Work in government offices is suspended indefinitely in La Castellana, Negros Occidental, which is now under a state of calamity after the eruption of Mt. Kanlaon Monday night.
In an executive order released recently, Mayor Rhummyla Nicor-Mangilimutan declared the “suspension of work in all government offices and agencies except those with functions that involve the delivery of basic services, disaster preparedness and response and other vital services.”
“To ensure the safety of the employees, their families, and the public, there is a need to suspend work in all government offices and agencies,” she said.
Nicor-Mangilimutan also encouraged work to be suspended in private organizations at the discretion of the owners or authorities.
The mayor said six villages at the foot of Mt. Kanlaon, among these Sag-ang, Cabagnaan, and Biaknabato, are the worst hit, with the heavy ashfall damaging agricultural lands and fishponds.
She added all 13 barangays felt the sulfurous odor after the volcanic eruption.
As of Tuesday night, some 203 families, composed of 842 individuals, have been staying in various evacuation centers in La Castellana, the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office data showed.
On Wednesday morning, Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson met with Nicor-Mangilimutan at the municipal hall to get updates on the situation of affected residents and assess the sufficiency of the relief assistance provided by the provincial government.
In Negros Oriental, the Canlaon City Council approved a resolution Tuesday afternoon, declaring the entire city under a state of calamity.
“Being an agricultural city, said natural calamity greatly affects the economic living condition of the people, specifically the farmers, thus there is a need for the local government to exert necessary measures to address and cushion the impact of the volcanic eruption,” the resolution stated.
Mayor Jose Chubasco Cardenas also declared the suspension of work in government and private offices on Tuesday as a precautionary and proactive measure following the eruption of Mt. Kanlaon.
After the explosive eruption Monday night, the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology raised the alert level of the active volcano from Alert Level 1 (abnormal) to Alert Level 2 (increasing unrest), which means “there is current unrest driven by shallow magmatic processes that could eventually lead to further explosive eruptions or even precede hazardous magmatic eruption.” (Nanette Guadalquiver via Philippine News Agency)