The local government units (LGUs) will have the discretion to decide whether evacuees living outside the 6-kilometer permanent danger zone (PDZ) of Mount Kanlaon will be allowed to return home.
Raul Fernandez, head of Task Force Kanlaon and regional director of the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in Western Visayas, stated on Wednesday that, from their perspective, they are not recommending that the evacuees return home just yet.
During a meeting on Tuesday with Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson and Mayors RhummylaMangilimutan of La Castellana, Nicholas Yulo of Bago City, and Rex Jalandoon of La Carlota City, it was agreed that the 4,000 evacuees living outside the 6-kilometer PDZ would be allowed to go back to their homes.
However, those residing inside the 6-kilometer and 4-kilometer PDZ will remain in the evacuation centers for their safety.
As of January 8, 2025, the OCD reported that the eruption has affected 12,226 families, or 46,787 individuals, who are currently housed in 34 evacuation centers in both Regions 6 and 7. Among these, 4,028 families (13,085 persons) are inside the evacuation centers, while 2,351 families (7,458 people) are living outside the centers.
Mayor Mangilimutan confirmed that the return of evacuees from Brgy. Sag-ang in La Castellana has already started, while in Bago City, about 200 evacuees from Brgy. Ilijan will also be allowed to go home.
During a press briefing at the Capitol Social Hall on Wednesday, Fernandez mentioned that approximately P15.3 billion would be needed for the first 30 days of disaster response operations if Kanlaon erupts again, based on their projections in case the volcano's alert level is raised to Alert Level 4.
Fernandez also stated that if the volcano erupts, the agency estimates that more than 124,000 people could be affected within a 10-kilometer radius.
He added that they have already informed President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and other concerned national officials of the need for additional funds and resources in the event of a mass evacuation from areas within the danger zone of Mount Kanlaon.
According to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the breakdown of the estimated P15 billion required includes P606,599,482 for food and non-food items, P189,428,931 for water, P507,066,689 for facilities, and P14,008,284,650 for cash assistance.(TDE)