70 percent of Mayon evacuees to go home today

The file photo shows the evacuees at a temporary evacuation center situation in Lower Binogsacan Elementary School. Evacuees are from the Barangay of Muladbucad Grande, Guinobatan, Albay which belong to 6-km danger zone of Mayon. MARK ALVIC ESPLANA / Inquirer Southern Luzon

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines—About 70 percent of evacuees in Albay were to go home Tuesday after the Albay Public Safety and Emergency Management Office decided to “decamp” all the evacuees living outside the 6-kilometer permanent danger zone around Mayon Volcano.

Cedric Daep, chief of the public safety office, said 36,000 to 41,000 evacuees living within the seven-to eight-kilometer Extended Danger Zone were affected by the decampment order.

He said the order was issued upon the recommendation of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.

“We rely on science not on the order of other people,” said Daep, who alluded to the Bicol legislators who questioned last week the continued stay of evacuees in shelters for nearly two months now since Phivolcs raised alert level 3 over Mayon on September 15.

Daep said the remaining 30 percent or 10,000 to 15,000 evacuees living within the six-kilometer permanent danger zone would remain inside the shelters.

Records of the public safety office showed that as of June 2014, 2,898 families or 15,049 persons were living within the 6-km danger zone spread out in 40 villages in the municipalities of Malilipot, Daraga, Camalig and Guinobatan and the cities of Tabaco and Ligao.

As of Oct. 28, official records showed that a total of 13,032 families or 51,710 individuals from the 6-km danger zone and and 7-8 km Extended Danger Zone were staying in shelters.

Col. Raul Farnacio, Philippine Army 901st brigade commander, said the military had prepositioned 36 trucks to help the evacuees return to their homes.

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