Taal Volcano smog blankets nearby communities amid high level of sulfur dioxide emission

by Ellalyn De Vera-Ruiz, Manila Bulletin

Taal Volcano’s main crater emits steam-rich plumes at 9:11 a.m., Friday, Aug. 12, 2022, as seen from Phivolcs’ monitoring station in Cuenca, Batangas. (PHIVOLCS)

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) on Friday, Aug. 12, advised residents around Taal Volcano in Batangas to avoid outdoor activities as the active volcano continued to emit a high level of sulfur dioxide in the past 24 hours.

“A total of 13,572 tons per day of volcanic sulfur dioxide or SO2 gas emission from the Taal Main Crater was recorded yesterday (Aug. 11) that produced significant volcanic smog or vog over Taal Caldera,” Phivolcs said in an advisory.

“Airborne volcanic gas is expected to be drifted to the general east to north-northeast of Taal Volcano Island or TVI based on air parcel trajectory data from PAGASA,” it added.

Phivolcs said that Taal Volcano averaged 7,818 tons of SO2 per day since July 15, which has been an increase from the average of 1,289 tons per day between May and mid-July 2022.

“Since the beginning of August 2022, there has been an increase in degassing activity in the form of visible upwelling of volcanic fluids in the Main Crater Lake and emission of voluminous steam-rich plumes that last night rose 2,800 meters above TVI,” it pointed out.

‘Vog’ threats

Phivolcs said the volcanic smog or “vog” over the Taal Caldera started to “thicken” between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m., Thursday.

It added that sulfurous stench was reported by residents of Banyaga, Agoncillo; Poblacion 5, Boso-boso, and Gulod, Laurel; and Poblacion, Talisay, Batangas.

“Vog consists of fine droplets containing volcanic gas such as SO2, which is acidic and can cause irritation of the eyes, throat and respiratory tract with severities depending on the gas concentrations and durations of exposure,” Phivolcs said.

“People who may be particularly sensitive to vog are those with health conditions such as asthma, lung disease and heart disease, the elderly, pregnant women and children,” it added.

Phivolcs advised those vulnerable to vog to limit their exposure by avoiding outdoor activities, staying indoors, and shutting doors and windows to block out vog.

Likewise, residents were urged to cover their nose, “ideally with an N95 facemask.”

“Drink plenty of water to reduce any throat irritation or constriction. If belonging to the particularly sensitive group of people above, watch over yourself and seek help from a doctor or the barangay health unit if needed, especially if serious effects are experienced,” Phivolcs added.

Moreover, crop damage that likely resulted from acid rain was also reported in Cabuyao, Laguna on Aug. 8.

Acid rain can be generated during periods of rainfall and volcanic gas emission over areas where the plume disperses, causing damage to crops and affecting metal roofs of houses and buildings.

Phivolcs said Taal Volcano remained under Alert Level 1, which means it was still in an abnormal condition and should not be interpreted to have ceased unrest nor ceased the threat of eruptive activity.

“Should an uptrend or pronounced change in monitored parameters forewarn of renewed unrest, the Alert Level may be raised back to Alert Level 2,” it said.

“Conversely, should there be a return of monitoring parameters to baseline levels after a sufficient observation period, the Alert Level will be further lowered to Alert Level 0,” it pointed out.

Under Alert Level 1, sudden steam-driven or phreatic explosions, volcanic earthquakes, minor ashfall and lethal accumulations or expulsions of volcanic gas can occur and threaten areas within the Taal Volcano Island (TVI).

“Phivolcs strongly recommends that entry into TVI, Taal’s permanent danger zone or PDZ, especially the vicinities of the main crater and the Daang Kastila fissure, must remain strictly prohibited,” it said.

PLGU Davao de Oro maintains ISO certification

 

Quality-service delivery, accountability, and proficiency in managing people's resources is among the top priority and goal of the provincial government of Davao de Oro headed by Governor Dorothy Montejo-Gonzaga. 

In the recently concluded audit report by the certification body auditors or International Organization for Standardization (ISO) evaluators from TÜV SÜD PSB Philippines Inc., the provincial government maintained its certificate for international standardization after it passed the 1st Surveillance Audit of the ISO 9001:2015 Certification, which indicates that the institution continues its efforts not just to continually improve the efficiency of its systems and processes but also consistently provide the high-quality service delivery that the constituents deserve. 

Moreover, the Enterprise Feedback Management System (EFMS) plays a vital role in the Quality Management System (QMS) since it is a management tool for customer satisfaction and continual improvement. The system was formulated by the Provincial Information and Technology Office (PICTO), headed by Joyzel Odi, and was commended by the ISO evaluators for its timely consolidation of external and internal feedback into a single, time-saving platform, increasing access to and simplifying the use of valuable client data across the entire institution.

"EFMS enables authoring of survey forms. Response collection is via paper forms (which are encoded to the system) or URL link or qrcode link (which are scanned by the raters). Department heads or admin officers are notified via email for every below satisfactory feedback. They manage responses by viewing complaints and indicating actions (which are emailed to the rater)", Odi said.

She also added that "Implementation status of the indicated actions are validated by the Internal Audit Office. The system provides data analytics thru tabulations, charts, and trends. It also identifies issues and sentiments". 

Furthermore, the Provincial Human Resource Mgt. & Development Office (PHRMDO) head Lara Kristy Bermejo expressed her appreciation to all department heads and process owners for their unwavering support in realizing the goals of QMS for the institution despite the challenges brought by the pandemic.

"To the ISO Core Team...thank you all so much! Seeing you all working silently but very diligently is truly heartwarming! I see in each one of you the true desire of making our institution improve consistently," Bermejo said.

The success of the ISO audit was another milestone under the administration, which is one of the pillars of good governance in the province. Thus, achieving and maintaining the ISO certification yields many benefits, such as satisfied clients, management, and employees. (PAO-IPRD DdO)

DepEd urges learners to vaccinate vs Covid

By Ruth Palo, Manila Times

DAVAO CITY: The Department of Education (DepEd) here has continued to call on students to get vaccinated to protect themselves against Covid-19 as classes start on August 22.

Based on the data provided by the agency, there were only 284,696 learners in the entire Region 11 who had been inoculated as of July 2022 data.

Out of the 284,696, 45,977 are elementary school pupils, 167,125 are in junior high school, 62,771 senior high students, and 8,823 are enrolled in the Alternative Learning System.

DepEd regional spokesman Jenielito Atillo, during the I-Speak media forum on Thursday, August 11, said that they cannot force the parents and their children to get vaccinated since there is no law mandating them to do so.

Atillo said the department is fully supportive of the government's effort to vaccinate children. However, he said the only problem as far as DepEd is concerned, this is not mandatory.

"There is this constitutional guarantee on the freedom of choice that is why if you can remember in all our engagements we say we encourage all to be vaccinated but of course we cannot force them really to be inoculated for so many reasons," Atillo said.

Religion and health concerns are among the many reasons why parents refused to have their children vaccinated, according to Atillo.

Despite the low turnout of vaccination among learners, the department continues to encourage parents to have their children inoculated.

Atillo, meanwhile, said almost a million students in the Davao Region have already enrolled for the school year 2022-2023.

As of August 11, a total of 951,312 students have already enrolled. The figure is already 68 percent of last year's 1,395,893 enrollees, with over a week left for enrollment.

Out of the more than 950,000 students enrolled, 349,557 are from Davao City.

Atillo, however, said the number is a "far cry" from the number of enrollees in the past two years of the pandemic.

Atillo said that for the first months of the school year, all schools will offer a hybrid modality of learning, and will shift to a full face-to-face learning scheme on November 2.

19.26M enrolled for new school year

He said the return to full face-to-face classes is "going to be a resurrection of the traditional conduct of classes in the country."

Atillo assures us that the department has already prepared contingency plans to respond to any health risks and incidents such as the possibility of another surge of Covid-19 cases.

SOCIETY'S SOCIAL WEAKLINGS?

Refusal and compassion characterize society's attitude as regards social weaklings and handicapped people. It's a topic which one gladly drives out, represses or tries to forget. I have written about this topic many times, although I have missed more about it.

Even in different groups, some segments of society are distant from them. The socially discriminated and handicapped people don't correspond to performance, work, capacity, stress and competition in our daily surroundings. Opinions like these - well, that's how people do it!

The anti-social slum inhabitant has not accepted his responsibility, and the anti-social confidence trickster, certainly not blind and without having difficulty in walking, doesn't believe in us. That's it! Finished!

The "bobo", the alcoholic, the without means "gentleman of the road" - so what! Did everybody not choose his own living conditions? In plain words: the ideals of success, ability, efficiency, and competitiveness in our performance-oriented society and its business life describe such fringe groups as "standard violators", such as in failure, flop or slacker. But remember: tax evasion or corruption is more costly than a social welfare client.

Do you have a social weakness or handicapped people in your surroundings - in your company? Mostly, these persons appear as a monotonous mass through the glasses of prejudices. How painful!

Honestly, but true: hindrance and handicap drive people into poverty many times. Prevailing opinion is that poverty is going for a fault. The affected people draw back themselves with a sensible sense of shame. And, have you given notice already: most handicapped people feel isolated in their surroundings. Meeting such people sometimes becomes even a bashful situation, while giving the appearance of normality. In my opinion: this must not happen!

Sometimes we try to avoid any communication, because we might say something wrong. Then - just put a smile on your face, as I often did. I really plead for more integration. Let's give "such people" autonomy and acceptance starting in school or kindergarten. Let's increase more livable offers for organizations. Social weaklings and handicapped people don't hinder, hamper or prevent us from living in a society with a philanthropist face. We are all human beings.

Here’s my theory: Everyone wakes up in a good mood. It’s people and society that changes it.