Mayor Beng Climaco has instructed Dr. Elmeir Apolinario as head of the City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (CDRRMO) to assess whatever assistance the city of Zamboanga can give to families displaced by the ashfall resulting from Taal volcanic activity in Batangas province Sunday afternoon.

She said Dr. Apolinario, who is currently taking his masters at the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) in Manila, will form part of a team that AIM will deploy to Batangas to assess the situation in areas affected by the ashfall.

“My instruction to Dr. Apolinario is to also share whatever we can to help the affected families through the local government units in Batangas and surrounding areas,” the mayor said.

Meanwhile, the chief executive appealed to the Zamboangueños to pray for the ashfall victims from the areas surrounding the active Taal Volcano.

Reports have it that Taal Volcano began spewing lava yesterday and authorities warned that eruptions could last months.

As the Taal Volcano began to spew ash and smoke on Sunday, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) raised its status to an Alert Level 4, indicating a hazardous eruption is possible within hours to days. The alert system has five levels with Alert Level 5, meaning a hazardous eruption is in progress. A weak lava flow was emitted from the active volcano for an hour and a half early Monday morning, according to PHIVOLCS. The volcano was only spewing smoke and ash on Sunday. Officials said that this does not necessarily mean the volcano has entered the “hazardous explosive eruption” phase yet.-(Vic Larato)