Negros city opens relocation site

TEMPORARY VILLAGE This is the relocation site where 50 fully constructed nipa huts are put in place to serve as temporary shelters for people living within danger zone who will be evacuated once the alert status is upgraded to Level 4 in the face of Kanlaon’s restiveness. PHOTO COURTESY OF BAGO CITY PIO

The Bago City Information Office said that about 23 affected families composed of 50 individuals, who are living in the six-kilometer danger zone, have remained in evacuation sites in the city since the volcanic eruption last Dec. 9.

The city government prepared 50 nipa huts equipped with electricity and portable toilets for 22 IDP families.

The relocation site is dubbed as "Payag sang Kapag-on Village" (Village of Resilient Huts).

The IDPs currently staying at the Regional Evacuation Center are set to move into their designated "bahay kubo" in March this year.

The evacuees are families mostly coming from Purok Manukan, Barangay Ilijan, Bago City.

"Nipa huts are a more resilient alternative to tents," said Dr. Merijene Ortizo, head of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO).

The structures, she said, are "specifically designed to provide privacy for the families and natural ventilation while fostering a communal living environment."

"This is also a way to support local suppliers and promote the traditional Filipino way of living," she said.

Representatives of the Office of Civil Defense-Regional Incident Management Team, the Department of Health, and the Bureau of Fire Protection have visited the relocation site.

Meanwhile, Mayor Nicholas Yulo issued a directive regulating and discouraging night events amid the continuing unrest of Mount Kanlaon.

"Night events typically attract large gatherings, significantly increasing the potential for mass casualties and logistical challenges in the event of a volcanic eruption or associated hazards such as pyroclastic flow or ashfall," he said.

Yulo added that "as a preventive and proactive measure, all night events and activities are hereby discouraged to ensure the safety and well-being of the general public."

For regulated night events, organizers are required to submit a comprehensive contingency plan, an undertaking assuming full responsibility for the safety of all attendees, and other requirements that may be prescribed by the CDRMMO and the City Mayor's Office.

According to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, the increased volcanic activity of Mount Kanlaon signals the possibility of an escalation to Alert Level 4, which indicates imminent and hazardous eruptions.