Relocate schools from Mayon danger zone, DepEd asked

SOLDIERS patrol the village of Anoling in Camalig town, Albay province, one of the communities inside the 6-km radius permanent danger zone of Mayon Volcano. MARK ALVIC ESPLANA /INQUIRER SOUTHERN LUZON

LEGAZPI CITY—Schools within the 6-kilometer radius permanent danger zone of Mayon Volcano in Albay province should be relocated to ensure the safety of students, a party-list lawmaker said.

“Our children are in schools [while a] sleeping … bomb [looms over them]. No amount of money can substitute a life of one child,” Ako Bikol Rep. Rodel Batocabe said.

Batocabe said said his group would allocate and prioritize the budget for the construction of classrooms once the Department of Education (DepEd) identifies ideal sites for permanent relocation. He said the assurance of education for the children in these high-risk communities might be one of the reasons why people could not leave their villages.

Three schools are found inside the danger zone: the Baligang Elementary School in Ligao City and the Canaway and Calbayog Elementary Schools in Malilipot town.

Bañadero National High School in Daraga town, though situated in the zone boundary, has been recommended for relocation because of the threat of lahar flow, said Cedric Daep, chief of the Albay Public Safety and Emergency Management Office (Apsemo).

While there is no law that would force families to move out of the permanent danger zone, Daep said there must be one banning residents from the area. “We cannot force them to leave unless there’s a permanent relocation site. One more thing, they have properties in the area,” he said.

A total of 2,898 families (15,049 people) had been living within the 6-km danger zone spread out in 40 villages in the towns of Malilipot, Daraga, Camalig and Guinobatan and the cities of Tabaco and Ligao as of June 2014, Apsemo records showed.

Ramon Fiel Abcede, DepEd regional director, said once the local governments relocate these residents, his agency would look for schools where displaced students could be transferred, either in schools in nearby villages or in schools to be built for them.

The DepEd has been coordinating with the National Housing Authority and concerned local governments on this matter, Abcede said.

“We are waiting for the specific details from [the local governments] about the scope of the permanent danger zone, how property owners would be compensated, the funds needed for construction of houses and schools, and their proposal to finally draft this,” Batocabe said.

Eduardo Laguerta, resident volcanologist of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology in Legazpi City, said his agency had recommended a long-term solution to the problem.

“We’re not sure when the volcano will erupt so we need a long-term solution. There’s always a threat, especially in the permanent danger zone,” he said.

Mayon has not shown any sign of abnormality recently.

“Some residents insisted that they were not affected by volcanic eruptions in the past six years. Mayon Volcano is conical, so there’s no guarantee as to where exactly [volcanic debris] would cause harm,” Laguerta said. Ma. April Mier, Inquirer Southern Luzon