It is possible that this has made the news outside of the Philippines, but recently there has been some volcanic activity in southern Luzon. Mt. Bulusan in the province of Sorsogon has been spewing ash for the last week or two and is expected to erupt. While Bulusan is in Bicol, it is very far south of here and the area where I, and all the other volunteers in Bicol, is not included in the possible danger zones. I’ve been told that there have been some minor earthquakes recently, but I haven’t felt any of them and no apparent damaged has been incurred in relation to those quakes. I don’t know if there is any relation to the recent earthquakes in southeast asia or to the recent activity from Mt. Mayon (which is closer than Mt Bulusan, but still not close enough to effect me). We will be meeting in Sorsogon next weekend to celebrate the 4th of July, but don’t worry- we will be nowhere near the volcano and will be quite safe.
On the news tonight they said that the towns in the danger zone by Bulusan have already made most of the preparations for evacuation and are ready to leave when the need arises. Most recently, there have also been reports flooding in a town near Bulusan in Sorsogon- it is not related to the volcano, but rather to excessive rainfall (which I am not seeing here at my site). It was also noted on the news that PGMA (President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo) called a nationwide school volcano/earthquake drill. Interestingly enough, I didn’t hear anything about this in school today but it was apparently declared “a success!” They also mentioned on the news that the government is attempting to make a temporary peace agreement with the NPA (Pew People’s Army, a Maoist terrorist organization that has a good deal of its members in the Bicol region) to allow the military to come in and help the evacuation efforts without risk of attack. The mountainous region of Sorsogon is known to have a large NPA standing, compared to the rest of the region and country, and there is usually tension and skirmishes when the military goes into an NPA-strong area.
Another example of this happened in Quezon province a few days ago. Apparently a group of guerilla rebels attacked a military battalion near a stretch of the national highway. There were no known casualties and the area is deemed “safe” but we have been informed that for the next 4 weeks we must fly if we want to leave Bicol. In order to leave by bus, train or van we must pass through this stretch of highway even though Quezon province is considered a gray zone (we may pass through, but not make it our destination of overnight there without clearance from PC). Normal traffic has resumed, but PC wants to be sure and will re-assess the situation within the next 3½ weeks and let us know our clearance.
I know all of this news sounds bad (it is!) and you’re probably wondering why I’d choose to mention it at all. The point here is to show how PC takes measures to ensure our safety and security. In the past few week since Mt. Bulusan (and another volcano on Samar) began acting up, I have received several S&S notices in my weekly pouches and no fewer than five emails giving me updates- plus I’m sure that there will be several more waiting for me now. The regions where there are perceived threats, both from nature and humans, there are no volunteers. For the volunteers that are near areas of possible danger (there are a lot of active volcanoes here) the staff has taken great measures to make sure that we have evacuation plans and are ready to act should the situation arise. In the meantime, rest assured that I am very much safe, sound and far away from anything that could be considered a threat to me and my fellow volunteers.