Duterte in Albay Monday afternoon; to inspect Mayon relief ops

President Rodrigo Duterte (Photo from an RTVM video)

LEGAZPI CITY – President Rodrigo Duterte is expected to arrive here Monday afternoon to personally assess relief operations for 82,000 residents affected by the restiveness of Mayon Volcano.

President Duterte will be briefed by Undersecretary Renato Solidum Jr., director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), on the situation of Mt. Mayon, which has been acting up in the last two weeks.

Albay Gov. Al Francis Bichara, Albay Disaster Risk Reduction, and Management Council  chairperson, will also brief the President on the disaster relief operations in more than 70 evacuation centers in the towns of Malilipot, Bacacay, Sto. Domingo, Daraga, Camalig, Guinobatan, and the cities of Tabaco Ligao and Legazpi.

Claudio Yucot, Office of Civil Defense (OCD) regional director, will report on the assistance extended by national agencies to the relief efforts.

Following the briefing, the President is expected to answer questions of local chief executives and disaster authorities.

Meanwhile, a Phivolcs bulletin said Mayon Volcano belched out four lava fountains that sent lava and pyroclastic flow along the Miisi and Bonga gullies in the past 26 hours.

Heavy rainfall in the past two days generated lahar along the Binaan Channel and sediment-laden streamflows in river channels.

Phivolcs recorded 41 volcanic earthquakes, six tremors, and 16 rockfall events.

The volcano continues to emit a high volume of sulfur dioxide measured at an average of 1,916 tons per day while GPS and tiltmeter readings indicate a sustained swelling of the volcano’s slopes, the bulletin said.

Alert Level 4 remains in effect over Mayon as volcanologists warned people to keep out of the 8-kilometer-radius danger zone which is susceptible to sudden pyroclastic, lahar and sediment-laden stream flows, Phivolcs said. /cbb