The 20 community kitchens set up by Negros Occidental’s provincial government has been providing meals to internally displaced persons (IDPs) and support staff assisting them since the eruption of Mt. Kanlaon last month.

Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson gave the update during his New Year message to the Capitol employees at the Social Hall here Thursday.

“Through our 20 community kitchens, we provided for more than 10,000 IDPs, camp managers, volunteers, peacekeepers, and social workers,” he said.

Kanlaon’s eruption on Dec. 9 has affected residents of seven local government units (LGUs) within the 6-km. permanent danger zone – the cities of Bago, La Carlota, and San Carlos and the municipalities of La Castellana, Moises Padilla, Murcia, and Pontevedra.

Data from the Department of Social Welfare and Development 6 (Western Visayas) as of Dec. 30 showed that 2,658 families, or 8,731 persons, have been staying in 24 evacuation centers.

La Castellana, the worst-affected LGU, has 14 active evacuation centers, while Bago and La Carlota have seven each.

Lacson noted that for the past 10 days, the team from the province delivered “one ton of pork and one ton of chicken, along with all the necessary ingredients for specific and carefully planned menus” prepared by 37 community-based cooks for lunch and dinner.

“Christmas Day, New Year’s Day, and the days in between were celebrated with love and joy in our evacuation camps. We tried our best to make sure that Christmas and New Year celebrations were not deferred because of calamities,” he said.

He added that the province has provided portalets in the evacuation centers to ensure that the IDPs have proper facilities for health and sanitation.

“Our team stepped up to meet the challenge, ensuring that the basic needs of our displaced persons, including good food, clean potable water, and essential supplies, were met,” Lacson said.

After the explosive eruption last month, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology raised the volcano’s alert level to 3, indicating that “magmatic eruption has begun and may progress to further explosive eruptions.” (PNA)