Gatchalian defends Phivolcs over supposed lapse in eruption warning
Published Jan 16, 2020 12:00 am
By Hannah Torregoza
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian on Thursday defended the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) against criticisms over its supposed failure to predict Taal Volcano’s eruption last Sunday.
Sen. Sherwin T. Gatchalian (FACEBOOK / MANILA BULLETIN)
“In due fairness to Phivolcs, I haven’t seen any agency in the world that can predict volcanic eruption,” Gatchalian said in a Kapihan sa Senado forum. “There is no technology, no system or software, that can accurately predict volcanic eruption. Phivolcs did their best to issue warnings.”
Gatchalian said this when asked whether Phivolcs should be investigated over perceived lapses in predicting Taal Volcano’s behavior.
Some House lawmakers are calling for a legislative inquiry into Phivolcs’ monitoring of Taal, claiming that the lack of information from the agency endangered residents near the volcano after it suddenly spewed a giant ash cloud on Sunday.
Phivolcs first hoisted Alert Level 2 over Taal on Sunday, which climbed to Alert Level 4 after the volcano showed increased activity. But prior to this, officials of the agency have been warning of increased activity in Taal since last year.
Taal remains under Alert Level 4 as authorities warn of a possible “hazardous explosive eruption" in a matter of hours or days.
President Duterte supported calls for a legislative inquiry, but said he too is satisfied with the work of state volcanologists, said Salvador Panelo, presidential spokesperson.
Gatchalian said he doesn’t believe that Phivolcs was remiss in its job to warn the citizenry about Taal’s rumblings, saying it is the job of citizens to heed the warnings issued by the agency. He also said it is the job of local government units to be prepared in times of disaster and natural calamities.
“I've been closely monitoring the situation and when it comes to disaster mitigation, it is important to know if an area is hazardous,” he pointed out.
“But we can see that some local officials allowed people to inhabit the area despite the fact authorities have been saying that Taal is an active volcano. So the question is, why did they allow people to live there when it is considered a danger zone?”
The lawmaker said Taal Volcano’s eruption should serve as a reminder to LGUs to strictly enforce the rules when it comes to danger zones. “Moving forward, we should now stop constituents from going there and living in that area as part of disaster mitigation.”
Gatchalian said the government should also ensure that LGUs are capable of responding immediately to emergency situations and at the same time have the funds for disaster and calamity relief and rescue operations.
READ MORE: Gatchalian calls for establishment of permanent evacuation centers nationwide
Sen. Sherwin T. Gatchalian (FACEBOOK / MANILA BULLETIN)
“In due fairness to Phivolcs, I haven’t seen any agency in the world that can predict volcanic eruption,” Gatchalian said in a Kapihan sa Senado forum. “There is no technology, no system or software, that can accurately predict volcanic eruption. Phivolcs did their best to issue warnings.”
Gatchalian said this when asked whether Phivolcs should be investigated over perceived lapses in predicting Taal Volcano’s behavior.
Some House lawmakers are calling for a legislative inquiry into Phivolcs’ monitoring of Taal, claiming that the lack of information from the agency endangered residents near the volcano after it suddenly spewed a giant ash cloud on Sunday.
Phivolcs first hoisted Alert Level 2 over Taal on Sunday, which climbed to Alert Level 4 after the volcano showed increased activity. But prior to this, officials of the agency have been warning of increased activity in Taal since last year.
Taal remains under Alert Level 4 as authorities warn of a possible “hazardous explosive eruption" in a matter of hours or days.
President Duterte supported calls for a legislative inquiry, but said he too is satisfied with the work of state volcanologists, said Salvador Panelo, presidential spokesperson.
Gatchalian said he doesn’t believe that Phivolcs was remiss in its job to warn the citizenry about Taal’s rumblings, saying it is the job of citizens to heed the warnings issued by the agency. He also said it is the job of local government units to be prepared in times of disaster and natural calamities.
“I've been closely monitoring the situation and when it comes to disaster mitigation, it is important to know if an area is hazardous,” he pointed out.
“But we can see that some local officials allowed people to inhabit the area despite the fact authorities have been saying that Taal is an active volcano. So the question is, why did they allow people to live there when it is considered a danger zone?”
The lawmaker said Taal Volcano’s eruption should serve as a reminder to LGUs to strictly enforce the rules when it comes to danger zones. “Moving forward, we should now stop constituents from going there and living in that area as part of disaster mitigation.”
Gatchalian said the government should also ensure that LGUs are capable of responding immediately to emergency situations and at the same time have the funds for disaster and calamity relief and rescue operations.
READ MORE: Gatchalian calls for establishment of permanent evacuation centers nationwide