Duterte Says Government Ready to Respond to Taal

President Rodrigo Duterte said late Thursday relief supplies were in place, should the situation in the Taal Volcano area worsen.

The alert over the volcano, which last erupted in January 2020, was raised to Level 3, or two notches below the highest warning. The volcano sewedf a one-kilometer high steam cloud after magma or molten rocks interacted with the water in its crater, Phivolcs said.

"Yang mga line ng DSWD, si Gen. Bautista... meron na siyang advanced na mga warehouse mga tulong. Kapag pumutok yan, meron na doon, naka-station na yung mga tulong nila," he said, refering to retired Gen. Rolando Bautista who now heads the social welfare department.

"It could get worse but there will be instant gratification because there are workers in the ground ready," he added.

"Now it's just rumbling and spewing. I don't know if it's really ashes, apektado daw tayo but it's not really a grave concern to us at this time," he said.

Phivolcs earlier called on residents of the Taal Volcano Island and high-risk barangays of Agoncillo and Laurel in Batangas to evacuate due to possible hazards and volcanic tsunami.