Truckloads of relief packs arrive in Albay

Photo by Noy Morcoso/INQUIRER.net

GUINOBATAN, Albay–Thirty-one truckloads of relief goods arrived in Albay province on Sunday in anticipation of Mayon Volcano’s  eruption, which has displaced more than 50,000 families to date.

Cabinet secretaries handed over to local government officials the first tranche of relief, which contains at least 22,000 food packs and hygiene kits, for 12,931 families or 57,633 persons.

Local Government Secretary Manuel Roxas II, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, Social Welfare Secretary Dinky Soliman,‎ presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda, Health Secretary Enrique Ona, Environment Secretary Ramon Paje and Albay Governor Joey Salceda led the turnover ceremony in Guinobatan town in Albay.

After an aerial inspection on Mayon, the Cabinet officials went to Travesia Elementary School in Guinobatan where thousands of evacuees are staying.

Each relief pack contains six kilos of rice, eight canned ‎goods, six noodle packs, a hygiene kit containing mats, blankets, medicines, pail, water container, and aqua tablets.

The relief goods, however, are only good for four days.

Since the alert level 3 of Mayon was raised‎, displaced persons had been staying in 48 evacuation centers kilometers away from the 6-km permanent danger zone at the foot of the volcano.

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