The crater lake of Taal Volcano (Photo courtesy of Phivolcs)
MANILA – Classes have been suspended in several areas in the Calabarzon Region and Metro Manila due to volcanic smog (vog) from Taal Volcano in Batangas on Monday.
Each local government unit (LGU) announced the class suspensions through their social media pages.
The following LGUs have suspended face-to-face classes and shifted to modular or online classes:
BATANGAS
- Balete
- Balayan
- Malvar
- Laurel
- San Jose
- Mataas na Kahoy
- Agoncillo
- San Nicolas
- Nasugbu
- Lemery
- Lian
- Talisay
- San Luis
- Alitagtag
- City of Calaca
- San Pascual
- Calatagan
- Tuy
- Cuenca
- Sta. Teresita
- Bauan
- San Juan
- Taal
- Padre Garcia
- Ibaan
CAVITE
- Silang
- Mendez
- Indang
- Alfonso
- GMA
- Carmona
- Gen . Emilio Aguinaldo
- Amadeo
- Maragondon
- Naic
- Carmona
LAGUNA
- Calamba
- Biñan
- Los Baños
In the National Capital Region, the local governments of Parañaque and Muntinlupa cities also suspended classes in all public and private schools.
In its social media page, Parañaque warned against the ill health effects and advised the donning of face mask to avoid exposure when going outdoors.
Muntinlupa suspended classes starting 10 a.m. due to "unhealthy air quality" and shifted to asynchronous mode of learning.
According to the 24-hour observation made by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) on Taal Volcano released at 12 a.m. Monday, the volcano is on alert level 1 or low-level unrest.
Taal was observed to be emitting 3,355 tonnes of sulfur dioxide flux per day since Thursday, resulting in vog.
The Phivolcs said vog is composed of sulfur dioxide gas and other volcanic gases, and mixed with atmospheric oxygen, dust or ashes, and sunlight.
Vog results in a foggy view of surroundings and can cause irritations of the eyes, throat, and nose.
OCD monitoring Taal vog
The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) said it is monitoring the situation.
"Our regional counterpart is continuously monitoring the situation on the AOR (area of responsibility) considering the vog formation reported in the provinces of Batangas, Cavite and Laguna and continuously coordinating with DOST (Department of Science and Technology)-Phivolcs, DENR-EMB (Department of Environment and Natural Resouces-Environmental Management Bureau) Calabarzon and various LDRRMOs (local disaster risk reduction and management offices) to assess the situation and provide corresponding support once needed," it said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the Batangas Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) on Monday began distributing N-95 respirator masks to residents in several towns following Taal Volcano’s renewed emission of volcanic smog or “vog”.
In an interview with the Philippine News Agency, Dr. Amor Banuelos-Calayan, PDRRMO head, said more than 20,000 face masks will be added to the inventory of local DRRMOs to address the immediate needs of the locals especially the elderly and those with health conditions.
“Every local MDRRMO already has their respective stock of N-95 face masks but we continue to distribute additional masks since this is the immediate need of the locals to avoid throat irritation. We highly recommend [N-95] because it is highly particulate avoiding penetration of the vog,” said Banuelos-Calayan.
Preemptive evacuation is not yet necessary, according to her.
However, she underscored that “affected schools are authorized to suspend classes in the absence of an official announcement from local government units” following the Department of Education's Memorandum No. 046, Series of 2024.
Banuelos-Calayan said she has deployed a team, in partnership with the Provincial Health Office (PHO) and various city and municipal DRRMOs, to closely monitor developments and immediately address the health threats posed by the vog. (With reports from Priam Nepomuceno, Benjamin Pulta and Pot Chavez/PNA)
