Taal Residents Ready To Leave Island
TAAL RESIDENTS – The residents displaced by Taal eruption said they’ll accept the “painful reality” of leaving their homes for good.
The second most active volcano in the Philippines, Taal volcano erupted on Sunday. It spews lava and the volcano ash blanketed nearby homes and animals.
Thousands of villagers were forced to flee their homes and abandon their livestock and pets following the Taal wrath. A few days after the volcanic eruption, some villagers risked their lives to rescue their animals.
Based on a report from Inquirer, Philippine President Rodrigo Roa Duterte reportedly supported a recommendation to declare the Taal volcano as “no man’s land.” Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the 74-year-old president supported the proposal to prohibit people from living on Taal.
“If people are allowed to return there and if there will be another explosion or violent, I think all people will perish on the island,” Lorenzana said. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology has prohibited permanent settlement on the island, declaring the area as a ‘permanent danger zone,’” he said.
According to the report, the residents in Taal volcano said they will accept the ‘painful’ reality of not going back to their homes after the government declared the island as ‘no man’s land.’ Reporters from Inquirer interviewed some villagers, they said they are willing to cooperate.
Princess and her husband Raymund are among the residents who were forced to flee their homes following the eruption. The couple said they are not objecting to the government’s proposal. They also doubt if they still have something left to return to.
Princess said they earn a living on Taal volcano by growing livestocks and as tour guides. “Our biggest loss are our animals. They have helped us go through life by augmenting the little income we derive from attending to foreign tourists,” she said.
Based on the report, a fisherman named Danila Cueto said he’s also open to Duterte’s plan to shutter the island. “This start of the year would have been a good time to earn extra, if not for the eruption of Taal. If that is the decision, we will have to adjust,” he said.
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