President Rodrigo Duterte has placed Calabarzon under a state of calamity in the wake of Taal Volcano’s eruption in January that affected nearly half a million people in the region.
The President released on Thursday Proclamation No. 906, which he signed on Feb. 21, putting the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon under a state of calamity “(to) hasten the rescue, relief and rehabilitation efforts of the government and the private sector … and effectively control the prices of basic goods and commodities for the affected areas.”
On Wednesday night up to early Thursday morning, Taal Volcano emitted “moderate” steam plumes of up to 300 meters high and generated 34 volcanic quakes that the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said was still normal for the volcano that remains on alert level 2.