanada, Director of the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Disaster Response Management Bureau, highlighted the agency’s crucial role in disaster response mechanisms, particularly in the context of the Kanlaon Volcano eruption.
Lanada presented DSWD’s social welfare initiatives, detailing accomplishments in disaster response and early recovery operations.
Local chief executives and representatives from affected LGUs attended the consultation-dialog.
These included officials from the Negros Occidental municipalities of La Castellana, Moises Padilla, and Murcia, as well as the cities of La Carlota, Bago, and San Carlos. Canlaon City in Negros Oriental was also represented.
La Castellana remains the most significantly impacted LGU, with over 3,000 internally displaced persons from at least five barangays. These residents, all from within the six-kilometer extended danger zone, are still residing in evacuation centers.
Kanlaon Volcano has been under Alert Level 3 since its explosive eruption on December 9, indicating that “magmatic eruption has begun and may progress to further explosive eruptions.”
In April, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. established the National Task Force Kanlaon to oversee and coordinate all government programs, activities, and projects aimed at reducing the impact of volcanic activities and accelerating the recovery of affected communities.
The Department of National Defense chairs the task force, with the Office of Civil Defense serving as the secretariat, providing necessary technical, administrative, and operational support. Other member agencies include the departments of Science and Technology, Environment, Public Works, Social Welfare, Labor, Interior, and Health.*PNA