Alert Level 3 has been raised on the volcano.
In an interview on Thursday, January 9, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian said that the agency is ready for a possible Mayon eruption.
He added that he had met with provincial and local government unit (LGU) leaders in Albay to assess the situation and prepare for any eventuality.
“Ang rason din kung bakit ako pumunta doon, kasi ang bilis, tingnan mo last week ay Alert Level 2 tapos ngayon ay Alert Level 3 na,” Gatchalian said. “So nag-ayos na rin kami kung sakaling tataas pa itong alert level at maging mas pangit yung sitwasyon. Lalawak kasi yung danger zone, expanded danger zone na and aabot tayo ng 14,000 (affected) families. Pinaghandaan na rin namin yon.”
He continued, “Rest assured na ang DSWD, sabi ko nga sa mga local government, maraming family food packs na nakaimbak sa iba’t ibang mga bodega natin sa Albay.”
Before the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) raised Alert Level 3, the secretary said the DSWD had already prepositioned in Albay province some 150,000 boxes of family food packs (FFPs) and other food and non-food items (FNFIs).
“Ang instruction sa amin ng ating Pangulo (Bongbong Marcos) is ang preparation hindi yan ginagawa kapag may sakuna na, 365 days a year wala kaming ginawa kundi mag-imbak nang mag-imbak.“
“Umaabot ang ating national stockpile to almost 4 million family food boxes spread across 1,000 warehouses nationwide. So kung may nangyari na ganito, ready tayo tumulong kaagad. Ora mismo nandoon na,” Secretary Gatchalian pointed out.
In addition to the initial 150,00 food packs prepositioned in the Bicol Region, Secretary Gatchalian said he has ordered the immediate release of an additional 100.000 FFPs. “So pinaghahandaan talaga natin kung mag-escalate ito,” the DSWD chief told.
The social welfare chief also emphasized that the DSWD will implement a cash-for-work (CFW) program to assist families residing within the 6-km permanent danger zone whose sources of livelihood have been disrupted.
“So now magsisimula na ang cash-for-work doon kahit na isang libo pa lang sila na affected families para makatulong sila sa efforts ng local government. Halimbawa, maintenance ng mga evacuation centers sila mag-aayos noon. Kasi syempre, tama ka, naantala yung livelihood nila. So importante mapalitan natin ‘yon habang hindi sila makapasok doon sa danger zone,” he shared.
Based on the latest Disaster Response Operations Management, Information, and Communication (DROMIC) report, the DSWD has so far provided more than PHP6 million worth of humanitarian assistance to affected families and individuals
The initial aid consists of 2.880 FFPs, 960 ready-to-eat food (RTEFs) boxes, and 1,949 non-food items.