LEGAZPI CITY -- The Office of Civil Defense in Bicol has sought the need to establish an institutionalized disaster management office in nearby Sorsogon to immediately enforce disaster mitigating measures in that province.

        Raffy Alejandro, OCD regional director during a roundtable discussion held here recently admitted difficulty in enforcing efficient intervention on disaster preparedness and emergency response due to the absence of a disaster management office in Sorsogon which is being threatened by the erratic behavior of Mt. Bulusan.

        “That makes our decision-making difficult. We get conflicting information and have difficulty calling on action officers during Mt. Bulusan’s restiveness,” he said referring to the absence of an office concerned with enforcing anti-disaster or preventive measures in times of calamity as they are now experiencing in Sorsogon with Mt. Bulusan imminent eruptions.

        He urged Sorsogon Gov. Sally Lee to create a permanent position for disaster management office to quickly respond to eventualities.

        Among the six provinces in Bicol, Albay is the only province with existing institutionalized provincial disaster management office which is headed by Cedric Daep.

        Daep’s office supports programs on disaster prevention and control and provides an opportunity to re-educate the community on different harzards and effects of disasters and calamities.

        Sorsogon is one of the areas in Bicol classified as high risk like Albay due to the presence of volcanoes.

        Alejandro explained that Sorsogon has eleven inactive volcanoes and one active which is Mt. Bulusan that has been showing restiveness since last year.