Bicol disaster council on red alert due to Mayon unrest

LEGAZPI CITY --- The Bicol Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council – Emergency Operations Center (RDRRMC-EOC) has been placed on red alert to prepare for the possible impacts of Mayon Volcano's increasing activity.

Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Regional Director and Bicol RDRRMC chair Claudio Yucot said Wednesday that the alert status activates all response clusters.

Camp coordination and camp management, food and non-food items, and protection have been assigned to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD); health to the Department of Health (DOH); law and order to the Philippine National Police (PNP); logistics to the OCD; shelter to the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD); debris clearing to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH); crisis communication to the Philippine Information Agency (PIA); and education to the Department of Education (DepEd).

Yucot said cluster agencies must regularly report to the RDRRMC-EOC on the status of their operations from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily to give enough time for data consolidation.

“Evacuation of residents inside the six-kilometer Permanent Danger Zone shall be led by the local DRRMCs in coordination with the PDRRMC (Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council) and DILG (Department of the Interior and Local Government),” he said in a statement.

Yucot added that all response assets must be on standby for deployment and closely monitored.

The DSWD has distributed Ready-to-Eat Food (RTEF) boxes to displaced families in Camalig town, Albay.

A total of 163 RTEF boxes were given to families from Barangays Quirangay and Anoling, who are currently staying at Tagaytay Elementary School and Bariw Elementary School.

The RTEF boxes contain no-cook food such as pre-packaged arroz caldo, champorado, protein biscuits, and tuna paella. The relief items are intended to meet the immediate food needs of disaster-affected households while community kitchens are being set up.

Aside from RTEF, DSWD Bicol Director Norman Laurio said the agency will also distribute family food packs (FFPs) containing rice, canned goods, and powdered drinks.

In Tabaco City, modular tents have been provided to ensure that evacuees have safe and comfortable spaces in evacuation centers.

The agency’s mobile facilities will also be deployed to help ensure the continuous delivery of essential goods and services.

Meanwhile, Albay Governor Noel Rosal has suspended classes in all levels in schools located within Mayon's 6-km. radius Permanent Danger Zone (PDZ).

He also asked DepEd and concerned school heads, whose campuses are being used as evacuation centers, to shift to alternative learning modalities and coordinate with their respective local government units for support.

Rosal likewise directed the Albay Police Provincial Office and the Philippine Army to implement security measures around Mayon Volcano, strictly prohibiting entry within the 6-km.-radius PDZ.

The governor also banned all human activities inside the PDZ, including mountain climbing, orchid picking, and vegetable harvesting. (PNA)

RELIEF. Department of Social Welfare and Development in Bicol (DSWD-5) Regional Director Norman Laurio gives biscuits to children in an evacuation center in Camalig, Albay on Tuesday night (Jan. 6, 2026). More than 160 ready-to-eat food packs were distributed to Mayon-affected families. (Photo courtesy of DSWD-5)