Manila Standard - 2020 January 16 - Thursday

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‘Bakwit‘: From flight to plight Residents seek access to no-go zones despite threat of ‘big bang’ eruption By MJ Blancaflor

VOL. XXXIII • NO. 336 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P18 THURSDAY, JANUARY 16, 2020 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

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UTHORITIES were struggling Wednesday to keep thousands of evacuees from returning to homes in areas threatened by a feared massive eruption of Taal Volcano. Some 40,000 people have taken refuge in shelters since the volcano let loose a towering burst of ash and jets of lava on Sunday. Police subsequently set up no-go zones and mandatory evacuations in at-risk towns around Taal, which is about 65 kilometers south of Manila. But days later locals are losing patience and demanding access, even as the nation’s seismological agency warns the volcano could unleash a more powerful eruption at any time. Cavite became the second province after Batangas to declare a state of calamity following the eruption as ash continued to blanket homes and farms, including its famed coffee and pineapple plantations. In a radio interview, Cavite Gov. Jonvic Remulla said the provincial board passed Resolution No. 1389Next page

BAREFOOT BUT BRAVE. Highly strung evacuees trudge along the heavily silted muddy road towards Tanauan City (above) after unloading their valuables, while edgy residents at the foot of Taal (inset left) unload their belongings from an outrigger canoe while the volcano spews ash as seen from Tanauan on Monday. Elsewhere, in Laurel town, residents clean their mud-covered roofs of their homes (inset right)—with authorities warning Wednesday there might be hazardous eruption in the next few days. Joey Razon with AFP

EAGER EVACUEES. Distressed residents (from left) of Barangay Sampaloc, Talisay Batangas are worried sick and shooting bullets in a gym, as are those evacuated at the PUP campus in Santo Tomas, Batangas from Barangay Banadera, while evacuees from other towns affected by the eruption rest at an evacuation center in Tanauan town, also in Batangas. AFP

Deadly calm: Taal in mind, Duterte wants Main crater lake calamity-proof evac centers drained of water ByandMJMacon Blancaflor Ramos-Araneta By Rio N. Araja

SPEWING STEAM. Taal volcano spews steam as an ashcovered village and vegetation are seen in Laurel town, Batangas on Wednesday. Authorities are struggling to keep thousands of evacuees from returning home in areas threatened by a feared massive eruption of Taal. Inset, PHIVOLCS Undersecretary Renato Solidum points at the monitor as he gives updates on Taal eruption, during a news conference at PHIVOLCS office in Quezon City. Manny Palmero with AFP

Horse sense: Rescuing a livelihood THE horses were still caked in grey ash as they stepped off the boat, lucky beneficiaries of a risky rescue mission to ground zero of the Philippines’ Taal volcano eruption. Their owners are among many small operators who rely on the modest money generated by the beasts ferrying tourists up the volcano, a popular attraction ringed by a sweeping lake. But when Taal exploded to life on Sunday afternoon the community, who own hundreds of steeds on volcano island, had to flee without their prized

livestock and most of their possessions. “Our lives are in our horses, they’re how we make our living,” owner Alfredo Daet, 62, told AFP on Tuesday after bringing three of his four animals to the mainland. “We love our horses... that’s why we wanted to save them,” he added. The creatures can generate $7 each per trip up to the stunning panoramic views above the volcano’s main crater, a significant sum in a nation where millions survive on less than $2 a day. Next page

Kuwait deployment ban in effect NEWS A2

A DESTRUCTIVE and deadly eruption could still be in the works even though Taal Volcano appeared calm on Wednesday, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said. “The explosive eruption scenario, and this is the scenario we have been preparing for together with the Batangas Provincial Risk Reduction and Management Office, is still possible simply because… we still have a lot of earthquakes and ground deformation within the area,” PHIVOLCS director Renato Solidum said in an interview on ANC Headstart. The agency also said the volcano’s continued activity has drained its main crater lake of water, as seen in new satellite images and drone video footage.p Mariton Bornas, chief of PHIVOLCS’ Monitoring and Eruption Prediction Division, said the dried lake was related to the movement of magma up the volcano, but said it was not a sign Next page

WITH evacuees of the Taal Volcano eruption in mind, President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the construction of additional evacuation centers that can withstand calamities as strong as Super Typhoon “Yolanda” before his term ends in 2022. At the Taal situation briefing in Batangas City on Tuesday night, the

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has conceded he will not be able to fulfill his promise to increase the wages of public school teachers, saying the government does not have enough funds.

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PRESIDENTIAL PRESENCE. President Rodrigo Duterte leads Tuesday in distributing family food packs to victims of the Taal Volcano eruption during his visit at the Batangas City Sports Coliseum. Presidential Photo

No money for teachers’pay hike —Rody By MJ Blancaflor

President said the government should give priority to the establishment of the shelters in calamity-prone areas such as Western Visayas. “You build a very strong evacuation center. Not as strong as the Titanic and then saying that even God cannot sink this ship because God will really destroy your evacuation center,” Duterte said. “Just have something really strong

“The teachers are shouting. That cannot be. I don’t have that big money,” President Duterte said Tuesday during a meeting with Cabinet officials in Batangas. On June 16 last year Education Secretary Leonor Briones said it was not true she was against increasing the salary of public school teachers. Next page

‘ICC serves as a forum to discredit Duterte’ NEWS A2


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