SEVERAL day tourists visiting Tagaytay on Sunday got the surprise of their lives as they witnessed the sudden eruption of Taal Volcano.
“[The eruption] started around 2 p.m, and we heard some rumbling in the distance, then we saw Taal spewing a cloud of ash,” said Anna Karenina P. Villamin, chief operating officer of Dale Carnegie Philippines, who had brought guests — business colleagues from Malaysia,Thailand, Indonesia, and Myanmar— for a sightseeing tour of Tagaytay.
She said their group didn’t think it was serious it, and thought the ash cloud was just normal, as they watched it from the grounds of Taal Vista Hotel, which has one of the clearest views of the active volcano. “We even had coffee outside,” and managed to have some souvenir photos taken with the group.
“It was just that way as we left at 4 p.m. But on the way down [going back to Manila], ash started falling. It was a good thing there were a lot of Good Samaritans along the way who hosed down our car windshield, and that of other motorists, otherwise we wouldn’t be able to see anything while driving.”
Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo has asked tourists still remaining in the Tagaytay, Batangas and Cavite areas to “consider returning” to Manila or their home cities as a precautionary measure due to the sudden eruption of Taal Volcano.
While initial reports from the field indicated no more tourists in the affected areas, “We continue to monitor the situation and are checking with hotels and other accommodation establishments in the area to ensure the safety of their guests,” she stressed.
Citing a report from DOT’s Calabarzon office, Romulo Puyat said “a massive evacuation” of residents in Balete, San Nicolas and Talisay in Batangas has already begun. “No tourists affected. but will continue to check,” she quoted from the DOT regional office’s report.
Roseann Coscolluela Villegas, corporate communications director of Robinsons Land Corp., which operates Summit Ridge Tagaytay, said in a text message: “There was no evacuation of guests. These guests were due to check out today.”
SM Hotels and Conventions Corp. Vice President for Marketing and Communications Nina Andrea L. Rigor told the BusinessMirror they still had guests booked at Taal Vista Hotel and Pico Sands Hotel, but added, “We’re on normal operations, since we have generators so there was no need to evacuate them. Everything is being managed from both properties’ end.” She did not say how many guests were still booked in at their hotels in Tagaytay and Batangas.
As of December 27, 2019, the DOT has accredited 88 hotels, resorts, and mabuhay accommodations in Region 4-A, or Calabarzon.
Flights suspended
Meanwhile, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) announced the suspension of “air activities at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) in Pasay City “due to volcanic ash clouds present at major Philippine air traffic ways after the recent explosion of Taal Volcano in Batangas earlier this afternoon.”
The CAAP released a notice to airmen (Notam) B0090/20 and B0089/20 suspending flights arriving (from January 12 at 7 p,m until 11 p.m.) and departing (from January 12 at 6:22 p.m, until 11 p.m,) at the Naia.
“The closure of the airport came after volcanic ash clouds have been reported to reach 50,000 ft. from surface level, directly affecting air traffic ways. A pilot landing into manila has also encountered volcanic ash inflight,” said the CAAP advisory.
Flag carrier Philippine Airlines said its affected flights are now diverted to the Clark International Airport in Pampanga. These are PR 721 London-Manila, PR 421 Haneda-Manila, and PR 331 Xiamen-Manila.
Also, it said “all flights originally scheduled to depart from Manila between 6:30 p.m. and 11 p.m. have been declared cancelled.”
Image credits: Photo courtesy Nikka P. Villamin
1 comment
Clark is now closed