EVACUATION CENTER VACCINATION. A Department of Health-Bicol personnel conducts vaccination on Thursday (June 22, 2023) at Gabawan Elementary School in Daraga, Albay to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Based on DOH-5 records, two individuals have been confirmed positive for Covid-19 among the Mayon evacuees. (Photo courtesy of DOH-5)
LEGAZPI CITY – At least 352 family evacuees in Sto. Domingo, Albay who have voluntarily returned to their homes will continue to receive government aid, the provincial leader said on Thursday.
In an interview, Albay Gov. Edcel Grex Lagman said these families will still be treated as evacuees and considered economically displaced.
"All benefits will be given to them. Lahat ng tulong na ibinibigay sa isang evacuee sa loob ng evacuation center will be given to them (All assistance given to an evacuee will be accorded to them). All will still be receiving the same kind of assistance -- food packs, vegetable ration, free medical care, livelihood and training programs coming from both the local and national governments that evacuees are entitled to receive. The evacuation centers were unclogged and at the same time, we were still helping them," Lagman said.
The Mayon evacuees, composed of 1,207 individuals, left the evacuation center following the advisory issued by Mayor Joseling Aguas on Wednesday.
The families were from the villages of Lidong, Fidel Surtida, Sta. Misericordia and San Fernando, which are located within the 7-kilometer (km) extended danger zone (EDZ) from the volcano.
In the advisory, Aguas said should the people decide to stay at evacuation centers or other safe areas because for fear of an eruption, they should inform their respective barangay officials.
In an official statement also on Wednesday, the mayor said the decision to evacuate the residents inside the 7-8 km EDZ was made to ensure the safety of his constituents.
"I have the responsibility and authority to answer to their fear and guide them to safe evacuation places. After all our goal in every disaster is zero casualty. I firmly believe that we can never conquer nature and nobody can foretell what will happen next...I will never compromise the safety of people versus the lack of resources. Resources can be sourced out but we cannot bring back people's life," Aguas said.
The statement was released after Lagman requested a meeting with the mayors of Sto. Domingo and Guinobatan so they could explain the evacuation of families from the 7-8 km EDZ.
Last June 8, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said those families within the 6-km PDZ must be evacuated.
Lagman, however, said the decision of Guinobatan Mayor Paul Chino to evacuate families outside this area was acceptable.
"The exercise of his executive discretion was reasonable because he explained the topography of residential areas outside the PDZ who were evacuated. There are two barangays not inside the (PDZ) in between two hazardous gullies," he said.
In a separate interview, Albay Public Safety Emergency Management Office officer-in-charge Eugene Escobar said they are following the recommendation of Phivolcs.
"The existing danger zone has buffered already but again it depends on the situation of Mayon Volcano," he said.
Based on the latest Phivolcs bulletin on Thursday, a very slow effusion of lava from the crater of Mayon Volcano continued to feed lava flows and collapse debris on the Mi-isi (south) and Bonga (southeastern) gullies.
The lava flows advanced to maximum lengths of 2,500 meters and 1,800 meters along Mi-isi and Bonga gullies, respectively, from the summit crater.
A total of eight dome-collapse pyroclastic density currents (PDC) that lasted two to five minutes and 299 rockfall events were recorded by the Mayon Volcano Network for the past 24 hours.
New Covid-19 case
Meanwhile, the Department of Health in Bicol (DOH-5) confirmed an additional case of Covid-19 in an evacuation center in Daraga town.
In a statement issued on Wednesday night, DOH-5 Regional Director Ernie Vera said the new case is a 12-year-old boy who was in close contact with the first case.
"Based on the result of the reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) conducted on June 21, 2023, it was recorded positive. The said patient is a 12-year-old boy. Since the first day of quarantine, the patient has not shown any symptoms of Covid-19. Currently, said patient is isolated at Daraga Infirmary," Vera said.
To ensure the safety of other evacuees, the DOH-Bicol together with the Albay provincial health office, immediately conducted Covid-19 vaccination at Gabawan Elementary School.
"Some 13 individuals were vaccinated with Sinovac and Pfizer. DOH-Bicol continues to encourage individuals who have not yet been vaccinated or who have missing doses and booster doses to come and contact the medical team at the medical stations assigned to the evacuation camps to know the next steps or vaccination day in ECs. Vaccination and booster injections have been proven effective ways to prevent severe and critical symptoms of Covid-19, hospitalization, and death caused by the disease," Vera said. (PNA)
