Mayon Volcano on September 23, 1984: Pyroclastic flows descend the south-eastern flank of Mayon Volcano, Philippines. Then, the maximum height of the eruption column was 15 km above sea level, and volcanic ash fell within about 50 km toward the west. There were no casualties from the 1984 eruption because more than 73,000 people evacuated the danger zones as recommended by scientists of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology. (Mayon VolcanoPublic Domain C.G. Newhall, Wikipedia)
MANILA (Mabuhay) – Albay Governor Joey Salceda defended the national government over the delivery of rotten food to some Mayon evacuees.
Salceda said only 32 of the total 220,000 food packs delivered to the evacuees by a national government caravan had food that were spoiled.
“Let’s talk about the 99.9% good! This 0.1% incident only serves to prove that the 99.9% is in order and that Albay camp management protocols are working,” he said.
“The errant packs were never in the hands of the evacuees as they were interdicted at the camp management level or 3 steps away before they were distributed to the barangay officials, who then distribute them to the barangay kagawads/purok officers or room official then to an evacuee family.”
Salceda blamed the multiple-handling of goods during delivery for the spoilage.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) earlier said the canned goods may have been pierced during delivery, resulting in spoilage.
The governor said to prevent a similar incident in the future, the DSWD and Albay authorities have agreed that all relief packs will be procured by DSWD – Regional Field Unit in Albay “to avert demand displacement from inflows of donated basic commodities.”(MNS)