President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has ordered concerned government agencies to make sure that students could safely resume classes in schools used as evacuation centers on Negros Island amid the unrest of Kanlaon Volcano.

“Hiniling ng Pangulo na tiyakin na handa at ligtas ang mga paaralan upang makabalik ang mga estudyante,” Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said in a press briefing on Tuesday.

Castro said 11 schools — five in Canlaon City, four in La Castellana, and two in La Carlota — had been used as evacuation centers since volcanic eruptions started on June 3, 2024.

The most recent eruption, a “moderately explosive” type, occurred on May 13.

Castro said the Office of Civil Defense, Department of Education, Department of Social Welfare and Development, and local government units have coordinated to transfer evacuees from schools to other temporary shelters, including tents.

The vacated schools have been cleaned and prepared for the return of students.

“Ngayon, unti-unti nang nakakabalik ang mga bata sa kanilang mga silid-aralan. Patuloy ang pagtutok ng gobyerno sa kaligtasan ng mga bata at guro. Habang mino-monitor pa rin ang sitwasyon sa bulkan ay handang magbigay ng suporta kung kinakailangan,” Castro said.

“Nais nating masiguro na hindi mapuputol ang pag-aaral ng ating mga kabataan,” she added.

As of Tuesday, Kanlaon Volcano remains under Alert Level 3, which means it is still experiencing intensified unrest or magmatic unrest, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS).

People are still not allowed to enter within six kilometers of the volcano’s summit, and flying any aircraft close to the volcano is prohibited. | PND