Daraga, Albay — Albay 2nd District Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda, a guest at the opening of the Cagsawa Festival 2025 here early this week, said the tragedy of the 1814 Mayon eruption that buried the Cagsawa church and its community, has imparted to Albayanos lessons in preemptive evacuation and the “zero casualty” idea.
The lawmaker recalled that when he entered public service many years ago, the lessons of the tragedy became a hallmark of his advocacy “to avoid disasters by moving people out of harm’s way.”
“The disastrous act of nature cannot be prevented, but it could be avoided,” Salceda said before guests and government officials at the historic Cagsawa Ruins in this town.
Having served as Albay governor for nine years, he has since strongly advocated a proven program in disaster risk reduction management that pioneered the principles of preemptive evacuation and zero casualty.
“It may look very simple, but the implications are wide and can be extrapolated in many ways. One must have a clear objective: zero casualty,” Salceda said.
He quoted a historical account of the decision to build a new church up the Santa Maria hills (now the Church of the Nuestra Señora dela Porteria), which had saved many from the 1814 eruption of Mayon Volcano. It also showed how resilient and anticipatory the Daraga population was during those times.
Many of the residents who opted to stay in the old Cagsawa settlement were killed during the eruption and were subsequently buried in lahar along with the church, whose bell tower is its only remnant still standing as a testament to the tragedy. This is now known worldwide as the leading Philippine tourist attraction of the Cagsawa Ruins.
Citing the Cagsawa account, Salceda “realized that the best way to save people from nature’s calamitous tragedy is to move them away from harm’s way long before it is anticipated to hit. Whether you’re rich or poor, or whatever station in life you are in, everybody has the human dignity and has the right to survive in the midst of disasters.”
“One must be able to see where the danger is coming from and where it is moving. Keep track, anticipate the movement of disasters. There are means and ways of rescuing people, but in Albay, we don’t rescue. We evacuate,” Salceda said.
“Teach them about the nature of disasters, how to avoid them, and how to mitigate their adverse effects. We’ve been doing these things for the province all these years, even now, that I’m no longer governor. But, of course, all of us will continue to do it for the love of our people,” he added.