MANILA, Philippines — In an apparent jab against the decision of House members to move its plenary session to calamity-stricken Batangas, Senator Francis Pangilinan said its residents already have a lot on their plates following the Taal Volcano eruption.
“With all due respect, patong patong na ang inaasikaso ng mga taga Batangas at Cavite dahil sa higit na 500,000 mga kababayan natin na nagsilikas dahil sa pagputok ng Taal, pati ba ang halos 300 na pulitiko sa (House of Representatives) kasama ang mga staff nito, security at personnel aasikasuhin din nila?,” Pangilinan said in a post on his Facebook account late Monday.
(With all due respect, residents in Batangas and Cavite have a lot on their plates already with over 500,000 evacuated due to Taal’s eruption, now they will even have to accommodate more than 300 politicians from the House together with their staff, security and personnel?)
“Huwag naman sana maging dagdag na pasanin sa gitna ng kalamidad,” he added.
(Hopefully this will not add to the burden amid the calamity).
House members earlier adopted a motion of House Majority Leader Martin Romualdez to move the plenary session at the Batangas City Convention Center at 1 p.m. on Wednesday (Jan. 22).
The province of Batangas ang Cavite were placed under a state of calamity following Taal’s eruption last week which prompted thousands of residents in affected areas to flee their homes.
Taal Volcano remains under Alert Level 4 which means that “hazardous explosive eruption is possible within hours to days,” according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).