Marcos orders full Mayon response

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. ordered a full government response to ashfall from Mayon Volcano, mobilizing agencies to assist affected communities in Guinobatan and Camalig, Albay.

In a statement on Sunday, he said agencies launched clearing, health and evacuation operations, with the Department of Public Works and Highways removing ash from key roads while health officials distributed N95 masks and deployed mobile clinics.

The Bureau of Fire Protection is also conducting water spraying and ash clearing, as disaster agencies enforce evacuations and monitor high-risk areas for potential lahar flows.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) on Sunday kept Mayon Volcano under Alert Level 3, which means there is intensified unrest or Magmatic unrest after an increased volcanic activity.

According to its May 3 bulletin, Phivolcs reported lava effusion with lava flow within 3.8 kilometers (km) of Basud, 3.2 km of Bonga, and 1.6 km of Mi-isi gullies.

The agency also recorded 32 volcanic earthquakes including 25 volcanic tremors, which are 2-15 minutes long.

Phivolcs warns of possible rockfalls or landslides or avalanches, ballistic fragments, lava flows and lava fountaining, pyroclastic density currents, moderate-sized explosions, and lahars during heavy and prolonged rainfall. 

It also noted that entry into the volcano’s six-km radius permanent danger zone and flying any aircraft close to the volcano should not be allowed. 

Meanwhile, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said it aided over 1,000 people in Camalig, Albay on Sunday as heavy ashfall persists.

In a Facebook post, the DSWD said it provided shelter, food and other basic goods for 1,322 people from the municipality of Camalig.

The agency’s Field Office 5-Bicol Region provided ready-to-eat food boxes and sleeping mats to evacuated residents.

It also prepared its mobile kitchen to provide hot food for the possible extended stay of evacuated Filipinos.

In a separate post, it said it pre-positioned 301,311 family food packs, 27,322 ready-to-eat food boxes and 15,156 non-food items.

It also released P11.30 million for emergency cash transfer and P28.30 million for a cash-for-work program to be provided to over 2,000 affected farmers. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana