CALAMBA CITY (PIA) — Disaster officials in the Calabarzon region have imposed stricter security measures of the Taal Volcano island amid the volcano’s continuing low-level unrest.
The Office of Civil Defense (OCD)-Calabarzon has reiterated that the island remains off-limits after inspection conducted last week showed individuals staying in the area.
Members of the Calabarzon Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC) inspected the island to ensure that the no human settlement-rule is observed while the volcano remains under alert level 1 and exhibits restiveness.
RDRRMC chairperson and OCD Officer-in-Charge Reyan Derrick Marquez said the team checked on the island following days of volcanic activities.
Dr. Amor Banuelos-Calayan, Batangas Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) head, said she agrees with the OCD in imposing a ban on setting foot on the island.
She also urged the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to strictly monitor the entry and exit of residents and fish cage owners around the lake.
The inspection group found fish cage owners tending to their livelihood even as they assured authorities that they would leave the island before night time.
Fisherman Romeo Mendoza claimed they go home in the afternoon and refrain from staying after dark as a precautionary measure.
After the inspection, the OCD turned over N-95 masks to the Taal Volcano Observatory, and Bignay and Buso-Buso Elementary Schools in Laurel, Batangas.
The inspection team comprised of the Batangas Philippine National Police and representatives from the Philippine Coast Guard – Southern Tagalog; Protected Area Management Office – Taal Volcano Protected Landscape; Department of Health IV-A; Department of the Interior and Local Government IV-A; Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology; Department of Environment and Natural Resources IV-A; Armed Forces of the Philippines – Southern Luzon Command; and the Philippine Information Agency IV-A. (Mark Bryan Lito, PIA4A)
Office of Civil Defense IV-A Officer-in-Charge and RDRRMC CALABARZON Chairperson Reyan Derrick Marquez (center) leads the inspection in Taal Volcano Island last June 14, 2023 together with Batangas Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office head, Dr. Amor Calayan (second from right) and representatives from RDRRMC CALABARZON member agencies. MBLito
