Kanlaon eruption triggers price freeze in Negros Occidental town

Prices of essential commodities in Negros Occidental's La Castellana town would remain unchanged for at least 60 days as the Department of Trade and  Industry (DTI) implemented a price freeze following the eruption of  Mount Kanlaon.

The price freeze covers commodities such as canned sardines, tomato sauce, milk, coffee, loaf bread, pandesal,  instant noodles, salt, laundry detergent, bottled water, and candles, as reported in a GMA News Bulletin on Sunday.

This comes as La Castellana was placed under a state of calamity following the  Kanlaon eruption, with rains causing lahar flows from the volcano resulting in a cement-like flood along the streets.

Mayor Rhumyla Mangilimutan said crops in the upper barangays of La Castellana were mostly hit by the eruption, with rains containing ashfall and pebbles destroying vegetation in five barangays.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) said 17  volcanic earthquakes occurred at Kanlaon Volcano on Saturday after it raised the alert at Kanlaon Volcano from Level 1 to Level 2 last week. — Jon Viktor Cabuenas/DVM, GMA Integrated News