2 Kanlaon-hit villages reeling from water shortage

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — Up to 3,000 households composed of 10,000 to 12,000 people in two barangays in Negros Occidental are experiencing shortage of drinking water following the eruption of Kanlaon Volcano.

La Carlota City Mayor Rex Jalandoon yesterday said that ashfall from Kanlaon contaminated and clogged two of three springs that serve as sources of water for a local water district in Barangay Ara-al.

Aside from Ara-al, the water district also supplies potable water to the nearby village of San Miguel.

Jalandoon said the villages of Haguimit, La Granja, Nagasi and Yubo are experiencing low water pressure.

The provincial government of Negros Occidental and the local government units (LGUs) of Cadiz and Sagay as well as the Philippine Red Cross have sent water filtration tankers to La Carlota.

The LGUS of Bago, Kabankalan, Victorias, Murcia and Silay as well as the Bureau of Fire Protection and the Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Inc. also sent water tankers to help flush out volcanic ash that blanketed main roads and essential facilities.

Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said that aside from La Carlota, he ordered the deployment of water filtration tankers in La Castellana.

Lacson said the provincial government sent doctors, nurses, medicine and face masks for residents of La Castellana and La Carlota who have been staying in 14 evacuation centers since the volcano erupted on Dec. 9.

As of April 9, up to 1,770 families were staying in 14 evacuation centers in Bago, La Carlota, La Castellana and San Carlos. – Evelyn Macairan, Rudy Santos