BATANGAS CITY (PNA) – The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) has called on school authorities in affected Batangas town to hold online classes to keep students safely at home amid Taal Volcano’s renewed spewing of volcanic smog or “vog.”
In an interview on Thursday, September 21, Dr. Amor Banuelos-Calayan, PDRRMO head, revealed that her office has just received a report that several high school students from Balete town experienced skin irritation, breathing difficulties, and some even had asthma attacks.
Calayan said a meeting was held on Wednesday, September 20, with various city and municipal DRRMOs in an effort to develop a province-wide strategy for addressing the health and economic threats posed by the volcano. To mitigate vog-related reactions, Calayan said the PDRRMO has been distributing oximeters, thermometers, and N-95 face masks in towns closest to the active volcano.
The DRRM officials were informed by the DepEd-Batangas that the authority to suspend classes during calamities, including the eruption of the Taal Volcano, is given to high school principals and local government units pursuant to DepEd Order 37, Series of 2022.