No to Taal 'window hours' – disaster official
Published Jan 20, 2020 12:00 am
By Genalyn Kabiling
Local government units in Batangas should no longer give residents window hours to return to their houses near Taal Volcano amid the lingering danger, disaster response officials said Monday.
Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) Deputy Administrator Casiano Monilla (TWITTER)
Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) Deputy Administrator Casiano Monilla said authorities must instead strictly implement the evacuation of residents within the 14-kilometer danger zone around the restive volcano for public safety.
“Kung meron man mga (If there are) local government officials that allow the entry of their people, I hope that they will stop that dahil hindi natin puwedeng i-determine kung kailan darating iyong eruption na ito (because we cannot determine when it will erupt),” he said during the “Laging Handa” press briefing in Malacañang Monday.
Monilla said there was no guarantee the volcano would not erupt during the window hours enforced by some local government officials.
“The danger is there, alam natin na darating and it will only… masasabi lang natin na dumating na pag nangyari na po ito (The danger is there. We know it will come and we can only say it is here when it happens),” he said. “We cannot say na isang window na iyan na apat na oras ay hindi mangyayari iyang eruption na iyan (We cannot say that nothing will happen in the four-hour window),” he added.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) has kept Alert Level 4 status of Taal Volcano, warning of hazardous explosive eruption is possible within hours or days. An evacuation of Taal Volcano Island and high-risk areas within the 14-km raise from the crater has been ordered. Some local officials, however, have reportedly allowed residents to briefly return to their homes to retrieve belongings and animals.
Given the threat posed by Taal, Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Epimaco Densing III said 14 towns in Batangas have been placed on “lockdown” to prevent residents from going back to their homes.
“Nakarinig ho kami ng news na nag-allow po sila ng kaunting window sa Tanauan, pero inuulit po namin as of the moment, atin pong dine-direct iyong ating mga local DRRMC or Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council sa bawat lokalidad na huwag na pong payagang makapasok doon sa 14-kilometer radius or danger zone na in-identify po ng Phivolcs (We heard the news that window hours were allowed in Tanauan. We repeat that as of the moment, we have directed the local disaster risk reduction and management council in every locality not to allow any entry within the 14 kilometer radius or danger zone identified by Phivolcs),” he said in the same press briefing.
He said Phivolcs has no plan to downgrade the Alert Level status 4 of Taal volcano given its continued restive activity as of Monday. He appealed to the affected residents to follow government warnings about the volcano.
“It remains to be at alert status number 4, kaya po delikado po ang sitwasyon ngayon, kaya lagi po tayong handa (so the situation is dangerous so we must be always ready)," he said.
Densing also said around 10,240 policemen are now on standby for deployment in case the Taal situation worsens. At present, 2,820 search and rescue police personnel have been deployed on the ground.
“Ready po iyong ating kapulisan para tumulong in terms of public safety and public order (Our policemen are ready to help in terms of public safety and public order),” he added.
Meanwhile, Monilla said the damage caused by Taal to the agricultural sector has reached over P3 billion.
He said the Department of Social Welfare and Development and Department of Health have provided assistance worth P17 million to the communities affected by Taal.
Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) Deputy Administrator Casiano Monilla (TWITTER)
Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) Deputy Administrator Casiano Monilla said authorities must instead strictly implement the evacuation of residents within the 14-kilometer danger zone around the restive volcano for public safety.
“Kung meron man mga (If there are) local government officials that allow the entry of their people, I hope that they will stop that dahil hindi natin puwedeng i-determine kung kailan darating iyong eruption na ito (because we cannot determine when it will erupt),” he said during the “Laging Handa” press briefing in Malacañang Monday.
Monilla said there was no guarantee the volcano would not erupt during the window hours enforced by some local government officials.
“The danger is there, alam natin na darating and it will only… masasabi lang natin na dumating na pag nangyari na po ito (The danger is there. We know it will come and we can only say it is here when it happens),” he said. “We cannot say na isang window na iyan na apat na oras ay hindi mangyayari iyang eruption na iyan (We cannot say that nothing will happen in the four-hour window),” he added.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) has kept Alert Level 4 status of Taal Volcano, warning of hazardous explosive eruption is possible within hours or days. An evacuation of Taal Volcano Island and high-risk areas within the 14-km raise from the crater has been ordered. Some local officials, however, have reportedly allowed residents to briefly return to their homes to retrieve belongings and animals.
Given the threat posed by Taal, Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Epimaco Densing III said 14 towns in Batangas have been placed on “lockdown” to prevent residents from going back to their homes.
“Nakarinig ho kami ng news na nag-allow po sila ng kaunting window sa Tanauan, pero inuulit po namin as of the moment, atin pong dine-direct iyong ating mga local DRRMC or Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council sa bawat lokalidad na huwag na pong payagang makapasok doon sa 14-kilometer radius or danger zone na in-identify po ng Phivolcs (We heard the news that window hours were allowed in Tanauan. We repeat that as of the moment, we have directed the local disaster risk reduction and management council in every locality not to allow any entry within the 14 kilometer radius or danger zone identified by Phivolcs),” he said in the same press briefing.
He said Phivolcs has no plan to downgrade the Alert Level status 4 of Taal volcano given its continued restive activity as of Monday. He appealed to the affected residents to follow government warnings about the volcano.
“It remains to be at alert status number 4, kaya po delikado po ang sitwasyon ngayon, kaya lagi po tayong handa (so the situation is dangerous so we must be always ready)," he said.
Densing also said around 10,240 policemen are now on standby for deployment in case the Taal situation worsens. At present, 2,820 search and rescue police personnel have been deployed on the ground.
“Ready po iyong ating kapulisan para tumulong in terms of public safety and public order (Our policemen are ready to help in terms of public safety and public order),” he added.
Meanwhile, Monilla said the damage caused by Taal to the agricultural sector has reached over P3 billion.
He said the Department of Social Welfare and Development and Department of Health have provided assistance worth P17 million to the communities affected by Taal.