THE local government of La Castella and the Incident Management Team (IMT) of the town urged the 33 families who escaped from their evacuation camp in Barangay Cabagnaan, La Castellana on Monday, June 30, 2025, to go back to their camp.
Mayor Añejo Nicor, who assumed his post in La Castellana on Monday, conducted an emergency meeting with the IMT officials, including the Philippine National Police, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), personnel from Office of the Civil Defense-Negros Island Region, and Regional Incident Management Team (RIMT) Commander Joseph Paul Nogras.
Nicor said in a statement that the 33 families, composed of 89 individuals or internally displaced persons (IDPs) of Barangay Cabagnaan, were affected by Kanlaon Volcano eruption.
The evacues left the evacuation center without the permission or consent of the local government unit of La Castellana and IMT on Monday.
Nicor and the IMT also called on the responsible persons who conducted the meeting in the Senior High School evacuation center and convinced the Barangay Cabagnaan IDPs (Evacuees) to get back in their homes without the permission of proper authorities.
"We are also calling the attention of the person who took video of the IDPs while getting back home and posted it on the Social Media (Facebook reels) to have a written explanation or appear personally to our IMT or Punong Barangay Bon Sacapaño within 24 hours," Nicor said.
He said the evacuees should return to the evacuation center because they are also allowed to visit to their respective houses from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Mount Kanlaon, a stratovolcano in Negros Island, erupted anew on May 13, 2025. It was the fourth eruption of the volcano. The first was recorded in June 2024, December 2024, and followed by another in April 2025.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) recommended that communities within a six-kilometer radius from the summit crater remain evacuated due to the danger of pyroclastic density currents or PDCs, ballistic projectiles, ashfall, rockfall and other related hazards.
As of May 2025, at least 2,300 residents are staying in various evacuation centers in La Castellana. (MAP)