President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Wednesday assured families affected by the unrest of the Mayon Volcano that the national government is always ready to respond and cater to their needs while they wait for the volcanic activity to normalize.
“Kami ay nandito upang tiyakin na lahat ng pangangailangan ng mga evacuees. Tinitingnan nga namin na ‘yung response ng national government ay sapat at makausap din kayo, ang mga evacuees, kung ano ‘yung mga inyong pangangailangan,” President Marcos told the evacuees at the Guinobatan Community College evacuation center in Guinobatan town, Albay province.
“At huwag kayong mag-aantay nang matagal kung may pangangailangan kayo. Sabihin ninyo sa amin. Nandito si Mayor, nandito si Gov, nandito lahat ng DSWD, nandito ‘yung DILG, nandito silang lahat at nandiyan lang sila para alalayan kayo.”
The President said he directed national government agencies to provide the necessities of the evacuees sheltering at the evacuation centers, particularly food, potable water, medicines, and sanitation kits and equipment.
The Department of National Defense (DND) has been coordinating with all disaster relief response agencies in the country to provide the needs of the evacuees, while the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) works on extending relief goods, he said.
“Ang DOH ay sila at saka ang Provincial Health Hospital ninyo, ‘yung municipal hospital niyo tutulong ‘yan at ang ating mga healthcare workers ay sila ang makakapagbigay – sila ang may karapatan na makapagbigay ng gamot para sa inyong lahat,” he said.
The President also expressed gratitude to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for providing 50 tons of relief goods after learning of the Mayon Volcano’s unrest.
“At iyon po ‘yung mga idi-distribute natin marami diyan ay galing po sa ating mga kaibigan sa United Arab Emirates. At siguro maybe the reason they are so sympathetic to the Philippines is because they have many Filipinos working in UAE and they feel the closeness and friendship to Filipinos,” he said.
The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) reported that 4,400 families or 15,676 individuals were displaced by the Mayon’s restiveness, mostly from the seven municipalities and cities of Albay such as Camalig, Ligao City, Daraga, Guinobatan, Malilipot, Santo Domingo, and Tabaco City. Mayon Volcano is currently under Alert Level 3.
Of the total number of displaced families and individuals, 4,215 families or 15,017 persons are sheltering in 22 evacuation centers, while 185 families or 659 persons are temporarily residing elsewhere, according to the OCD. PND
