Palace ‘closely monitoring’ situation in areas near restive Taal Volcano

PRECAUTION Residents of Barangay Boso-boso in Laurel town, Batangas province, are moved to safety after the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), through one of its crater cameras, monitors a phreatomagmatic burst at Taal Volcano at 7:22 a.m. on Saturday. —MARIANNE BERMUDEZ/PHIVOLCS

MANILA, Philippines — Amid a series of phreatomagmatic bursts in Taal Volcano, Malacañang on Sunday assured the public that it is keeping an eye on the situation in areas near the volcano.

The Palace made the assurance after the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) on Saturday recorded short phreatomagmatic bursts, with plumes reaching as high as 1.5 kilometers, prompting the evacuation of residents in nearby areas.

“The Executive Department is closely monitoring the situation in the areas near Taal Volcano, which is under Alert Level 3,” said presidential spokesperson Martin Andanar in a statement.

According to Andanar, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council and its regional counterparts are already implementing all relevant precautionary measures, which include evacuation.

He said that, as of 8:00 a.m. of March 27, there are already 854 families or 2,894 persons inside 12 evacuation centers in the Calabarzon area (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon).

The Department of Social Welfare and Development has also assured that its Quick Response Teams are ready to go, as well as a standby stockpile of food and non-food goods to supplement local supplies if needed.

“We urge all residents of affected barangays and communities to remain alert and vigilant, get news updates from trusted sources and authorities, and cooperate with concerned agencies while the volcano situation is being monitored for any developments,” said Andanar.

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