1.1K temporary shelters on standby for Taal victims

MANILA – Some 1,123 temporary shelters and housing units are on-standby if ever the Taal Volcano’s alert status will escalate to Level 4, Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) Secretary Eduardo del Rosario said Wednesday.

In a pre-recorded public briefing with President Rodrigo Duterte, the DHSUD chief said the temporary shelters can accommodate up to 5,650 individuals.

The temporary shelters are located in Ibaan, Batangas; Talisay, Batangas; Tiaong, Quezon; and Sariaya, Quezon.

Del Rosario said there were three mega evacuation centers already built following the Taal’s unrest in January 2020 — strategically located in the safe grounds of three municipalities surrounding the volcano.

“Ito pong tatlong municipalities na ito ay nandoon sa lugar na safe. Basically, nasa south and eastern portion of the Taal Lake (These three municipalities are located in safe places. Basically in the southern and eastern portion of the Taal Lake),” he said.

Those residing in the critical zone areas near the volcano can evacuate to the municipalities of Mataas na Kahoy, Santa Teresita, and Alitagtag.

“At tamang-tama po, Mr. President, natapos [na] itong tatlong evacuation centers (This is in time, Mr. President, the construction of the three evacuation centers has been completed) just this month and I will go there tomorrow for the inauguration and turnover of the evacuation centers to the LGU [local government unit],” del Rosario told the President.

“Now if ever po na magkaroon ng Alert Level 4 ay magagamit kaagad itong evacuation centers na pinagawa po natin (Now if ever it will be raised to Alert Level 4, we can immediately use these evacuation centers that we built),” he added.

Del Rosario said the newly built evacuation centers are disaster-resilient, complete with enough facilities for both men and women, based on the President’s directive.

“That was made by the National Housing Authority and the design that we are following was the one the President approved way back in the latter part of 2018,” del Rosario said.

If unused for disaster-related activities, he said these evacuation centers can be a venue for LGU’s social gatherings such as seminars, workshops and training.

“But once converted into an evacuation center, it has different rooms that can separate also the toilet and bath for males and females. And we also have conjugal room for the privacy of married couples,” he added.