The Office of Civil Defense in Negros Island Region is mulling over the need to raise to three the alert level at Kanlaon Volcano.

As of this writing, the volcano is under Alert Level 2. 

One of the factors the office is taking into consideration is the volcano’s moderately explosive eruption, which occurred three times, in just two months.

The most recent moderately explosive eruption happened on March 15, 2026. Prior to that, the volcano erupted on February 19 and 26.

The most recent activity generated a kilometer-high eruption column that drifted southwest.

“Ang advice ng PHIVOLCS kasi, medyo frequent na ang moderately explosive niya. Kung maging technical sila sa parameters ng pag-escalate ng alert level, sana nandoon na tayo sa Alert Level 3. Kaya lang, kina-calibrate pa nila ang pagtaas ng alert level kasi marami pang considerations,” said Donato Sermeno III, Regional Director of OCD-NIR.

Up to 50 barangays in 10 local government units were affected by ash fall from the eruption on March 15.

These LGUs include the towns of Binalbagan, La Castellana, Moises Padilla, Hinigaran, Isabela, Pontevedra, and Ilog, and the cities of San Carlos, Himaymaylan, and Kabankalan.

In its update to OCD-NIR, PHIVOLCS said it is keeping a close eye on reduced sulfur dioxide emission at the volcano, which resulted in the path of volcanic gases getting blocked.

(Report from GMA Regional TV One Western Visayas)