The provincial disaster risk reduction and management office (PDRRMO) of Batangas called on the national government on Sunday, July 4, to provide additional supply of masks, medicines, family tents for isolation, and other medical equipment as some evacuees -- particularly children -- in packed evacuation centers started catching cold, cough, and other diseases due to Taal Volcano's continuous emission of toxic gases.
Lito Castro, chief of Batangas PDRRMO, said the local government unit (LGU) has deployed healthcare workers and mobile clinics to cater to the needs of those who are getting sick in evacuation centers.
As of 5 a.m. Sunday, a total of 928 families or 3,462 individuals have evacuated in high-risk areas in Batangas.
The affected areas include Brgy. Poblacion and Sinturisan in San Nicolas town; Brgy. Gulod, Buso Buso, Bugaan West, and Bugaan East in Laurel; Brgy. Subic Ilaya, Banyaga, and Bilibinwang in Agoncillo; Brgy. Apacay in Taal; Brgy. Luyos and Boot in Tanauan City; and Brgy. San Sebastian in Balete.
Castro said the deployed mobile clinics have catered to at least three individuals who got sick while in evacuation centers even as he assured that the healthcare workers are prepared to manage these eventualities.
"Noong magkaroon ng advisory ang PHIVOLCS na delikado pong malanghap itong sulfur dioxide, sinunod naman po ng mga tao ang payo na stay at home, drink plenty of water at use mask lalo kung lalabas sila. Marahil nakatulong ng malaki iyon para maiwasan ang masamang dulot ng volcanic gas (When the PHIVOLCS issued an advisory that it would be harmful if they inhale sulfur dioxide from the volcano, the residents followed our advice to them to just stay at home, drink plenty of water, and use mask whenever they go outside. Perhaps it helped a lot in avoiding the harmful effects of the volcanic gas)," Castro said in a radio interview over dzBB.
To avoid the spread of diseases, the packed evacuation centers, according to Castro, were already being decongested. He said this will also limit the face-to-face contact of the evacuees which is deemed crucial since the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic also poses an additional threat to the residents.
He said evacuees from five barangays in Agoncillo and Laurel had no choice but to stay in packed shelters because it was the design of the LGU's disaster plan.
When Taal Volcano erupted last year, Castro said they crafted a plan where evacuees from the 14 towns in Batangas that are considered as "high-risk" areas have to be accommodated by 20 other local government units (LGUs) in the province to avoid congestion in evacuation centers.
"Itong 14 na bayan sa worst case scenario gaya noong isang taon, may nakalaan naman po na 20 bayan, kasi 34 LGUs po kami, na preparado para i-accommodate ang mga apektado ng pagputok ng bulkan. Even ang mga kapitbahay sa Calabarzon mayroon din nakaprepare na evacuation centers (In case of a worst case scenario like last year, the 14 towns can be accommodated by the 20 other towns because we have 34 LGUs in total)," he explained.
However, Castro said the PHIVOLCS released an advisory that only five barangays from Agoncillo and Laurel were initially considered as risk areas.
"Ang movement ay within their locality. Ang LGU disaster plan ay i-move muna sa mas malayong barangay nila (The residents were moved within their locality only. The LGU disaster plan was to move them temporarily in farther barangays)," he said.
"Ito ang dahilan kung bakit sa unang bugso ng evacuation, hindi po ideal ang bilang ng dapat ay nasa evacuation center. Iyon pong lugar na medyo masikip, dini-decongest na po ngayon at itina-transfer na sa mga bayan na sadyang host po ng ating IDPs (This is the reason why the number of evacuees in the centers was not ideal in the first wave . The packed areas are now being decongested and transferred to other municipalities that are intended to host the IDPs)," he added.
Bad weather
Meanwhile, Castro said the bad weather being experienced in the province also added woes to the already difficult situation of the evacuees.
He said modular tents that were supposed to separate each family of the evacuees could hardly be used as these would be easily destroyed due to the strong wind and occassional rain.
"Dahil may LPA , hindi aplikable ang tent kaya nasa rooms lang sila. Sinisikap po ng ating provincial health office at rural health units na iprovide ang kanilang pangangailangan. (Because of the LPA, the tents are not applicable to be used that's why they have to stay in rooms. Our provincial health unit and rural health units are striving to provide all of their needs)," Castro said.
He said the provincial government has been searching for fixed structures such as covered courts or schools where they can set up the modular tents and decongest the evacuation centers.
Two LPAs that have entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) are now being monitored by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).
The first LPA was spotted 780 km east of Guiuan, Eastern Samar and is moving northwest toward the extreme northern Luzon and Taiwan.
Meanwhile, the second LPA formed in the vicinity of Southern Luzon on Saturday night and brought light to moderate rains in parts of Metro Manila, Central Luzon (Region 3), and Calabarzon (Region 4A) including Batangas.
Vaccination
Further, Castro said preparations are underway to push through with the planned mass vaccination of evacuees against COVID-19.
He said the provincial health office was already fixing the masterlist of the priority individuals in every municipality as 3,500 COVID-19 vaccines arrived in Batangas last Friday.
"Salamat po sa NCR, nagpaubaya sila na sa halip sila ang unang gumamit, may ipinadala po sa amin na 3,500 vaccines at tuluy-tuloy po na nagdadatingan po ang mga vaccines (We thank the NCR because they gave way and agreed to allocate 3,500 vaccines that were intended for them as more vaccines are on the way)," Castro said.