Chances are higher for “potential explosive activity within weeks or even days.”

Phivolcs warned of potential hazards such as pyroclastic density currents, lava flows, rockfalls, ashfall, and lahar. There is a 6-kilometer-radius permanent danger zone surrounding the volcano.

Bookmark this page for Phivolcs bulletins, information on government response, updates about evacuations, and other news about Mayon Volcano.

MANILA, Philippines – A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck off Calatagan, Batangas, at 10:19 am on Thursday, June 15.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) warned that damage and aftershocks are expected.

Phivolcs earlier put the earthquake’s magnitude at 6.2. It had a depth of 103 kilometers.

The following intensities were reported:

Intensity IV

• City of Manila
• Mandaluyong City
• Quezon City
• Valenzuela City
• Malolos City, Bulacan
• Batangas City, Ibaan, Lemery, Nasugbu, and Talisay in Batangas province
• Dasmariñas City and Tagaytay City in Cavite
• Tanay, Rizal

Intensity III

• Pateros
• Las Piñas City
• Makati City
• Marikina City
• Parañaque City
• Pasig City
• Obando, Bulacan
• Laurel, Batangas
• Bacoor City and Imus City in Cavite province
• San Pablo City and San Pedro City in Laguna
• San Mateo, Rizal

Intensity II

• Caloocan City
• San Juan City
• Muntinlupa City
• San Fernando City, La Union
• Alaminos City and Bolinao in Pangasinan
• Santa Maria, Bulacan
• Bamban, Tarlac

Intensity I

• San Jose del Monte City, Bulacan

– Rappler.com

This came as civil society groups in the Cordillera region expressed concerns about a memorandum from the DILG’s Kalinga office chief, which required groups to seek permission before conducting activities. It was seen as red-tagging.

It included a list of “Sectoral Front Organizations” which has drawn criticism for stigmatizing accredited organizations and hindering their ability to provide services.

The list was based on the Army’s 50th Infantry Battalion’s Periodic Status Report on Threat Groups.

“In a way, it will really affect their engagement. That is why we always remind LGUs (local government units) that it is up to them to examine the track record of the NGOs (non-governmental organizations) and CSOs (civil society organizations),” DILG-Cordillera assistant regional director Ruperto Garibbay Jr. said at the Dagyaw Open Government Town Hall Meetings press conference.

Garibbay said this in response to to the April 28 memorandum from DILG’s Kalinga office chief and Provincial Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (PTF-ELAC) secretariat head Anthony Manolo Ballug, urging local governments to require all groups to seek permission first before they carry out projects and programs in the localities.

While informing local governments of programs and projects of the private sector is standard procedure, NGOs and people’s organizations are alarmed as it arose from a resolution of the PTF-ELCAC. 

“Many of the organizations listed have even been partners of local and community organizations, even the LGU in Kalinga, in the past to implement projects and activities for disaster response, environmental protection, and promotion of indigenous peoples’ rights and culture,” the Cordillera Human Rights Alliance said in a statement.

“With the release of this list, legal, even accredited organizations are further red-tagged and prevented from delivering services such as relief, medical services, rehabilitation projects, and more – services that the government could not sufficiently provide,” the group said.

Leaders and members of some of the organizations on the list have faced charges filed by the police and military, which the court eventually dismissed. 

These include the Cordillera People’s Alliance (CPA), the Center for Health Education, Services and Training in the Cordillera, and the Alyansa Dagiti Pesante iti Taeng Kordilyera. 

Development workers in the region were among those included in strings of charges in Ilocos Sur and a rebellion case in Abra.

In November 2020, Ballug, who was then the DILG director in Mountain Province, asked then-mayor James Pooten of Sagada to print and hang tarpaulins declaring the people behind CPA as persona non grata.

In a March 16 report, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) in Cordillera said the persona non grata campaign against CPA by the NTF-ELCAC and the passage of resolutions by several local governments constitute red-tagging, violate the right to life, liberty, and security, and are discriminatory on account of political belief and opinion.

Cultivating distrust

Garribay clarified that CSO accreditation to participate in special bodies of local governments depends on the criteria under the guidelines released by the department. 

He said that if they passed the set parameters, CSOs could participate in government programs, projects, and activities, noting that they complement their efforts.

“It is still within the local government units… to examine, determine the credibility of the CSOs and NGOs, whether they can help implement programs and projects,” he said.

He said the regional office would investigate the matter, saying they were unaware of Ballug’s memorandum.

Since 2018, DILG issued several documents to promote CSO engagement and participation in the programs and processes in the national and local governments.

The most controversial of these was Memorandum Circular 2021-012, issued in January 2021, which required those who want to participate in the Local People’s Councils to secure clearances from the police and military. 

Protests from CSOs forced the office to amend the document and rescind the contested provision.

For long-time development worker Rhoda Dalang, the head of the Center for Development Programs in the Cordillera, Ballug’s memorandum cultivated distrust and further eroded efforts to encourage CSO participation.

“Trust is lost when DILG engages in red-tagging or does not do something to stop red-tagging,” she said on Tuesday.

Founded in 1986, CDPC provides aid for indigenous peoples’ communities to address their economic marginalization and protect their resources.

She said DILG tends to gravitate toward CSOs that are not critical of the government and “disregard the watchdogs.”

“To develop vibrant CSO participation in LGU governance, [they] should include more CSO watchdogs who will contribute more substantive policy reforms, program implementation, and good governance,” Dalang added.

Difficult times

“Even without the [PTF-ELAC] resolution, we follow protocol and inform the province, the municipality, down to the barangays of our projects and project areas,” said Jimmy Khayog, the executive director of Cordillera Disaster Response and Development Services (CDRDS), one of the NGOs on the list.

He said they have yet to meet their provincial staff to assess the impact of Ballug’s issuance on their project implementation and partners. But he added that being red-tagged has become a challenge in their work.

Established after the April 1987 earthquake that devastated communities in three Cordillera provinces, CDRDS (formerly known as Montañosa Relief and Rehabilitation Foundation Services Incorporated) provides services that address the disaster vulnerability of communities and develop their capacity to mitigate impacts through citizen-based, development-oriented disaster response. 

Their projects in Kalinga include sustainable and climate-resilient agriculture, waterworks, and disaster preparedness training.

In earlier interview, Dalang said the difficulties of development work were nothing compared to the fulfillment of serving communities and seeing their projects bring change in people’s lives.

While this remains true, she said, the government’s campaign against communist rebels has made the Cordillera landscape riskier and more complicated.

According to her, irrelevant regulations related to the government’s counterinsurgency and anti-terrorism campaigns have made their work more difficult, especially for red-tagged NGOs.

“For red-tagged NGOs, getting support or counterpart from the LGUs is hard. Worse, some projects are turned down. It has also made recruiting staff difficult,” she said.

In an online petition against MC 2021-012, the International Center for Innovation, Transformation, and Excellence in Governance noted “the increasing regulatory requirements imposed on CSOs,” citing the 2019 Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) guidelines for non-profit corporations on money laundering and terrorist financing.

Dalang said that despite the complications and threats, they continue to fulfill their mission, and that their work remains well-accepted and pursued by the communities. 

Dalang said heir local partners tend to accept the projects and find ways to perform their part but stay silent on red-tagging, citing their experience in Kalinga. – Rappler.com

The DTI in Bicol ordered strict enforcement of the price freeze as the threat of a major eruption by Mayon Volcano sent more than 4,000 families or 15,658 persons to evacuation camps in five towns and three cities.

A price freeze accompanies the declaration of a state of calamity, which Albay’s provincial board approved on June 9, a day after after Mayon Volcano’s status was raised to Alert Level 3.

The DTI also issued a guide on what goods are considered basic commodities.

Two days after the Sangguaniang Panlalawigan of Albay approved Resolution No. 0607-2023OIC, DTI regional director Dindo Galvo Nabol said Albay’s supply of basic commodities are sufficient for the next 30 days.

Nabol also issued the memorandum circular on the price freeze on June 9, addressing all wet markets, supermarkets, groceries, bakeries, and water refilling stations.

“When a state of calamity is declared in a particular area, prices of basic necessities (BN) are automatically frozen at their prevailing prices for sixty (60) days or until sooner lifted,” Nabol reminded business owners.

Violators of the price freeze could face fines from P5,000 to PhP1 million and or imprisonment of one year to ten years.

Farmers in Tabaco City, Albay scrambled over the weekend to harvest their crops within the six-kilometer radius permanent danger zone (PDZ) of the volcano.

Tabaco City Mayor Krisel Lagman-Luistro gave farmers the harvest green to allow them to gather food stock or generate income before a potentially deadly eruption.

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The open letter was signed by Bishop Broderick Pabillo of the Apostolic Vicariate of Taytay and Bishop Socrates Mesiona of the Apostolic Vicariate of Puerto Princesa, along with at least 65 other priests under their care.

In an open letter written in Filipino and published on Monday, June 12, the Catholic leaders of Palawan appealed to the government to “prohibit the expansion and extension of mining operations and to implement a law that bans the opening of new mining sites.”

“On the other hand, it is best to focus on programs in agriculture and tourism,” they said.

Both apostolic vicariates – or communities where dioceses have not been established – cover around a million Catholics combined. Their province is home to rainforests, protected areas, indigenous communities, and biodiversity hotspots including two UNESCO World Heritage sites.

“The natural beauty and natural resources of Palawan are unique, so it is but fitting that we give her a unique kind of care so that we can ensure that future generations can benefit from the things that we enjoy today. To be God’s responsible steward of creation is a huge moral responsibility,” the Catholic leaders of Palawan said.

“If other places in the Mimaropa region tried to close the mining sites in their own territories, shouldn’t we exert much more effort to protect our province as a Last Ecological Frontier?” they added. Mimaropa includes the provinces of Marinduque, Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Palawan, and Romblon.

Pabillo, 68, and Mesiona, 59, are among the Filipino Catholic bishops who are most in touch with the poorest communities. 

Pabillo, former auxiliary bishop of Manila, is known for speaking out on social justice issues across different administrations. He has been vocal about environmental and other issues in Palawan since Pope Francis promoted him in June 2021 to become the main bishop in charge of the 21-year-old Apostolic Vicariate of Taytay.

Like Pabillo, Mesiona has been involved in social justice issues in Palawan since he was installed bishop of Puerto Princesa in February 2017. A paper by Palawan priest Father Eugene Elivera, for example, detailed Mesiona’s role in shepherding their people during the COVID-19 pandemic. Before becoming bishop, Mesiona was superior general of the Mission Society of the Philippines. – Rappler.com

The group allegedly enticed investors with promises of profits derived from their investments or contributions. 

Investigators said the suspects offered and sold unregistered securities in the form of investment contracts, disguising them as opportunities for home acquisition, real estate ventures, or financial literacy programs.

During the operation, authorities seized P1,384,236 in registration fees and investments, among other pieces of evidence.

Authorities said the group included 43-year-old Jennylyn Delos Santos Floresca, allegedly the chief operations officer and chief executive officer Casa Infini Properties and Development Corporation.

Police said Floresca is also the COO and CEO of other companies identified as Casa Infini Builders and Realty, Casa Infini Realty Management, Ray Education Directions Consultancy Services, Ray International Philippines Corporation, Be Unrivaled Productions and Sine Cordillera.

Floresco and more than two dozen other suspects were arrested during a joint entrapment operation conducted by the Philippine National Police’s Regional Anti-Cybercrime Group Unit Cordillera (RACU-COR), Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC), and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Authorities alleged the suspects violated the Financial Products and Services Consumer Protection Act in relation to the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.

The suspects were also arrested at the Orchard Hotel in Baguio City where a seminar on investment and real estate properties with a guaranteed income had been scheduled.

The arrests stemmed from a complaint received by the SEC in January that sought the revocation of the certificate of registration of Casa Infini Properties and Development Corporation due to alleged illegal activities.

The SEC issued a cease and desist order on June 8, directing CI Properties and Development to halt any further offering of securities. The order specifically applies to investment agreements related to real estate build and lease deals, financial literacy educational program partnership agreements, contract agreements, and any associated online presence.

The Commission also prohibited the firm from conducting financial transactions through its depositary banks and transferring, disposing, or conveying any of its assets and properties.

The SEC said Floresca and her company were operating without the necessary license to sell securities to the public. Working alongside CI Builders and Realty, Floresca allegedly sold 181 investment contracts, amounting to an estimated P167,187,888.

The contracts allegedly promised guaranteed returns on investment, ranging from 3.2% to 3.8%, with monthly amounts varying between P100,000 and P6 million. 

Those who referred new partners for participation in the real estate build and sell agreement were allegedly given referral fees of 1% to 2% each.

The suspects were taken by the police for documentation, while appropriate charges are being prepared for filing through inquest proceedings at the prosecution office in Baguio City as of posting time. – with reports from Sherwin De Vera / Rappler.com

DOT-Bicol director Herbie Aguas identified safe viewing sites in Legazpi, Ligao, Camalig, and Daraga where visitors can have vantage points for observing the volcanic activity.

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In Legazpi, the following locations have been recognized as safe viewing sites: 

• Legazpi Boulevard at a distance of 16.1 kilometers
• Sawangan Park at 14.7 kilometers
• Legazpi Highlands at 15.2 kilometers
• Kalayaan Park at 13.2 kilometers
• Our Lady of Salvacion Giant Statue at 11.1 kilometers

In Daraga town, the designated viewing sites include the following:

• Cagsawa Ruins Park at 10.38 kilometers
• Farm Plate at 14.38 kilometers
• Daraga Church at 12.01 kilometers
• National Museum at 10.18 kilometers

In Camalig town, the following are the identified areas for safe viewing:

• Solong Eco Park at 16.03 kilometers
• Quituinan Hill at 9.76 kilometers
• Quitinday Greenhills at 18.7 kilometers

Ligao City offers the following safe viewing sites: 

• Mt. Masaraga Campsite at 9.84 kilometers
• Paayahayan sa Bulod at 10 kilometers
• Kawa-Kawa Hill / Bambusetum / Divine Mercy Monastery Church at 19.7 kilometers
• Hobbit Hill at 9.79 kilometers
• Ilah Nature Park at 9.82 kilometers

With these designated safe viewing sites, the DOT aims to ensure the safety of tourists and spectators who wish to witness the volcanic activity in Albay.

Albay province earlier implemented an extended seven-kilometer radius permanent danger zone (PDZ) due to the increasing unrest of Mayon Volcano. 

Albay Governor Edcel Greco Lagman directed disaster risk reduction management offices to prepare for the evacuation of families within the radius. 

About 5,817 families or some 21,717 people, need to be evacuated from the extended danger zone. 

Some 4,749 families, or about 18,184 individuals, have already been evacuated to safer areas earlier. – Rappler.com

Amando Bon, a 53-year-old vegetable farmer from Barangay Buang in Tabaco City, is among those racing to gather his squash harvest from his three-hectare farm located within the six-kilometer radius permanent danger zone (PDZ) of the volcano. 

Following permission from Tabaco City Mayor Krisel Lagman-Luistro, Bon and fellow farmers in Buang village began harvesting their crops to salvage their products and generate income before a potentially deadly eruption.

“We allowed the farmers to harvest their crops so that it would not be wasted and for them to have money while in the temporary shelters,” Luistro said.

Bon said he considers himself fortunate that his vegetable plants were ready for harvest, while many other farmers in the area had only recently planted their crops. For them, it will take approximately two months before they can reap and sell their produce.

Harvesting alongside his 15-year-old son, Bon collected about 3,000 kilograms of squash from the volcano’s slopes. He transported the harvest near the roadside to attract prospective buyers.

“It will take a few months for us to plant again. This could be my last harvest,” he said.

Within a few days, the alert level for Mayon Volcano was raised from Level 2 to Level 3, as volcanologists expressed concerns about the likelihood of a hazardous eruption. 

Eugene Escobar, officer-in-charge of the Albay Public Safety Emergency Management Office, said 4,749 families or about 18,184 people living within the six-kilometer radius permanent danger zone, need to be evacuated to safer grounds based on the current alert level.

Escobar said if the Alert Level 4 is raised, at least 5,817 families or some 21,717 people, will need to be evacuated within a seven-kilometer radius.

Camalig town has the highest number of families residing within the current six-kilometer radius zone, with 2,144 families or 7,827 people across 18 barangays. 

Malilipot town follows with 1,866 families or 7,226 persons, while Daraga has 336 individuals. 

The towns of Guinobatan and Santo Domingo have no communities living within the danger zone.

Tabaco City, meanwhile, has the highest number of families to be evacuated, totaling 378 families or 1,434 people. 

Ligao City follows with 35 families or 132 individuals, while Legazpi City has no communities residing within the permanent danger zone.

Escobar said the provincial government has the capacity to support evacuees for a period of 10 days. Beyond that, the provincial government would seek assistance of the national government, he said.

Norman Laurio, the regional director of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), said the department has 50,656 food packs prepared for distribution. 

He said the DSWD central office also has 102,000 food packs that can be tapped if the need arises.

The Department of Education (DepEd) in the Bicol region said at least 39 schools will be utilized as temporary shelters.

Mayor Luistro said there are 290 farmers with crops ready for harvest, covering 27 hectares in Magapo village alone. 

Farmers within the six-kilometer radius danger zone were permitted to harvest their crops to cushion the impact and ensure their families had some income while they seek refuge in temporary shelters, Luistro told Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian during a meeting.

Luistro and other mayors from the affected municipalities called for livelihood support from the national government.

Albay Governor Edcel Greco Lagman said the provincial government would tap the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) to provide training opportunities for families currently residing in evacuation centers. 

Cheryl Rebeta, the chief of the Albay Provincial Agriculture Office (APAO), said the government would provide displaced families, especially those in evacuation centers, seeds so they could cultivate crops in backyard gardens.

Gatchalian said the DSWD will assist the people with emergency cash transfers and other interventions, such as cash-for-work programs, with the help of local governments. – Rappler.com

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) has provided four eruption scenarios for the volcano, given its current state of unrest.

But before that – here is an overview of what has happened so far:

Alert Level 2 was raised on Monday, June 5, triggered by a spike in rockfall events.

“Pronounced increases in rockfall signify the extrusion of new lava beneath the summit lava dome, destabilizing this and causing its spalling or collapse,” Phivolcs explained in a report covering Mayon activity in the first 10 days of June.

Extrusion means molten rock is being pushed out onto the surface. A lava dome, meanwhile, is an accumulation of “highly viscous lava above or near the vent/s where they were erupted during slow flow,” which Phivolcs likened to glue oozing out from a container’s hole.

While there was increasing rockfall at the time, volcanic earthquakes were “absent to sparse,” sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions were only at “background or baseline levels,” and “short-term ground deformation consisted mainly of swelling of the middle to upper slopes of the edifice.”

But on Thursday morning, June 8, Phivolcs observed pyroclastic density currents (PDCs) in the Bonga (Legazpi City), Mi-isi (Daraga), and Basud (Santo Domingo) gullies, or narrow valleys, as far as 2 kilometers from the summit crater.

PDCs are made up of fragmented volcanic particles, gases, and ash that travel down volcanic slopes at high speeds.

“This indicated that new, less degassed lava was already being spalled from the summit dome and that eruption of very slowly extruding magma had slightly increased,” Phivolcs said.

This prompted the agency to raise Alert Level 3 at noon on Thursday.

By early Saturday morning, June 10, a new summit lava dome had emerged from the crater, after its preexisting one was “pushed out in increments that formed rockfall.” As of 7 pm on Saturday, 654 rockfall events had been recorded for June, along with 7 PDCs.

Also on Saturday, SO2 emission “increased beyond baseline levels,” reaching an average of 1,205 tons per day.

What’s next?

At present, new lava is slowly flowing out of Mayon’s summit and SO2 emission is “moderately elevated,” while seismic and ground deformation parameters are still considered low.

Phivolcs has warned that “a hazardous eruption is possible within weeks or even days.” But it is impossible to predict with absolute certainty that this type of eruption will indeed occur.

One of the four scenarios shows Alert Level 3 will be maintained, two scenarios would mean the declaration of Alert Level 4, and the worst-case scenario will lead to the raising of Alert Level 5 – the highest.

Scenario A: Alert Level 3 will be maintained

If the current rate of extrusion and low-level parameters continue, there would be a slow lava dome and short lava flow extrusion, similar to Mayon’s 2014 eruption. The activity may persist for a few months.

Scenario B: Alert Level 4 will be raised

If extrusion rates increase, higher SO2 emission levels persist, seismic activity such as low-level tremors occur, and there is a cycle of inflation (swelling) and deflation (unswelling) of the edifice, there would be a slow but sustained lava extrusion, similar to the volcano’s 2006 eruption. The activity may last for a few months.

Scenario C: Alert Level 4 will be raised

If data show significant hikes in SO2 emission, increased seismicity (low-frequency volcanic earthquakes and tremors), and inflation of the entire edifice, there would be lava fountains and lava flows with occasional explosions and PDCs within the 6-kilometer permanent danger zone (PDZ), similar to Mayon’s 2018 eruption. The activity may last for a few months.

Scenario D: Alert Level 5 will be raised

If there is a rapid escalation – or sudden drop – in SO2, as well as a surge in volcanic earthquakes and ground deformation, this may lead to an explosive eruption with high-intensity lava fountains, long lava flows, and PDCs that could go beyond the PDZ, similar to the volcano’s 2000 eruption. The activity may last for a few days to weeks.

– Rappler.com

Mayon is located in Albay province in the Bicol region.

According to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), 29 barangays in Albay have portions that are within the PDZ, based on 2016 administrative boundary data from the Philippine Statistics Authority.

These barangays, from three cities and six municipalities, are the following:

Tabaco City

• Oson
• Mariroc
• Comon
• Magapo
• Buang

Malilipot

• San Roque
• Calbayog
• Santa Cruz
• Canaway

Ligao City

• Baligang

Santo Domingo

• Fidel Surtida
• Lidong
• San Fernando
• Santa Misericordia

Camalig

• Sua
• Tumpa
• Anoling
• Quirangay

Daraga

• Mi-isi

Guinobatan

• Doña Tomasa (Magatol)
• Muladbucad Pequeño
• Muladbucad Grande
• Masarawag

Legazpi City

• Mabinit
• Buyuan
• Matanag
• Bonga
• Padang

Bacacay

• Bonga (Upper)

In times of relatively high volcanic unrest, Phivolcs recommends evacuation from the PDZ. Local government units then issue their respective evacuation orders for implementation. – Rappler.com