The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) made a response to Talisay, Batangas Vice Mayor Charlie Natauan criticizing the government scientists for causing panic to the affected families of Taal volcano and insisting that the government should allow them already to go home.

In a press conference, Phivolcs Volcano Monitoring and Eruption Prediction Division head Mariton Bornas said that they understand the feelings of Natauan, however, they’re going to stand firm to their decision not to allow anyone to go near the 14km danger zone of Taal Volcano.

“With all due respect to the Vice Mayor, we can understand that he is under so much stress. We would like to respect ‘yung feelings ni Vice Mayor,” she said.

“We understand their plight. We will be the first one to say if it’s safe to go back. We have them in mind all the time,” she added.

Bornas explained that all their advisories are being backed by data.

“At the same time, we are firm in our science. We are doing our best. We are working doubly hard so we can give them the best information,” she said.

Meanwhile, an official of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) was saddened by the statement of Natanauan who even asked if Phivolcs chief Renato Solidum Jr. is acting like a God already.

According to DILG Spokesman Jonathan Maya, they’re going to communicate with the Vice Mayor to convince him that the decisions of Philvolcs are based on data.

“Nakakalungkot nga po nung mabalitaan namin ang statement ng ating vice mayor na hindi po siya naniniwala,” he said.

Yesterday, Natanauan criticized Solidumand even bared his plan to talk with the President to convince the chief executive that it’s already safe for the people of Talisay to go home.

“Ang plano ko as vice mayor ay ako ay humihingi ng kuwan kay Presidente Duterte na kung maaari ‘yung opinyon ng Phivolcs ay medyo baguhin kasi masyado niyang pinalala ang sitwasyon ng balita,” Natanauan said.

“Masyado niyang ano e, sabi niya mas malakas ang puputok na susunod, nag iipon lamang. Opinyon niya ‘yon…Nag-iisa siya (Solidum) sa kaniyang opinyon. Kami buong Batangas ang naapektuhan sa kaniyang sinasabi. Pag-aralan niyang mabuti,” he added.

“Wala pang nakapag predict sa buong mundo kahit scientist sa pagputok ng bulkan, bakit naman nasabi niya, siya ba ay Diyos?” he also said.

Senator Panfilo Lacson admitted his mistake in understanding the Quo Warranto petition filed by Solicitor General Jose Calida against television network giant ABS-CBN.

On his Twitter post, Lacson said that he ‘misinterpreted’ the said quo warranto petition, saying that he thought that they filed it to prevent the Congress from doing their job in renewing the franchise of ABS-CBN.

However, he later realized that if the Supreme Court revoke the franchise of ABS-CBN, Congress has nothing to renew anymore.

“My bad. I misinterpreted Solgen’s ‘quo warranto’ petition to mean preventing Congress from acting on pending bills to renew the ABS-CBN 25-yr old franchise instead of revoking the same. If SC revokes, Congress has nothing to renew. It’s all up to the Supreme Court. Sorry,” said Lacson.

My bad. I misinterpreted Solgen’s 'quo warranto' petition to mean preventing Congress from acting on pending bills to renew the ABS-CBN 25-yr old franchise instead of revoking the same. If SC revokes, Congress has nothing to renew. It’s all up to the Supreme Court. Sorry.

— PING LACSON (@iampinglacson) January 20, 2020

Yesterday, Lacson reminded President Rodrigo Duterte that the Congress has the right to decide about the fate of ABS-CBN’s franchise.

He also called the Quo Warranto petition filed by Calida as unnecessary.

“Ang renewal ng franchise, ayon sa Constitution, nasa Kongreso yan. Kami ang magde-deliberate, at ang mag-a-approve niyan, Pangulo,” Lacson said.

“I think parang superfluous ang mag-quo warranto pa para pigilan ang pag-renew ng franchise, kasi power ng Congress ‘yan… Kami ang dapat masusunod kung mare-renew ba ng another 25 years ang media outfit…So I think medyo duplicitous ang move para pigilan, kasi hindi talaga kayang pigilan ang Kongreso,” he added.

He also mentioned a possible constitutional crisis if the Supreme Court grants the Quo Warranto petition.

“Baka magkaroon tayo ng constitutional crisis. Kasi halimbawa, kung mag-grant ang SC ng quo warranto at kasalukuyang nagsasagawa kami ng plenary deliberation sa renewal ng franchise ng ABS-CBN, ano ang mananaig doon? Of course sabi nila, pag sinabi ng SC ganito, it becomes part of the law of the land, pero Constitution itong pinag-uusapan natin. ‘Di pwedeng sabihin ng SC na unconstitutional ang ginagawang deliberation ng Congress sa pag-renew ng franchise kasi maliwanag sa Constitution na sa amin ‘yan,” he said.

The franchise of ABS-CBN is set to expire in March this year.

The Vice Mayor of Talisay, Batangas, the municipality where Taal volcano is located slammed the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) chief seismologist, Dr. Renato Solidum Jr., for not allowing residents to go home.

In an interview with DZMM, Vice Mayor Charlie Natauan said that he’s planning to talk to President Rodrigo Duterte to complain about the updates of PHILVOCS.

According to him, Solidum’s update about Taal is only causing panic to the people of Batangas, he also called the scientist’s statements as ‘opinions’.

“Ang plano ko as vice mayor ay ako ay humihingi ng kuwan kay Presidente Duterte na kung maaari ‘yung opinyon ng Phivolcs ay medyo baguhin kasi masyado niyang pinalala ang sitwasyon ng balita,” Natanauan said.

“Masyado niyang ano e, sabi niya mas malakas ang puputok na susunod, nag iipon lamang. Opinyon niya ‘yon…Nag-iisa siya (Solidum) sa kaniyang opinyon. Kami buong Batangas ang naapektuhan sa kaniyang sinasabi. Pag-aralan niyang mabuti,” he added.

Natauan then gave his own findings of the current condition of Taal, saying that it’s already impossible for the volcano to erpt again.

He also said that the people only needed boats to escape the lava from Taal if ever that it heightened its activity again.

“Pagkabagsak (ng lava) sa tubig, tumitigil siya dahil nababasa,” he said.

The Vice Mayor also asked if Solidum is already acting as a God because he seems acting like he has the capability to predict the activity of Taal.

“Wala pang nakapag predict sa buong mundo kahit scientist sa pagputok ng bulkan,” he said.

“Bakit naman nasabi niya, siya ba ay Diyos?” he added.

Natauan said that the dangerous erption of Taal is already things of the past.

“Ang history ng bulkang ito naglilindol muna bago siya pumutok eh ngayon naman walang lindol…Ako ordinaryong tao lamang pero ‘yung mga sinasabi nilang pagsabog noong araw lang iyon,” he said.

He then asked the government to let the residents back to their homes as no one could predict the next movement of the Taal volcano.

“Pabalikin na kami sana dahil wala naman nakaka-detect ng putok ng bulkan, di na nga nagalaw,” he said.

“Pabalikin ang tao kasi normal na. Ano bang gusto niya (Solidum)?” he added.

As of writing, PHIVOLCS is keeping the alert level 4 in Taal volcano and still disallowing residents to go back to their homes located near the danger zone.

Senator Panfilo Lacson reminded President Rodrigo Duterte that the Congress is the one that should decide on the fate of television network ABS-CBN’s franchise.

In a radio interview, Lacson said that Congress has the authority to give legislative franchises to a corporation and public utilities like ABS-CBN.

He also expressed his opposition to the move of Solicitor General Jose Calida who reportedly planning to file a Quo Warranto petition against ABS-CBN calling the move unnecessary.

“Ang renewal ng franchise, ayon sa Constitution, nasa Kongreso yan. Kami ang magde-deliberate, at ang mag-a-approve niyan, Pangulo,” Lacson said.

“I think parang superfluous ang mag-quo warranto pa para pigilan ang pag-renew ng franchise, kasi power ng Congress ‘yan… Kami ang dapat masusunod kung mare-renew ba ng another 25 years ang media outfit…So I think medyo duplicitous ang move para pigilan, kasi hindi talaga kayang pigilan ang Kongreso,” he added.

Lacson also warned of a constitutional crisis if Supreme Court sided with the petition of Calida against ABS-CBN.

“Baka magkaroon tayo ng constitutional crisis. Kasi halimbawa, kung mag-grant ang SC ng quo warranto at kasalukuyang nagsasagawa kami ng plenary deliberation sa renewal ng franchise ng ABS-CBN, ano ang mananaig doon? Of course sabi nila, pag sinabi ng SC ganito, it becomes part of the law of the land, pero Constitution itong pinag-uusapan natin. ‘Di pwedeng sabihin ng SC na unconstitutional ang ginagawang deliberation ng Congress sa pag-renew ng franchise kasi maliwanag sa Constitution na sa amin ‘yan,” he said.

As a response, the Palace said that Lacson should consult a lawyer first before talking about a constitutional crisis.

“With due respect to my good friend Senator Lacson, he is not a lawyer. Yung portion na yun siguro ikonsulta niya muna,” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said.

ABS-CBN’s franchise is set to expire in March 2020 and until now President Rodrigo Duterte is still opposing its renewal.

Senator Ronald Dela Rosa who’s a known motorcycle enthusiast announced that he’s no longer taking part in the 2020 Ironman motorcycle challenge because of an unfortunate incident.

On a Facebook post, Dela Rosa said that he crashed while traveling to a wet and glossy asphalt road in Cagayan Valley.

He also posted his picture to show the aftermath of the incident, showing that he’s wearing arm string.

“Sh*t happens! And it really happened when I crashed along the wet and glossy asphalt road of sanchez mira, cagayan valley. I can no longer finish the 2020 boss ironman motorcycle challenge supposedly this afternoon,” said Dela Rosa.

Before the incident, Dela Rosa showed a photo of him being swarmed by fans in Vigan City.

His supporters are praying for his quick recovery as he’s still needed to work at the Senate.

The lawyer who filed a complaint against President Rodrigo Duterte to the ICC, and withdrew a few days ago revealed that he was hired by some members of the opposition to help them make Vice President Leni Robredo the chief executive.

At a press conference, Atty. Jude Sabio revealed the plan of the opposition to oust Duterte to give Robredo the presidency.

According to him, until now he was still not being paid for his service for self-confessed DDS member Edgar Matobato, and they also attempted to hire him as the lawyer of Peter Joemel “Bikoy” Advincula.

“They had the gall and temerity to recruit me as lawyer for alias Bikoy in order to achieve their political agenda, which is to undermine and topple President Duterte so that Vice President [Leni] Robredo would become President, and yet earlier for the cases of Matobato, I was the victim of ‘lingla’ or fraud, leaving my professional billing unpaid by them up to now…” said Sabio.

“In my 25 years of practice, trabaho kong maghanap ng hustisya pero wala na akong balak diyan sa kaso na ‘yan kung ang nandiyan pa rin itong sila Trillanes at ang oposisyon na ‘yan. Wala na akong balak diyan kasi nga ang ginagawa nila nakasisira lang sa kasong iyan,” he added.

Sabio said that he’s already done in participating to the plans of the opposition that’s why he decided to withdraw the complaint he filed to the ICC.

“Gumawa sila ng mga kalokohan laban kay Pangulong Duterte at nakita ko na ginagamit lang nila ang kaso sa ICC para sa kanilang politika at ayaw ko nang maging kasali sa ganyang katarantaduhan,” the lawyer said.

Sabio also denied that he was paid by the allies of President Duterte to withdraw the complaint to the ICC.

“I will deny categorically any insinuation that I received any amount for this withdrawal. To tell you honestly, I am not for sale,” he said.

“Puro na lang pera. Kapag mayroon kang ginawa na nakakagimbal laging sinasabi nagkakapera ka. Huwag naman tayong ganiyan. Hindi naman tayo for sale,” he added.

Because of the pouring donations for the people affected by Taal volcano, some evacuees found unusual clothing like a wedding dress, school uniforms and even wear for detainees.

Instead of not accepting those donations, the good people of Batangas wear it with a smile on their face and it gave laughs to thousands of netizens on social media.

However, a group that’s participating in the relief efforts in Batangas reminded the netizens, especially those who are planning to donate their used clothes to treat the evacuees with dignity.

In a statement, the group “Citizens’ Disaster Response Center” asked the netizens to donate clothes that can be used by evacuees every day.

“A gentle reminder. To those who are donating, please donate clothes that other people can still use. To those who are accepting donations and distributing them, please sort the donations before distribution, and make sure that the clothes are appropriate for those who will receive them,” the group said.

“Let us treat the survivors with dignity,” they added.

A netizen who followed the group on social media also expressed the same thoughts, saying that some people are only donating some of the clothes as a way to dispose it.

“I agree with this. Yung iba maka-donate lang ng ididispose nilang items. Yung ibang damit parang pwede
nang gawing basahan. Nagiging burden pa sa magttransport ng donations,” netizen Dianne Peralta Banares.

As of writing, evacuees are still not allowed to go back to their homes as the authorities still kept alert level 4 in the Taal volcano.