SORSOGON PROVINCE (December 14) – Delegates of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) – Philippines recently visited the Provincial Disaster Risk Management Office (PDRRMO) here to personally be acquainted with the province’s preparedness and disaster management system since Mt. Bulusan’s restiveness on Nov. 6, this year.
PDRRMO Head Jose Lopez said that USAID representatives came to his office to assess and conduct initial exploration of concerned municipal LGUs and the province as well in terms of disaster preparedness, management and response.
“For the meantime now, they have not committed any specific support but assured us that they are ready to provide the province any assistance should the condition of Mt. Bulusan worsens,” said Lopez.
Allan Dwyer of USAID, meanwhile, said that they lauded the protocols and system implemented by the PDRRMC in the management of Bulusan volcano’s activities and its impact to residents and livelihood, as well as the capability of concerned agencies in responding to said natural disaster, each according to their mandates.
“I have heard a lot about Bulusan Volcano that is why from Indonesia, where Mt. Merapi also devastated hundreds of local residents there, I decided to fly to the Philippines so I could personally visit Sorsogon and find out where our agency could come in,” Dwyer said.
Justin Sherman, also from USAID, said that they have visited the affected areas particularly Brgy. Cogon in Irosin town, the nearest barangay to Mt. Bulusan, to find out the condition of residents directly affected by the volcano’s series of ash ejections as well as the evacuation centers used by the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).
“We likewise met Dir. Ed Laguerta of Philippine Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) to get updates of the present condition of Mt. Bulusan and learned that Alert level 1 remains hoisted since Mt. Bulusan’s restiveness is not yet over based from the signs they see at the volcano’s crater,” he added.
USAID is an agency known for its active support to victims of various calamities and internally-displaced persons in armed conflict affected areas. It provides United States’ economic and humanitarian assistance for more than 40 years now. It is also popular because of their disaster preparedness and mitigation programs using their civilian and humanitarian resources to strengthen disaster preparedness and response capability efforts in calamity-stricken areas worldwide.
Together with the USAID in visiting here were representatives from World Vision, a Christian relief, development and advocacy organization that has long been a partner of the local government in providing relief assistance to victims of both man-made and natural calamities that hit the province of Sorsogon. (BARecebido, PIA/with reports from VLabalan, PIO Prov’l. LGU)
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