Salceda thanks Gatchalian for assuring food packs for Albay folk
Albay 2nd district Rep. Joey Salceda (left) and Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Chairman Rex Gatchalian (Facebook)
Albay 2nd district Rep. Joey Salceda thanked on Friday, June 9 his erstwhile House colleague and now Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Chairman Rex Gatchalian for quickly responding to his request for food packs. This, as both local and national officials brace for a likely eruption of Mayon Volcano, which is located in Legazpi City, Albay. Salceda specifically requested for food packs for 9,829 families in the 6-kilometer permanent danger zone (PDZ) and 7-kilometer danger zone around Mayon in the municipalities of Camalig, Daraga, Guinobatan, Santo Domingo, and Malilipot. On Thursday, the situation in Mayon was elevated to Alert Level 3. Under Alert Level 3, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) advises immediate evacuation for those in the PDZ. Salceda sent on the same day the food pack request for the 45-day and 90-day evacuation scenarios for affected residents in the five municipalities. Salceda requested some 147,435 food packs for the 45-day scenario, and 294,870 food packs for the 90-day scenario, or “to at least prepare 50 percent of the 45-day requirement". Gatchalian--who served as Valenzuela representative in the 19th Congress until he was appointed DSWD chief by Malacañang--quickly assured Salceda that “We have 60,000 food packs in Albay warehouses. Then, in the neighboring warehouses in the entire region, another 40,000.” “Cong, we can most definitely provide support to your LGUs, going even further than the 50 percent of the 45-day scenario,” Gatchalian added. Salceda, a former three-term governor of Albay, said The scenarios are based on historical experience with Mayon volcanic activity, where evacuation tends to be protracted to 47 days or 90 days.