INQToday: Over 1,000 residents flee homes after Kanlaon Volcano erupts

Here’s a quick roundup of today’s top stories:

More than 1,000 residents flee homes following Kanlaon eruption

More than  1,000 residents have been evacuated from farming villages near Kanlaon Volcano in two towns and two cities in Negros Occidental and one city in Negros Oriental since Monday night when it began spewing voluminous ash and rocks.

Evacuees include at least 85 families (393 individuals) in La Carlota City, seven families (50 individuals) in Bago City, 104 families (371 residents in Pontevedra town, and 56 families (257 individuals) in La Castellana town, all in Negros Occidental.

AFP denies soldiers pointed guns at CCG

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) denied allegations that soldiers on board the grounded BRP Sierra Madre at Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea pointed guns at the China Coast Guard (CCG).

The AFP said troops were merely “on guard” due to a “provocative presence” within the Philippine exclusive economic zone.

Alice Guo: ‘I am innocent’

Alice Guo, who was ordered suspended as mayor of Bamban, Tarlac, by the Ombudsman, maintained her innocence and vowed to continue defending her “integrity and character.”

“I respect the legal process and accept the Ombudsman’s decision,” Guo said in a statement Monday.

Duterte ordered transfer of P47.6 billion COVID funds to PS-DBM – Duque

Former Health Secretary Francisco Duque III informed a panel of the House of Representatives on Monday that he transferred some P47.6 billion from his agency to the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) for the purchase of COVID-19 supplies on orders of then President Rodrigo Duterte.

During the oversight hearing conducted by the House committee on appropriations, Duque told members of the panel that “publicly, the order to transfer funds from [the Department of Health (DOH) to PS-DBM] was made by the President in our meetings in the weekly meeting or Talk to the People [program].”