Sotto urges long-term rehab plan for Batangas
Published Jan 27, 2020 12:00 am
By Vanne Elaine TerrazolaÂ
Senate President Vicente Sotto III on Monday called on his fellow lawmakers to come up with a comprehensive, long-term rehabilitation plan for Batangas province following eruption of Taal Volcano.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III
(PRIB Photo by Henz Austria/ MANILA BULLETIN) Sotto said that while government has already been responding to the immediate needs of the residents displaced by Taal's unrest, permanent measures should be in place to help them get back on their feet. "We have to start pooling our ideas to rehabilitate Batangas. We need permanent solutions to resolve post-disaster concerns and help Batanguenos recover," Sotto said in a statement. The Senate leader said the government should have learned from the calamities and disasters that previously gripped the country. He said it should be ready to implement rehabilitation programs once Taal Volcano quiets down and experts declare that the threat of a hazardous eruption is over. "Let us not forget the hard lessons we have learned from the rehabilitation of Tacloban and Marawi. We did not have ready programs to help those who were affected by these tragedies, to the chagrin of the residents who relied heavily on the government to help them get back on their feet again," he lamented. The long-term rehabilitation plans, according to Sotto, should include the provision of temporary and permanent homes to affected families, repair of roads, buildings and other infrastructures; and livelihood opportunities. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) on Sunday lowered the alert status for Taal Volcano from Level 4 to Level 3 as it noted a decrease in its activities. This prompted the Batangas provincial government to finally allow the hundreds of thousands of displaced residents to go back to their homes two weeks after the volcano erupted and spewed ash last January 12. Only the towns of Agoncillo and Laurel remain under lockdown due to their proximity to Taal. Despite lowering the alert status, the Phivolcs said the decreased volcanic activities "should not be interpreted that unrest has ceased or that the threat of a hazardous eruption has disap¬peared." President Duterte earlier asked Congress to pass a P30-billion supplemental budget to fund the government's recovery and rehabilitation plans for Batangas province.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III(PRIB Photo by Henz Austria/ MANILA BULLETIN) Sotto said that while government has already been responding to the immediate needs of the residents displaced by Taal's unrest, permanent measures should be in place to help them get back on their feet. "We have to start pooling our ideas to rehabilitate Batangas. We need permanent solutions to resolve post-disaster concerns and help Batanguenos recover," Sotto said in a statement. The Senate leader said the government should have learned from the calamities and disasters that previously gripped the country. He said it should be ready to implement rehabilitation programs once Taal Volcano quiets down and experts declare that the threat of a hazardous eruption is over. "Let us not forget the hard lessons we have learned from the rehabilitation of Tacloban and Marawi. We did not have ready programs to help those who were affected by these tragedies, to the chagrin of the residents who relied heavily on the government to help them get back on their feet again," he lamented. The long-term rehabilitation plans, according to Sotto, should include the provision of temporary and permanent homes to affected families, repair of roads, buildings and other infrastructures; and livelihood opportunities. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) on Sunday lowered the alert status for Taal Volcano from Level 4 to Level 3 as it noted a decrease in its activities. This prompted the Batangas provincial government to finally allow the hundreds of thousands of displaced residents to go back to their homes two weeks after the volcano erupted and spewed ash last January 12. Only the towns of Agoncillo and Laurel remain under lockdown due to their proximity to Taal. Despite lowering the alert status, the Phivolcs said the decreased volcanic activities "should not be interpreted that unrest has ceased or that the threat of a hazardous eruption has disap¬peared." President Duterte earlier asked Congress to pass a P30-billion supplemental budget to fund the government's recovery and rehabilitation plans for Batangas province.