THE NUMBER of distressed families has peaked at the Disaster Response Command Center of the Social Welfare department head office in Quezon City, following the eruption of Mount Kanlaon on Negros Island on Monday night. — PHILIPPINE STAR/MIGUEL DE GUZMAN

By Ashley Erika O. Jose, Reporter

AT LEAST 66 domestic flights have been canceled since Mount Kanlaon erupted early Monday night in the central Philippine island of Negros, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) said Tuesday.

“All flights going to Bacolod were canceled for the safety of the public. We have already released a notice to inform all stakeholders to make them aware of the dangers of flying in Bacolod. All major carriers have canceled their flights,” CAAP Deputy Director General for Operations Edgardo G. Diaz said in a media briefing.

In a statement, AirAsia Philippines said it has canceled at least six flights, while eight flights are delayed and another two have been rerouted. These include its Manila-Cebu-Manila, Manila-Bacolod-Manila, and Manila-Iloilo-Manila flights.

“The safety of our flight crew and guests is always a top priority. To minimize any inconvenience brought by the cancellations, AirAsia is offering standard recovery options to ensure travel plans of our guests may push through once the situation improves,” Steve F. Dailisan, head for communications and public affairs at AirAsia Philippines, said in a media release.

Data from the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) showed that due to the moderate level of volcanic unrest, Mt. Kanlaon was placed under Alert Level 2.

Flag carrier Philippine Airlines canceled some of its flights particularly those bound to and from Bacolod, Cebu, Iloilo.

Cebu Pacific’s website showed that it has also canceled several of its flights between Manila and Iloilo, Manila and Bacolod, General Santos and Iloilo, Cebu and Iloilo, Cagayan and Iloilo.

Meanwhile, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) said they were extending immediate assistance to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) whose flights were affected by the cancellations.

“The OWWA Regional Welfare Office of Region 7 will send a request for the provision of dusk masks and face masks, as well as safe drinking water. These are the urgent needs of the affected families in the area, and we want to ensure that we have supplies available for any overseas Filipino worker (OFW) families that may be affected,” the OWWA Region 7 told BusinessWorld in a Messenger chat.

It added that based on their Membership Processing Center as of Jan. 11, 2024, there are 1,282 land-based and 163 sea-based OFWs in Kanlaon City.

There are no reported affected families yet in the city based on OWWA’s coordination with the local government. — with a report from Chloe Mari A. Hufana

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