NDRRMC has enough aid for Mayon evacuees to last for 3 months

Mount Mayon erupts at 8:45 a,m, in the morning of Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018. A view from a field in Salugan in Camalig, Albay. (Photo by GEORGE GIO BRONDIAL / Inquirer Southern Luzon)

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) assured the public on Tuesday that it had enough aid to last up to three months for evacuees affected by restive Mount Mayon.

“I think we have more than enough funds and assistance that we could provide for our evacuees in Albay,” NDRRMC spokesperson Mina Marasigan said in a press briefing. “Kaya ba natin? Abutin ba ng three months? Sabi ng DSWD [Department of Social Welfare and Development] kaya,”

However, Marasigan clarified that the agency could not distribute funds to local government units. It could only distribute food and other essentials like medicines, blankets, and water.

“We follow protocols in giving aid to our countrymen,” she said in Filipino. “The money intentended for local governments is not part of our protocols. We are not allowed to give away money to LGUs.”

Marasigan said the NDRRMC had provided almost P27 million worth of food and other basic needs in Albay.

As of this posting, 7,455 families, or 28,846 persons, are sheltered in evacuation centers.

Meanwhile, Vice President Leni Robredo, who was in Camarines Sur for an event on agri-entrepreneurship, also expressed concern on the looming
explosion of the volcano that could drag on for weeks or even months.

Robredo will visit the municipalities of Guinobatan, Camalig and Ligao as part of relief operations.

According ot her, evacuees would need more blankets, face masks and sleeping mats.

Aid for those affected by the calamity would have to come not only for the government but also ordinary citizens because the volcanic activity might last for a long time.

In an interview with ABS-CBN Naga, she said, speaking in Filipino: “We know from past experience how long this could last. So many are affected now because the danger zone has grown bigger. So we have more evacuees now. So much more is required.” /atm