PCSO readies medical aid to Mayon evacuees

THE Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), through its Charity Assistance Department (CAD), will be providing medical assistance to evacuees and families affected by eruptions of Mayon Volcano in Albay in the Bicol Region.

“I’ve already instructed our Charity Assistance Department to keep tab of the situation on the ground, [especially in] evacuation centers. And also, coordinate with the provincial hospital there and other hospitals [for immediate assistance to those who will need help],” PCSO General Manager Alexander Balutan said on Monday.

Balutan added that the agency will shoulder the hospitalization of victims and will provide medicines for the evacuees.

Albay province was placed under a state of calamity on January 16 to allow the local government to fully mobilize all agencies and resources to respond to emergencies.

As of January 17 at 8 a.m., the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Center of Albay had reported 36 barangay (villages), 9,291 families and 37,739 persons affected in Legazpi City, Tabaco City, Ligao City, Daraga, Camalig, Guinobatan, Malilipot and Santo Domingo.

Dr. Jose Gochoco Jr., officer-in-charge of the Office of the Assistant General Manager for Charity Sector at the Lung Center of the Philippines in Quezon City, said Balutan’s instructions have been relayed to all PCSO branches in the Bicol Region to join hands and provide assistance to the Mayon victims.

“We will maximize our assistance, depending on the patients’ needs and the severity of the situation. We will act accordingly. We are on standby,” Gochoco added.

The PCSO has a yearly calamity fund of P100 million approved by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for natural and man-made disasters.

Requests for financial assistance are being made in the hospital or health facility through the Individual Medical Assistance Program (IMAP).

Patients who are confined in any health facility, those receiving health care management as outpatients, those who are undergoing dialysis, receiving cancer treatment and needing medicines, cardio and transplant procedures or rehabilitative therapy can avail of the IMAP.

Albay social worker Charo Loilo reported that apart from portable toilets, no immediate health assistance is needed as the people are still being evacuated.

“We just noticed people going back to their homes to take a bath or do their personal necessities. Portalets [portable toilets] are needed right now,” Loilo said.

Some of the common health issues encountered in the past included cuts and bruises during evacuation, high blood pressure, respiratory sicknesses and infections (caused by ash falls and fumes), asthma, severe coughs and colds and heart attacks.

On Monday, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) reported that while Mayon Volcano is not yet “explosive,” authorities are not discounting possible eruption as pyroclastic flow, which contains volcanic gas, ashes and fragments, is slowly flowing out of the crater.

Alert Level 3 has remained in Mayon Volcano in Albay, which means a “hazardous” eruption is possible within weeks or even days.

The Phivolcs will raise Alert Level 4 should there be an indication of hazardous explosion with “lava fountaining” based on gas content and frequency of recorded tremors.

As of 2017, it had recorded 51 eruptions in Mayon.