DSWD chief leads ground assessment in Albay amid preemptive evacuations as Mayon unrest heightens

Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian visited the Region 5 (Bicol Region) on Thursday (January 8), to personally assess the situation and oversee government interventions after the unrest of Mayon Volcano was raised to Alert Level 3, prompting preemptive evacuations in affected communities.

The DSWD chief’s visit was in line with the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to ensure prompt, coordinated, and efficient disaster response operations for families displaced due to the ongoing volcanic unrest.

“Pinadala ako ng ating Pangulo, naatasan po tayo ng ating Pangulo to fly to Legazpi, Albay today to assess yung preemptive evacuations na nangyayari, and at the same time, makipag ugnayan sa ating province at sa ating mga local chief executives para we can support them with what they need,” Secretary Gatchalian told local reporters in an ambush interview.

Upon his arrival, Secretary Gatchalian met with Albay 2nd District Rep. Carlos Loria, Albay Governor Noel Rosal and the mayors of affected local government units (LGUs) to discuss additional measures to assist evacuees residing within the 6-kilometer radius permanent danger zone.

As of the latest report, there are 963 families or 3,516 individuals currently staying inside 13 evacuation centers, while 12 families or 39 individuals are temporarily sheltering with their relatives or friends.

Local chief executives (LCEs) of the affected LGUs requested for food assistance, non-food items, and other essential needs, such as livelihood interventions to support the recovery of the affected families.

Secretary Gatchalian emphasized that lessons learned during the 2023 Mayon operations were being applied to the current disaster response, particularly in the food distribution and livelihood support.

The DSWD chief reiterated the Department’s readiness to sustain long-term assistance should the situation escalate, including the continuous provision of family food packs (FFPs), non-food items, cash-for-work (CFW) programs, and cash aid under the emergency cash transfers (ECT) program.

“We’ve sustained it before, we can sustain it now,” Secretary Gatchalian said.

The possible impact on the affected farmers was also discussed during the meeting, with Secretary Gatchalian assuring that affected livelihoods will be supported through CFW.

“Yung cash-for-work namin is hindi short term ha, I remember it can go from as minimum of 1 day to as much as 180 days, I believe if I’m not mistaken, half a year,” Secretary Gatchalian pointed out.

Secretary Gatchalian also emphasized that stockpiling operations were already in place even before Mayon’s increased activity, with 144,000 FFPs prepositioned across warehouses in the Bicol Region.

Additional supplies are also being mobilized to further augment the available relief resources in Albay and nearby areas.

The DSWD continues to closely coordinate with concerned LGUs to ensure that the needs of all affected families are adequately addressed amid the ongoing unrest of Mayon Volcano. (KI)

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