By Emme Rose Santiagudo
Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas asked Ilonggos to pray for the people of Batangas and residents in the nearby provinces that are currently affected by the eruption of the Taal Volcano.
During the regular flag raising ceremony on Monday, the mayor called for prayers adding that he has friends in Tagaytay and Metro Manila who are also affected by the eruption.
“I have friends in Tagaytay and Metro Manila who are experiencing the ash fall and tremors. Kabay pa ini nga eruption sa Taal indi na malawid kag mabalik na kita sa normal na pangabuhi,” he said.
Treñas said it is high time for everyone to pray following the challenging events that have happened in January.
“Let us pray that the situation will not last long. Let us hope that not too many people will get affected by this calamity. Enero pa lang damo na gakalatabo sa aton siguro dapat na gidman na dumdumon naton aton mga sala and mangamuyo kita,” he added.
This was also the appeal of Rev. Fr. Edsel Alcayaga, parish priest of San Jose de Placer on Thursday who also underscored the need of prayers amid the calamities and events happening worldwide.
“I think we need to pray. There is really a need for us to pray. We need faith from God. Let’s pray for the peace for the world, let’s pray that we will be spared from both manmade and natural calamities,” he said.
On Sunday afternoon, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) placed Taal Volcano under Alert Level 4 which means a hazardous eruption is “imminent,” or may occur “within hours to days.
According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) around 7,742 people or 966 families from the seven cities and municipalities in Batangas including one city in Cavite province have been evacuated as of Monday.
Meanwhile, the province of Batangas declared a state of calamity on Monday following the eruption of Taal.
