Kanlaon crisis: Mayors question national plan, demand aid as costs mount

NEGROS OCCIDENTAL, Philippines – In a meeting room in Bacolod City on Wednesday, January 15, the debate over evacuation strategies for another likely Kanlaon Volcano eruption reached a stalemate. 

Office of Civil Defense Undersecretary Ariel Nepomuceno had flown in, armed with evacuation plans and projections, but he left without the cooperation of two key players: the mayors of Bago City and La Castellana, the town worst hit by the previous eruptions.

At the heart of the impasse was a simple yet pressing question: who would sustain the evacuees once the resources of local governments ran dry?

“There is no question if the OCD wants evacuees to remain in evacuation centers,” said Bago Mayor Nicholas Yulo, referring to the 2,428 evacuees who were sent home by local governments because their houses are outside the six-kilometer danger zone. 

He added, “The question is, will they support us in taking care of them? We want to hear assurance from OCD. But there’s none yet.”

Many families had been evacuated following heavy ashfall, making the evacuation centers swell. But with 1,969 evacuees in La Castellana and 459 in Bago, the daily cost of food alone reached some half a million pesos a day – a financial strain the mayors said they could no longer bear.

“Spending more than half a million pesos everyday just for the food of evacuees is no joke. So, I echo the same sentiment that of Mayor Yulo,” La Castellana Mayor Alme Rhummyla Nicor-Mangilimutan said.

Plans vs realities

Nepomuceno presented a national plan that aims to carry out an orderly evacuation of over 100,000 residents if Kanlaon’s alert level rose to 4. 

“Do we have enough time to evacuate them in case Alert Level 4 is raised?” he asked the local officials.

National officials outlined scenarios, identified 35 vulnerable villages, and reassured officials of support from the Department of Social Welfare and Development, and the Department of Health.

Yet, the promises fell flat in the face of local realities. 

Mangilimutan expressed frustration over the lack of concrete commitments from the national government, pointing out that the local governments need more resources than plans because ground realities are different from what’s written on paper.

Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Lacson said he respected the decision of the mayors to send evacuees outside the immediate danger zone home.

Volcanic threat

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology gave the officials a sobering update: Kanlaon remains restless. 

Four volcanic earthquakes were recorded on Wednesday, and ground deformation persisted, raising the specter of pyroclastic density currents (PDCs), according to Ma. Antonia Bornas, chief of the Volcano Monitoring and Eruption Prediction Division of Phivolcs.

PDCs are fast-moving flows of hot gas, ash, and volcanic debris that race down volcano slopes during eruptions, capable of obliterating everything in their path. Among the most dangerous volcanic phenomena, they are known for their extreme speed, intense heat, and immense destructive force.

“This is worse than magma,” warned Task Force Kanlaon chief Raul Fernandez, emphasizing the devastation PDCs could unleash across Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental.

The OCD and Task Force Kanlaon said 35 villages in Bago City, La Carlota City, La Castellana, Moises Padilla, and Pontevedra in Negros Occidental, and Canlaon City in Negros Oriental would be affected by PDCs.

Time is running out. The longer the volcano simmers, the more urgent the need for a coordinated response. 

But for local leaders, the immediate challenge is ensuring evacuees have food and shelter today, not theoretical plans for tomorrow. – Rappler.com