BACOLOD CITY – The municipal government of La Castellana in Negros Occidental has asked the national government for P47 million in additional funding to replenish their resources for the evacuees of Kanlaon Volcano.
MANGILIMUTAN
Mayor Rhummyla Nicor-Mangilimutan said that the amount will help them assist 4,244 individuals or 1,362 families displaced by the Dec. 9, 2024 eruption.
Mangilimutan said that P50 per meal was allotted for each individual for lunch and dinner or about P300,000 for two meals per day.
A community kitchen was set up by the provincial government with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) covering the cost of food packs for breakfast.
She said that the province is helping but there is a weekly gap.
Mangilimutan said that she spent P32 million last year for food and fuel with the help of the Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) and DSWD.
She said that the municipal government has fully utilized the five percent calamity fund of P17 million.
Mangilimutan added that there is no remaining balance this year for the quick response fund as they have all been used for the Kanlaon response.
“We cannot sustain if this continues,” she said.
Mangilimutan said that if calamities strike the town, funds will be sourced from regular programs like the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) and other operating expenses.
She said that their request for additional funding have been forwarded to the Office of the President. “We are just waiting for the approval,” she added.
Mangilimutan said that their contingency plan for the midterm elections is already in place in coordination with the Commission on Elections (Comelec), Incident Management Team (IMT), and the DRRM.
She said that voting will still be held in the town where there are 62 polling precincts even if under Alert Level 4.