Stranded passengers allowed to sail home

LEGAZPI CITY --- Close to 2,000 stranded passengers in the ports of Sorsogon and Masbate on Tuesday morning were allowed by the Philippine Coast Guard to board their ships bound for the Visayas and Masbate province after the lifting of the “no sailing” policy following the lowering of storm signal warning by the local weather bureau, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in Bicol said on Tuesday. Akim Berces, OCD technical officer, said only 133 passengers from the ports of Pasacao and Tamban in Camarines Sur remained stranded due to bad weather. Berces said decampment of evacuees was reported in Sorsogon with 65 families. In Albay, Eugene Escobar, specialist of the Albay Public Safety and Emergency Office (APSEMO), said the decampment order was left to the discretion of the respective MDRRMO. Escobar said there were 2,319 families or 8,319 people that sought shelter in various evacuation centers in Albay. The MDRRMO in Guinobatan has decamped 887 families or 3,038 persons living in four villages at the foot of Mayon volcano that are vulnerable to lahar flows. Classes in all level have resumed Tuesday, Jan. 22, in the island provinces of Catanduanes and Masbate, while in Albay and Camarines Sur classes remained suspended until today (Tuesday), the OCD reported.