The local government of Muntinlupa will continue to extend assistance to Albay residents displaced by the eruption of Mayon Volcano through provision of necessities and construction of facilities.
On February 16 Mayor Jaime R. Fresnedi will deliver additional 500 sacks of rice for evacuees in Daraga, Albay, and affected municipalities. The local government unit initially distributed 400 sacks on January 27.
The local chief executive, likewise, committed to build facilities in evacuation centers for use of the victims of the volcanic eruption.
Muntinlupa will be allotting P3 million to construct public toilets and more septic tanks in six areas that serve as temporary shelters for at least 7,900 individuals.
Permanent comfort rooms will be constructed in Gabawan Elementary School, Bascaran National High School, Bascaran Elementary School and Anislag National High School.
The new septic tanks will be installed in Anislag Elementary School and Villahermosa Elementary School.
Evacuees who will work for the construction of the facilities will be compensated, so as to provide financial means to them.
Also, part of the fund is appropriated for the purchase of food and nonfood items, such as grocery packages, hygiene kits and sleeping mats. Members of the Muntinlupa City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office, Social Service Department Office and Engineering Office visited evacuation areas in affected municipalities and conducted a rapid damage assessment and needs analysis.
Mayon started erupting on January 24, forcing the local residents to leave their homes.
It remains to be on Alert Level 4, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) bulletin on Monday morning.
Phivolcs strongly advised the public to be vigilant and desist from entering the 8-kilometer-radius danger zone.
Mount Mayon is an active volcano, which stands 8,075 feet high. It erupted 51 times, based on Phivolcs’s record as of 2017. The most destructive eruption happened on February 1, 1814, when volcanic materials buried the town of Cagsawa, leaving 2,000 dead. The town church’s bell tower remains standing, which serves as the iconic mark of the historic explosion of the volcano.