Office of Civil Defense IV-A Officer-in-Charge and
RDRRMC CALABARZON Chairperson Reyan Derrick
Marquez (center) leads the inspection in Taal Volcano Island last June 14, 2023 together with Batangas Provincial
Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office head,
Dr. Amor Calayan (second from right) and representatives
from RDRRMC CALABARZON member agencies. MBLito
CALAMBA CITY
(PIA) — Disaster officials
in the Calabarzon region
have imposed stricter security measures of the
Taal Volcano island amid
the volcano’s continuing
low-level unrest.
The Office of Civil Defense (OCD)-Calabarzon has reiterated that the
island remains off-limits
after inspection conducted
last week showed individuals staying in the area.
Members of the
Calabarzon Regional Disaster Risk Reduction
and Management Council
(RDRRMC) inspected the
island to ensure that the
no human settlement-rule
is observed while the volcano remains under alert
level 1 and exhibits restiveness.
RDRRMC chairperson and OCD Officer-in-Charge Reyan
Derrick Marquez said the
team checked on the island following days of volcanic activities.
Dr. Amor Banuelos-Calayan, Batangas
Provincial Disaster Risk
Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO)
head, said she agrees
with the OCD in imposing
a ban on setting foot on
the island.
She also urged
the Philippine Coast
Guard (PCG) to strictly
monitor the entry and exit
of residents and fish cage
owners around the lake.
The inspection
group found fish cage
owners tending to their
livelihood even as they assured authorities that they
would leave the island before night time.
Fisherman Romeo Mendoza claimed
they go home in the afternoon and refrain from
staying after dark as a precautionary measure.
After the inspection, the OCD turned over
N-95 masks to the Taal
Volcano Observatory, and
Bignay and Buso-Buso Elementary Schools in Laurel, Batangas.
The inspection
team comprised of the
Batangas Philippine National Police and representatives from the Philippine
Coast Guard – Southern
Tagalog; Protected Area
Management Office – Taal
Volcano Protected Landscape; Department of
Health IV-A; Department
of the Interior and Local
Government IV-A; Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology; Department of Environment
and Natural Resources
IV-A; Armed Forces of
the Philippines – Southern Luzon Command; and
the Philippine Information
Agency IV-A.
