President Marcos has directed concerned agencies to provide immediate assistance to residents affected by the recent volcanic activity at Mount Bulusan in Sorsogon.

Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said this after the Office of Civil Defense reported that around 15,000 families have been affected by the explosive activity.

In her press briefing on Thursday, April 30, the Palace Press Officer said the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has already deployed aid teams and conducted site visits, following the President’s instruction.

"Dumalaw na po kaagad-agad si Secretary Rex Gatchalian, DSWD Secretary, pumunta po sila kahapon (Tuesday) sa nasabing lugar at sila po ay nagkaroon ng pag-assess at binisita po ang mga evacuation centers (Secretary Rex Gatchalian immediately visited the affected area on Tuesday, conducted assessments, and visited evacuation centers)," she said.

Castro said food packs have already been prepared for displaced families, and a mobile kitchen has been deployed to Barangay Tughan in Juban, Sorsogon.

Castro said OCD regional director Claudio Yucot also responded by securing air assets for aerial reconnaissance and visiting several municipalities in the province.

She assured the public that the government has enough resources to respond to the crisis, especially with the ongoing operations in Negros Island due to Kanlaon's unrest.

"Nagbigay po ng report ang DSWD po at may mga standby funds po tayo, and prepositioned relief stockpile (The DSWD has reported that we have standby funds and prepositioned relief stockpiles)," Castro said.

As of April 30, Bulusan has experienced two phreatic eruptions within two days. The first eruption occurred on April 28, emitting a plume that rose 4,500 meters above the crater and prompting the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) to raise the alert level from 0 to 1, indicating low-level unrest.

The second eruption happened at 7:43 p.m. on April 29, lasting approximately 77 minutes. Ashfall was reported in several barangays across several municipalities.

The DSWD has mobilized its Quick Response Teams and prepositioned nearly 180,000 family food packs in the Bicol Region. An initial 20,000 food packs have already been distributed to affected families in Sorsogon.

The DSWD has also provided P15.7 million worth of humanitarian assistance, including food and non-food items, to local government units for their constituents.