Mayor Oscar G. Malapitan appeared not contented with the two trucks full of relief goods that the Caloocan City government gave on February 15 to the residents of Tabaco City and Malilipot town who have been severely affected by the continued eruption of Mayon Volcano.
Thus, Malapitan on Monday made another assistance by issuing a check worth P1 million each to the local government units (LGUs) of Tabaco City and Malilipot, Nolan B. Sison, Caloocan City’s officer in charge of the Public Information Office, told the BusinessMirror.
Last week’s assistance was composed of rice, canned goods, water, blankets and mats, which were brought by the Caloocan Disaster and Risk Reduction Management Office headed by the city’s Oversight Committee chief Alex Nadurata.
Mayor Krisel Lagman-Luistro received the check in behalf of Tabaco City and Mayor Cenon B. Volante for the municipality of Malilipot.
Tabaco and Malilipot are two of the eight cities and municipalities that have jurisdiction over Mayon Volcano.
Tabaco is a component city of Albay province, while Malilipot is a fourth-class municipality.
Sison said Malapitan’s twin assistance to the two LGUs were concrete proof of the mayor’s “concern and care to his fellow Filipinos who need assistance” of other LGUs.
The P2-million cash donation and the funds allotted to purchase relief goods were all from the funds of the Mayor’s Office, with the approval of the Sangguniang Panlungsod through a resolution, Sison added.
He, however, clarified that Tabaco City and Malilipot town were not the first to receive assistance from Malapitan’s administration. The mayor also released financial and material support to the residents of Marawi City, Ormoc City, Tacloban City and the municipality of Palo when these LGUs suffered natural and man-made calamities in the previous years.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) noted that Mayon started erupting on January 24 that forced the residents to leave their homes. Since then, they stayed at the evacuation centers provided by the LGUs.
The Phivolcs has strongly advised the public to be vigilant at all times, as there is no certainty as to when Mayon Volcano’s eruption will end. It also urged the residents not to enter the 8-kilometer-radius danger zone to prevent any problem.