President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Wednesday that the national government should also help the people who had to evacuate Albay and give them additional funds before the local government runs out of money to help with the disaster.
During the situation briefing on the Mayon Volcano’s unrest, the Chief Executive said that he wants national agencies to help Mayon’s evacuees for up to 90 days, which is about how long the volcano is expected to be active.
“Let us be prepared to relieve the local government units as soon as possible so that they can have reserves in case there are still storms or other incidents. We don’t want to deplete their quick response fund, that’s number one,” Marcos said during a situation briefing on the unrest of Mayon Volcano at the Albay Astrodome in Legazpi City on Wednesday.
“Number two, let’s consider a minimum of 45 days as our working number. The 45 to 90 days is (sic) based on both the scientific analysis of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the experiences of the locals. When we asked them about the usual duration, they mentioned 45 to 90 days. So, that’s the working number we will use,” he added.
While Marcos said that the government should step in, the national government should need the help of local government units (LGUs) to know which areas are critical and must be prioritized.
“Let’s not deplete the funds of the local government unit (LGU). If we can intervene already, let’s do so. Let’s take the burden off the province and municipalities because their resources are limited,” Marcos said.
During the meeting, Secretary Rex Gatchalian told the President that the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) had recently delivered 153,000 food packs to the province of Albay to help with the current situation. Each pack has enough food for 90 days.
Before the meeting, President Marcos went to the Guinobatan Community College evacuation center to see how the affected families were doing and ensure they were getting the help they needed.
According to a report from the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in the Bicol Region, the DSWD, the Philippine Red Cross, Ang Probinsyano Partylist, local government units (LGUs), private groups, and non-government organizations (NGOs) have provided aid worth P29.2 million to the evacuees.
The OCD also said it had sent food, non-food items, and tools for water, sanitation, and health (WASH) to the province of Albay.
Moreover, the provincial government will send 3,200 sacks of rice, 320 rolls of gasoline, 1,101 hygiene kits, 424 OCD family packs, and one water filtration car to affected areas.