OCD-Central Luzon: No imminent eruption of Mount Pinatubo

Mt. Pinatubo (Photo from pexels)
Mt. Pinatubo (Photo from pexels)

THE Office of Civil Defense (OCD)-Central Luzon has clarified that there is no imminent eruption of Mount Pinatubo and the Alert Level 1 status that was raised since March 4 equates to low level unrest.

“We remind the public especially in Central Luzon that when it comes to the status of Mount Pinatubo and other disasters, please like and follow only the official social media pages or websites of our warning agencies,” said OCD Regional Information Officer Francesca Quizon after false information circulating on social media about Mount Pinatubo’s alert level caused panic and anxiety to the public.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said that the Alert Level 1 announcement is due to the persistent “low seismicity” or magmatic, tectonic, or hydrothermal disturbance beneath the volcano.

Quizon also said that the alert level aims to give warning to agencies involved, especially to the local government units, which are the first line of defense, to revisit their contingency and disaster preparedness plans.

“It is to clear the reactions of the people who make the issue worse. Social media is very powerful. Do not panic because we are doing this for proper information and knowledge for our people in Central Luzon,” she said.

She said the agencies are alerted “to make ourselves safe” as Central Luzon is vulnerable to natural disasters.

In terms of preparedness, the OCD said that compared to the eruption of Mount Pinatubo 30 years ago, Central Luzon has improved with much more vigilance.

“We are very much prepared now especially that we have Republic Act 10121, which allowed us to have Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Councils from national level down to the barangays which are guarding the surrounding areas or the area of responsibility of Mount Pinatubo,” Quizon said.

In case of disaster, she said the region could tap “Operation Listo,” an advocacy program of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, to strengthen disaster preparedness of local government units using the whole-of-government approach.

“Operation Listo” involves a manual on what to perform before, during, and after the volcanic eruption.

Located in the tripoint boundary of Zambales, Pampanga, and Tarlac, Mount Pinatubo erupted in June 1991. It was considered the second-largest terrestrial eruption of the 20th century. (PIA)

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