Davao City OKs P4.5-M aid for Albay evacuees

Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte (Photo courtesy of the Davao City Information Office)

DAVAO CITY-The Sangguniang Panlungsod on Tuesday approved the P4.5 million fund that Mayor Sara Duterte had requested for areas affected by the on-going eruption of Mayon volcano.

Based on the approved resolution, the towns of Camalig, Daraga, Guinobatan, Ligao, Malilipot, Tabaco, Sto. Domingo and Bacacay, and the city of Legazpi, would get P500,000 each.

Sara said the people of Albay needed immediate assistance and the city government could draw funds from its quick response allocation for this year.

Nearly 70,000 people have been affected by Mayon’s series of eruptions, with the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) raising alert level 4, in a five-tier warning scale, which meant the 2,463-meter high volcano could be due for a hazardous eruption.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said at least 18,291 families or some 69,425 persons had been displaced by Mayon’s rumblings and were now staying in 74 evacuation centers in the said province.

The evacuees need as much help as they could, according to Albay Governor Francis Bichara.

This was not the first time for Davao City to give financial assistance to other local governments affected by natural or man-made disasters.

Last year, it also gave P5 million in financial assistance to Marawi City following the five month-long war there.

In December, the city government also allocated P8 million in aid to areas in the Visayas devastated by Tropical Storm “Urduja.”