President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced on Saturday that government funding and food packs are ready for anyone who may be affected by the likely eruption of Mayon Volcano.
Marcos gave the assurance after Albay province was declared a disaster on Friday as Mayon's aberrant activity grew.
In a Facebook post, the President asked impacted individuals to follow the directions and orders of their local government officials to protect their safety.
With the declaration of a state of calamity in Albay due to the restiveness of the Mayon Volcano, Marcos reminded Bicolanos to follow the recommendations and evacuation instructions of their local officials to safeguard everyone's safety.
He also stated that the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is ready to assist and support the evacuees. The agency has a quick response fund of PHP 114 million, a backup fund of PHP 5 million, and 179,000 family food packs (FPPs) in disaster response centers.
Aside from the DSWD, concerned agencies such as the Office of Civil Defense, agricultural, health, and environment departments, as well as the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), are in continual communication, according to Marcos.
In addition, the DSWD has prepared a PHP 67.8 million fund and 814,758 FFPs at various field offices to meet the relief needs of communities affected by Mayon's earthquake activity.
Other food and non-food goods worth PHP1.04 billion are also available at the National Resource Operations Center in Pasay City, the Visayas Disaster Resource Center, and the warehouses of DSWD field offices.
Mayon is still on Level 3 alert, with "the possibility of a hazardous eruption."
According to data from the Albay Public Safety Emergency Management Office, 4,390 families, or 16,823 people, are affected in nine municipalities: Camalig, Daraga, Guinobatan, Ligao City, Malilipot, Tabaco City, and Sto. Domingo, Bacacay, and Legazpi City
If Mayon's status is upgraded to Alert Level 4, another 40,000 people will be evacuated from the 7-kilometer enlarged danger zone.
Rockfalls, landslides, and avalanches, as well as ballistic pieces, lava flows and lava fountaining, pyroclastic density currents, and moderate-sized explosions, according to Phivolcs, are potential risks.
According to Phivolcs, Alert Level 3 indicates that magma is near or at the surface, and activity could result in a dangerous eruption within weeks. Low-frequency earthquakes, volcanic tremors, and rumbling sounds are also possible.
Danger zones can extend up to eight kilometers from an active crater.
Meanwhile, due to the state of emergency, the Department of Energy imposed a price freeze for domestic liquefied petroleum gas in cylinders (11 kilos and less) and kerosene goods in Albay on Saturday.
Price increases are restricted, but price reductions are permitted. It will remain in place for the next 15 days, or until June 23.
