2 months ago
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BACOLOD CITY — The local government units affected by the eruption of Kanlaon volcano are asking for more funds from the national government, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said on Monday, March 24.
Lacson said that La Castellana and La Carlota City have asked Malacañang for additional funds for their respective evacuees, adding that the provincial government still has no plans to ask for additional funding.
Lacson said the Capitol has not yet received any information if the requests were already approved by the national government.
Earlier, Malacañang released P50 million to Negros Occidental to be used for feeding the evacuees and for the purchase and development of permanent evacuation sites for the affected residents.
La Castellana Mayor Rhummyla Nicor-Mangilimutan earlier said that they have asked the national government for an additional P47 million to replenish their resources for the Kanlaon evacuees.
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She said that currently there are 1,362 families composed of 4,244 individuals who were displaced by the eruption of Kanlaon volcano since Dec. 9, 2024.
According to the mayor, La Castellana allots P50 per person for every meal, covering lunch and dinner.
That means P300,000 for two meals every day, she said.
The provincial government of Negros Occidental has also put up a community kitchen for the evacuees while the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) takes care of the food packs for breakfast.
"Even with the help of the Capitol, there is a weekly gap," Nicor-Mangilimutan said.
She added that last year, La Castellana spent P32 million to help foot the food and gasoline of the Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) and DSWD.
Our 5 percent calamity fund, amounting to P17 million including our quick response fund, has been drained as it was used for our Kanlaon response, she said.
"We can't sustain this if it lasts longer," she said.
Because of the continuing restlessness of Kanlaon volcano, the municipal government of La Castellana has canceled the celebration of the Banana Festival and grand alumni homecoming, the town's Incident Management Team announced.
Thousands of La Castellana residents remain in evacuation centers because of Kanlaon's unrest.
