Evacuees who fled their homes in Batangas due to the eruption of Taal Volcano will get priority for COVID-19 vaccine shots, the provincial disaster official said Friday.
Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) chief Joselito Castro told radio dzBB that the national government vowed to provide a supply of vaccines to the evacuation centers.
Castro said health protocols are being observed in the evacuation of affected residents to avoid the spread of COVID-19.
Senator Joel Villanueva, however, warned that the Taal eruption could disrupt vaccine supply arrivals and hurt the economy.
The government, he said, should brace for any impact brought about by Taal Volcano’s eruption as the unrest could trigger several events, for a closure of the airport that could delay vaccine shipments, to factories in the area suspending work.
He suggested that the government put on standby the P6.37 billion Quick Reaction Fund component of the Calamity Fund in the 2021 national budget.
That amount is distributed among eight agencies in the Public Works and Highways, Education, Health, Interior and Local Governments, Agriculture and National Defense departments.
“From a planning perspective, let’s assume the worst-case scenario, and be proactive in anticipating the needs of affected residents,” Villanueva said.
He also urged the government to prepare to help those who could be displaced from their homes.
He said the Jan. 12, 2020 eruption of Taal Volcano was a preview on how “the world’s smallest active volcano can cause big damage in places beyond its immediate danger zone.”
During the eruption, he said the ashfall caused the cancellation of 643 flights at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and Clark airport in Pampanga, affecting more than 100,000 passengers.
“If that happens again, heaven forbid, what’s our Plan B for flights carrying imported vaccines? And how will we dispatch vaccines to provinces because we’re using Manila as a base,” he said.
He also cautioned against an economic fallout, “and it comes at a time when factories are restarting their operations.”
Within the 50-kilometer radius of the volcano lies the biggest concentration of factories, he said, referring to economic zones in the Batangas, Laguna, and Cavite areas.
Tourism and services will also be affected as Tagaytay and other areas in Cavite and Batangas are Metro Manila’s “nearest rest and recreation place.”
The last time Taal erupted, it displaced close to 550,000 people.
He said local governments who are having a hard time making ends meet during the pandemic do not have the resources to confront “a double whammy, a double V – virus and volcano.
Meanwhile, police were told to coordinate with local officials to ensure that minimum health and safety protocols against COVID-19 are observed inside the evacuation centers in Batangas.
Philippine National Police chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said on Friday there should be guidelines as COVID-19 remains a threat.