Albay governor Edcel Greco 'Grex' Lagman on Monday questioned the evacuation order of the local chief executives in the Municipalities of Sto. Domingo and Guinobatan.
In a press briefing, Lagman said 44% of the total number of evacuees in the province came from the two towns — which are not included in the six-kilometer radius Permanent Danger Zone (PDZ) of Mayon Volcano.
"Hindi ko maintindihan kay Mayor [Joseling] Aguas at Mayor [Chino] Garcia kung bakit nag-evacuate sila kung wala naman ang ine-evacuate nila sa six kilometers danger zone," he said.
According to Lagman, data showed that the local government of Sto. Domingo has evacuated 1,688 families, which is 29 percent of the total evacuees.
While Guinobatan has 377 evacuated families, contributing 15 percent to the total evacuees.
"There is no science behind their actions. Ngayon, namomblema na sa response efforts," he stressed.
The Albay governor cited that the state seismologist already said that only towns inside the six-kilometer PDZ should be evacuated.
Lagman said he will be calling the two Mayors for a meeting to justify their order.
Meanwhile, in an update, the Albay Provincial Information Office (PIO) said the Albay Provincial Public Safety and Emergency Management Office (APSEMO) will conduct a validation in the evacuation centers in the province in accordance with Lagman's order.
The Albay PIO said the validation move is expected to correct the number of families and individuals who were affected by the Mayon Volcano's high level of unrest.
