President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Wednesday expressed his satisfaction over the government’s response to the ongoing restiveness of Mayon Volcano and called on government agencies to provide the affected residents with some form of productive activity particularly the children while they are sheltering in evacuations centers.
“I think that the response that we have put together is satisfactory, that we were able to prepare and we were able to achieve so far ‘yung sinasabi ng province (na) walang casualty,” President Marcos said during the situation briefing on Mayon at the Albay Astrodome in Legazpi City.
“Patuloy natin. We will follow that principle in everything that we are doing.”
According to the President, the evacuees must have some activity or source of livelihood while they are waiting for Mayon Volcano to stabilize.
He also expressed concern on the toll of the disaster on children’s emotional and mental health while staying at the evacuation centers.
“I don’t know what livelihood or something para mayroon naman silang ginagawa, mayroon naman silang pinagkakakitaan, at lalo na ‘yung mga bata,” he said during the situation briefing.
“Isipin natin ‘yung mga bata. What can we do with them? Maybe DepEd can help us, maybe the NGOs can help us. So that active naman sila doon at hindi lang nag-aantay ng araw-araw na walang ginagawa. That is not a small issue.”
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) assured the President that it will include the evacuees in its Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) program for 30 days.
TUPAD is a community-based package of assistance that provides emergency employment for displaced workers, underemployed and seasonal workers, for a minimum period of 10 days, but not exceeding 30 days.
A labor official told the President that for more than 4,000 families staying in temporary shelters, one family member will be engaged in DOLE’s TUPAD program, who could earn P10,950 for a 30-day cash-for-work program.
They will be doing community gardening near the evacuation centers, temporary shelter maintenance and housekeeping, as well as food preparations.
The official said they are coordinating with Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Department of Agriculture (DA) to maximize the assistance being provided by the government to the evacuees.
Responding to the President’s query, Gilbert Sadsad, Department Of Education Regional Director for Region 5 said DepEd has devised schemes on how it can continue educating children while they are in the evacuation centers.
Under the scheme, the original school occupants will attend classes in the morning, while the evacuees will do the classes in the afternoon. Others will be taught through modular distance learning.
And during the break this July, DepEd, he said will be having a learning camp where it will provide intervention and enrichment activities for the children in the evacuation centers.
Temporary learning shelters or spaces will also be put up in the evacuation centers with the help of the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), according to Sadsad.
The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) reported that 4,400 families or 15,676 individuals were displaced by the Mayon’s unrest, mostly from the seven out of 18 municipalities and cities of Albay such as Camalig, Ligao City, Daraga, Guinobatan, Malilipot, Santo Domingo, and Tabaco City. Mayon Volcano is currently under Alert Level 3.
Of the total number of displaced families and individuals, 4,215 families or 15,017 persons are sheltering in 22 evacuation centers, while 185 families or 659 persons are temporarily residing elsewhere, according to OCD. PND
