DILG to file admin raps if Talisay VM will insist on violating lockdown

MANILA, Philippines — Talisay, Batangas Vice Mayor Charlie Natanauan may face administrative charges if he will allow Talisay villagers to return to their homes near the danger zone of Taal Volcano, an official of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said Wednesday.

“As of the moment it’s also (Natanauan’s) opinion, it’s the actions we will consider. If he starts letting people go back to Talisay, including himself, then that’s where we put the potential administrative sanctions,” DILG Undersecretary Epimaco Densing III told ABS-CBN News Channel’s Hot Copy.

Densing’s reaction came after the Talisay vice mayor requested to President Rodrigo Duterte to change the opinion of Dr. Renato Solidum, director of Philippine Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), about their updates and assessment on the Taal Volcano activity.

“Ang plano ko as a vice mayor, ay ako ay humihingi ng kuwan kay Presidente Duterte, yung opinyon ng Phivolcs ay medyo baguhin, kasi masyado niyang pinalala ang sitwasyon ng balita,” Natanauan said in an interview with dzMM on Monday.

(My plan as a vice mayor, I am appealing to President Rodrigo Duterte to change the opinion of Phivolcs, because they are worsening the situation.)

The Talisay vice mayor even questioned Phivolcs director’s observation that intense seismic activities beneath the edifice of Taal volcano means there is likely a continuous magmatic activity, which could later lead to more eruptions.

“Bakit naman nasabi niya [Solidum], siya ba ay Diyos? [How can he predict that? Is he God?]” Natanauan said.

Natanauan’s remark also irked Calabarzon police chief Brig. Gen. Vicente Danao Jr., who threatened to offer the vice mayor as a sacrifice to Taal Volcano if he would insist on allowing residents return to their homes despite the lockdown being implemented in some areas.

Talisay is one of the local government units within the 14-kilometer danger zone of Taal Volcano, which is still placed under Alert Level IV which indicates that hazardous explosive eruption is still possible within hours to days.