Some 4,500 individuals in Calabarzon have been affected by the seismic activities of Taal Volcano in Batangas, with 2,500 people in temporary shelters or homes of relatives, the Department of Social Welfare and Development said Monday.
DSWD Undersecretary Felicisimo Budiongan said the DSWD sent 200 tents to the Batangas Sports Center and 1 million face masks for the affected residents.
Around 2,000 food packs were provided to Laurel, and 1,500 to Agoncillo, and 5,000 in Bataan Sports Complex.
Alert Level 3 remains in effect over Taal Volcano on Monday, which means magma extruding from the main crater could drive an explosive eruption, according to Phivolcs.
Citing data from the Batangas Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, Mark Cashean Timbal, National DRRMC spokesperson, said around 1,076 families or 3,617 individuals were being sheltered in 22 evacuation centers while another 537 families were with their relatives as of Sunday night.
"Majority of our evacuees come from (the towns of) Laurel and Agoncillo. The count also includes evacuees from municipalities that had voluntary evacuations," Timbal said.
The entire Taal Volcano Island is a Permanent Danger Zone and entry into the island as well as high-risk barangays of Agoncillo and Laurel is prohibited.
Taal Volcano's SO2 (sulfur oxide) gas emissions Sunday were “anomalously high” at an average of 22,628 tonnes per day, the highest it ever recorded, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said.
Alert Level 3 still prevails and the current SO2 parameters indicate ongoing magmatic extrusion at the main crater that may further drive succeeding explosions, Phivolcs said.
In Congress, the chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on
Ways and Means called on the national government to make preparations on energy supply, industrial continuity, emergency response, and economic relief in response to a possible eruption of the Taal Volcano.
Rep. Joey Salceda of Albay, the committee chairperson, at the same time, pushed for the passage of his House Bill 5977, or the proposed Taal Eruption Recovery Rehabilitation and Adaptation (TERRA) Act, which aims to develop a long-term socioeconomic reconstruction program for communities most directly impacted by Taal’s activity, embedding adaptation in infrastructure and social investments.
“The (TERRA) plan shall be based on the principle of building back better forward which should go beyond restoring the area to its former state or condition but instead use this opportunity to leapfrog area development given its proximity to Metro Manila–the seat of economic power," Salceda said in an aide-memoire explaining the measure.
The bill, according to Salceda, promotes the safe, sustainable, long-term development of what shall be referred to as the South of Manila Growth Corridor through the fast-tracking of the construction of strategic infrastructure, as well as the mapping of safe areas for industrial, commercial, and residential development, similar to what was done in Guicadale.
According to the latest Phivolcs bulletin, “in the past 24-hour period, the Taal Volcano Network recorded 17 volcanic earthquakes, including one volcanic tremor event having a duration of 45 minutes, 16 low frequency volcanic earthquakes, and low-level background tremor that has persisted since 08 April 2021.”
“The energy sector is particularly at risk. All of our natural gas power plants and several geothermal, coal, and biomass power plants are in Batangas. Power rates are already at elevated levels, year-on-year. The reserves are very thin. So, we have to prepare, and see which power generators can be tapped from outside the area to fill in the grid’s demand in case the worst possibility takes place and Taal actually erupts violently,” Salceda said.
Meanwhile, DOH officials warned the public not to go near Taal Volcano after Phivolcs said it had recorded the highest sulfur dioxide emission due to the volcano’s activity over the weekend.
Dr. Voltaire Guadalupe, head of Calabarzon region's Health Emergency Medical Service said those who may be exposed to sulfur dioxide should immediately take a bath or wash areas exposed to the toxic substance.
Inhaling sulfur dioxide may lead to "irritation of the respiratory tract, so asthmatics should be very wary," Guadalupe said during an online press briefing.
In related developments, the DOH said more COVID-19 antigen test kits had been sent to evacuation centers, and more COVID-19 vaccines will be allocated for thousands of individuals affected by the Taal Volcano’s eruption.
In a briefing, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire had assured the public that authorities were prepared for calamities.
“We are hoping that by vaccinating individuals and also monitoring them through antigen test kits and symptomatic monitoring, we will be able to prevent further infections in the evacuation centers,” Vergeire said.
Dr. Voltaire Guadalupe from DOH Region 4A said there were only a few COVID-19 cases in Agoncillo, Batangas and other towns near the Taal Volcano.
All have been isolated and are under monitoring by health workers.
The Department of Public Works and Highways has deployed at least 826 personnel with 107 equipment around Taal Volcano in case another explosive eruption happens.
DPWH Secretary Mark Villar said that the Quick Response Teams of DPWH Regional Office IV-A and all its 16 District Engineering Offices are ready to assist in the event of evacuation and clearing operation of national roads.
Command centers are located in DPWH Batangas 1st DEO in Balayan, Batangas, Batangas 2nd DEO in Kumintang Ilaya, Batangas City, Batangas 3rd DEO in Tanauan, Batangas, Batangas 4th DEO in Lipa City, Batangas, Cavite 2nd DEO in Alfonzo, Cavite, and Cavite 3rd DEO in Carmona, Cavite.
“These command centers will ensure that national roads and bridges in their area are passable and shall identify alternative roads for response operations. They shall also provide temporary structures to restore mobility when necessary,” Villar added.
At the same time, PNP chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar on Monday ordered the PNP Medical Reserve Force to prepare for possible deployment to help speed up the COVID-19 vaccination drive in Batangas amid the seismic activities of Taal Volcano.
This, after Batangas Governor Hermilando Mandanas said hospitals in the province were in full capacity of COVID-19 patients.
Eleazar said he visited some of the evacuation centers in the municipalities of Laurel and Agoncillo on Sunday to check on the condition of the evacuees and assess the security and other needs of the residents affected by the Taal Volcano rumblings.