Phreatomagmatic activity in Taal Volcano (Screengrab from Phivolcs)
MANILA, Philippines — Senator Panfilo Lacson on Friday chided President Rodrigo Duterte for cracking a joke about the Taal Volcano’s “deadly crater” amid its unrest.
“While people are panicking and serious evacuation work is ongoing in some Cavite and Batangas municipalities threatened by the eruption of Taal Volcano, making fun of its deadly crater is not funny,” Lacson said in a tweet.
The senator made a similar comment during his interview on Teleradyo. He said making such jokes at a time when the lives of Filipinos are threatened is not befitting for a leader of the country.
During the inauguration of the Light Rail Transit 2 East Extension Project Thursday, Duterte joked that he will put a cap on Taal Volcano’s crater after it was placed under Alert Level 3 and released a one-kilometer-high “dark phreatomagmatic plume.”
President Rodrigo Duterte (Photo from an RTVM video posted on Facebook)
“At a time na seryoso yung evacuation dun sa Batangas at sa Cavite, hindi biru biru yung dinanas nila nung nakaraang taon na sumabog yung Taal, kaya nagpa-panic na yung mga tao and for a leader of a country to make fun of the deadly crater is not funny at all,” Lacson said.
(At a time that serious evacuation is ongoing in Batangas and Cavite, this is not a joke because of the situation earlier faced by residents when Taal Volcano erupted, people are panicking and for a leader of a country to make fun of the deadly crater is not funny at all.)
“Dapat may assurance na ‘Wag kayong mag-alala dahil ang gobyerno nandiyan para tulungan kayo kung ano man yung mangyari sa Taal. Pero to make fun or make light of the situation there, parang sa tingin ko di nararapat na manggaling sa bibig ng isang Pangulo,” he added.
(There should be assurance like ‘don’t worry the government is here to help you whatever happens. But to make fun or to make light of the situation there, I think those things should not come from the mouth of a president.)
Sen. Panfilo Lacson
While the government has initiated measures to address the problem, the President downplayed the situation saying it is “not a grave concern at this time.”
Nevertheless, Duterte said that the government is readying possible aid for residents who will be affected should the situation escalate.
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