Cops, tents sent to Taal evacuation centers

MANILA, Philippines — To ensure public health, safety and security, police assistance desks are being set up at evacuation centers in Batangas to monitor thousands of residents displaced by the violent activity of Taal Volcano.

Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, gave the order yesterday as more individuals are being sheltered in at least 10 evacuation centers in the towns of Laurel, Talisay, Balete and Agoncillo.

Eleazar said police manning the assistance desks would act as COVID-19 protocol officers to maintain public health and safety and to mitigate mass transmission of the virus.

“As much as possible, the implementation of minimum public health safety protocols at evacuation centers must be ensured,” he said in Filipino, as fears of mass infections were raised.

Based on the latest figures released by the provincial government, there are at least 1,605 active COVID-19 cases in Batangas.

As the PNP mobilized its personnel and mobile assets to assist local government units (LGUs) in the evacuation of residents near Taal Volcano, Eleazar sought public understanding for strict checkpoints at strategic areas of the province to prevent evacuees from returning to the danger zones.

“We understand the difficult situation of our countrymen who are forced to evacuate at a time of pandemic, but their safety is a must,” he said.

Food, tents

Meanwhile, the provincial government said it has received at least 5,000 food packs for the evacuees from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

The DSWD also sent hundreds of modular tents and other forms of initial assistance to displaced families in Cavite and Batangas.

It delivered 200 family tents to the Batangas Sports Complex and 300 more to evacuation centers in Laurel, Batangas.

Earlier, 500 modular tents had been prepositioned at the DSWD regional office warehouse in General Mariano Alvarez, Cavite.

Social Welfare Secretary Rolando Bautista said the agency will provide food and non-food items as augmentation assistance for affected LGUs.

The DSWD National Resource Operations Center said it is preparing to dispatch around 13,500 family food packs to the Batangas Sports Complex, as well as in evacuation centers in Agoncillo and Laurel.

As of last Friday’s tally, a total of 1,282 individuals or 317 families have been evacuated since the volcano acted up, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said. – Janvic Mateo