TAAL ERUPTION EVACUATION / MARCH 28, 2022 Children from Barangay Banyaga stay at the Agoncillo Central School turned into evacuation center in Agoncillo, Batangas province with alert Llvel 3 raised over Taal Volcano after a “phreatomagmatic” explosion. Around 661 residents from high-risk villages of Barangay Banyaga and Bilibinwang were ordered to evacuate.
INQUIRER PHOTO / RICHARD A. REYES
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) will provide 10-day jobs for individuals affected by the phreatomagmatic eruption of Taal Volcano in Batangas.
During President Rodrigo Duterte’s taped address to the nation aired Wednesday, DOLE Secretary Silvestre Bello III said that job provision is their immediate response to the situation.
“So dahil dito (Because of this), Mr. President, ang (the) immediate response ng (of) DOLE ay ‘yung bibigyan sila ng trabaho (is to give them jobs) for 10 days and then give them a salary based on a minimum wage on that region,” Bello reported to Duterte.
“Ang (The) minimum wage sa (in) Region IV is P400 a day, so they will work for 10 days, we will give them P4,000 for 10 days work. Iyon po ang aming maibibigay agad (That is what we can immediately give),” he continued.
Bello said that he has ordered their finance officer to prepare up to P100 million, should affected residents need further assistance.
“We are prepared just in case dadami pa ang mga affected dito sa pag-alburuto ni Taal,” he said.
(We are prepared just in case those affected by Taal’s eruption increase.)
“We are prepared and I’ve instructed our finance officer to make ready and available P50 to P100 million kung saka-sakaling kailangang tulungan ‘yung ating mga kababayan (if there is a need to help our fellow citizens),” the labor chief went on.
Based on the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council’s latest report, around 5,000 individuals or 1,000 families were affected by Taal’s unrest.
In the past 24 hours, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology recorded four volcanic tremors at the Taal Volcano.
Currently, Taal Volcano is under Alert Level 3 or magmatic unrest.