Malacañang has cautioned the public over the vog produced by Taal Volcano which has so far forced suspension of classes in three provinces in Luzon.

Presidential Communications Office (PCO)-Natural Calamities and Disasters spokesperson Joey Villarama urged the public to take extra precaution due to the observed “vog” or volcanic smog from Taal Volcano in Batangas.

"Nanawagan din po tayo sa ating mga kababayan yung kaukulang pag-iingat lang po. Ginagawa naman po ng gobyerno ang lahat para hindi po maging malaki yung impact nitong pag-alburoto ng Taal (We are appealing to our fellowmen to take precaution. The government is doing everything to minimize the impact of Taal's unrest)," Villarama said in an interview on Tuesday, Aug. 20.

"So kaya mag-ingat po tayo and obviously nandiyaan din po yung coordination din ng mga government agencies kasi kung kailangan po lumikas yung mga affected inhabitants and residences po in the vicinity or yung nasasaklaw po ng taal volcano diyaan po kailangan po mag-coordinate at magtulungan po (So, take care and obviously the coordination of government agencies is in place because they need to coordinate and assist each other in the event of evacuation of affected inhabitants in the vicinity)," Villarama added.

They were also advised to refrain from leaving their homes if they do not have necessary things to do outside.

"[H]anggang maari po kung hindi kailangan lumabas ng bahay, ay huwag po tayo lumabas ng bahay. Yung mga mag-aaral nga po natin ay online classes po sila lalo na doon sa mga apektadong lugar (As much as possible do not go outside your houses. Even our students in affected areas are now doing online class)," the PCO official said.

Villarama further told the public to practice other precautionary measures that they deem needed like wearing face mask, raincoat, or goggles to protect themselves from the volcanic smog.

According to the Office of Civil Defense (OCD), Taal Volcano remains under Alert Level 1 although the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) recorded a degassing activity on the volcano in the past 24 hours.

The vog produced by Taal Volcano enveloped parts of Batangas, Cavite and Laguna. As a result, 40 local government units (LGUs) have cancelled their face-to-face classes and shifted to modular distance learning: 25 in Batangas, 10 in Cavite, and five in Laguna.