Duterte OKs housing for Taal evacuees

MANILA, Philippines — More than 5,000 housing units originally allotted to soldiers and police personnel will be given to families affected by Taal Volcano’s unrest, Malacañang said yesterday.

Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said Human Settlements Secretary Eduardo del Rosario discussed the proposed permanent shelter sites for families displaced by Taal during last Monday’s Cabinet meeting.

The department said the 5,448 housing units allotted previously by the National Housing Authority to the military and police could be given to the displaced families. The units are located in Batangas, Laguna, Cavite and Quezon.

“The President approved the request of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development to offer these housing units as a grant to the displaced families instead and commended such act of generosity,” Panelo said in a statement.

Taal Volcano’s unrest last month affected more than 483,000 individuals or about 129,000 families, according to disaster management officials.

A total of 5,953 families or 20,927 individuals are still in 129 evacuation centers while 55,036 families or 204,912 persons are staying with their friends or relatives.?Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said the government and residents in affected areas should not relax yet, noting Taal Volcano is still under Alert Level 3. ??The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) downgraded the alert level due to the decline in volcanic earthquakes and weaker steam and gas emissions at its crater. ??

“Phivolcs and the government continues to monitor the situation. We already communicated with those beyond the seven-kilometer radius who have come back to their homes, they have to think of it as just temporary. If we need to evacuate them, they have to be ready to evacuate,” Nograles told the hosts of The Chiefs aired over Cignal TV’s One News channel.

Nograles said the government has found several possible relocation sites in Batangas, Cavite and Laguna.

He said agencies are discussing ways to provide livelihood to families to be relocated to safer areas.?“The primary consideration is safety. We have already made a decision that the seven-kilometer radius is no longer feasible as habitation. We are going to declare it as no build, no man’s land. We are left with no choice...I don’t think in the near future, we can allow them to go back within the seven-kilometer radius,” Nograles said. ??

Financial assistance

The almost 100 soldiers who helped in the rescue and evacuation efforts but were also victims of Taal Volcano’s unrest themselves have received help from the Philippine Army [PA].

Those who used to live within the seven-kilometer and 14-km danger zones received P10,000 and P5,000 in cash assistance, respectively.

Army chief Lt. Gen. Gilbert Gapay led the  awarding of cash assistance as part of his 55th birthday celebration at Fort Bonifacio on Tuesday, according to Army spokesman Col. Ramon Zagala.

At least 95 affected personnel received the financial assistance while other donations will be credited to their respective accounts.

Gapay said the initiative was in fulfillment of one of PA’s major thrusts, which is to uplift the morale of the troops.

“In our commitment to serve our country, especially in times of calamities, we end up neglecting our own safety,” Gapay said.

“The Philippine Army, aside from immediately responding to our countrymen in need, does not forget to extend assistance to our soldiers,” he added.

Threat remains

Meanwhile, a “crater glow” has been observed at the Mayon Volcano in Albay for the past two days, indicating that the remnant magma from a recent errupt “may be quietly rising”, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.

In a latest bulletin issued at 4 p.m. yesterday, the Phivolcs said that while earthquakes and sulfur dioxide emission from Mayon’s crater have already declined since the last magmatic erruption in March 2018, “a slight swelling or inflation of the edifice” has begun this month.

The threat of a possible eruption of Taal Volcano also remains as harmonic tremors and low-frequency quakes recorded in the last 24 hours indicate continuous magmatic activity underneath the volcano’s surface, the Phivolcs said. Phivolcs said the Taal Volcano Network recorded a total of 156 volcanic earthquakes, two of which were low-frequency quakes, while 18 were considered “harmonic tremors” or sustained quakes lasting for one to three minutes.

“These earthquakes signify magmatic activity beneath the Taal edifice that could lead to eruptive activity at the main crater,” Phivolcs said.

In the past 24 hours, activity in Taal’s main crater was characterized by weak emission of steam-laden plumes, about 50 to 100 meters high that drifted southwest.

Phivolcs said that as of Feb. 4, sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission from the volcano was measured at an average 55 tons per day.

Phivolcs warned the public that sudden steam-driven and even weak phreatomagmatic explosions, volcanic earthquakes, ashfall and lethal volcanic gas expulsions could still occur within the Taal Volcano island and nearby lakeshores.

It said alert level 3 remains over the volcano, which means that entry within the seven-kilometer radius from the main crater is strictly prohibited.

“Local government units are advised to assess areas outside the seven-kilometer radius for damage and road accessibilities, and to strengthen preparedness, contingency and communication measures in case of renewed unrest,” Phivolcs said.

“People are advised to observe precautions due to ground displacement across fissures, frequent ashfall and minor earthquakes,” it added.

Residents in areas beside the Taal river channels were advised to be vigilant in case of heavy and prolonged rainfall as ashes can be washed away and form lahar along the channels.

Aircraft pilots were advised to avoid flying close to the volcano as airborne ash, ballistic fragments from sudden explosions, as well as wind-remobilized ash are hazardous to aircraft. – With Elizabeth Marcelo, Michael Punongbayan