Philippines

MANILA (Reuters) - Colonel Romeo Caramat oversaw the bloodiest day in the blood-soaked war on drugs in the Philippines – 32 people killed in 24 hours in the province north of Manila where he was police chief in 2017.

Now the head of drug enforcement for the Philippine National Police, Caramat said that ultra-violent approach to curbing illicit drugs had not been effective.

“Shock and awe definitely did not work,” he told Reuters in an interview, speaking out for the first time on the issue. “Drug supply is still rampant.”

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine authorities on Sunday lowered the alert level at Taal Volcano, two weeks after it began spewing ash, steam and rocks, a move that will allow many of the more than 376,000 displaced villagers to return home.

A popular tourist destination just south of Manila because of its picturesque setting in the middle of a lake, Taal erupted on Jan. 12. It caused no known deaths but delivered an early crisis this year for one of the world’s most disaster-prone nations.

18 January 2020; AFP: Ash spewed by a Philippine volcano is being mixed with plastic waste to make bricks in an inventive response to the country's persistent problems of pollution and frequent natural disasters.

The Taal volcano burst into life nearly a week ago, sending towering dust columns into the sky and leaving nearby Binan city coated in fine grey powder.

TAGAYTAY, Philippines (AP) — An erupting Philippine volcano remains life-threatening despite weaker emissions and fewer tremors, an official said Friday and advised thousands of displaced villagers not to return to the danger zone.

The Taal volcano emitted weaker ash and steam explosions Thursday and Friday, the sixth day of its eruption. But despite the “seeming lull,” its continuing volcanic quakes, the drying of its crater lake and other signs indicate magma is moving beneath the volcano, said Ma. Antonia Bornas, a Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology official.

LEMERY, Philippines (AP) — A Philippine volcano belched smaller plumes of ash Thursday but shuddered continuously with earthquakes and cracked roads in nearby towns, which were blockaded by police due to fears of a bigger eruption.

Taal volcano’s crater lake and a nearby river have dried up in some of the signs of its continuing volcanic restiveness. That has prompted army troops and police to block villagers from sneaking back by boats to the volcanic island and nearby towns to retrieve belongings, poultry and cattle.

TALISAY, Philippines (AP) — It’s the second-most active volcano in the Philippines, a designated permanent danger zone long declared off-limits to human settlements. Yet to more than 5,000 people the Taal volcano is home.

TAGAYTAY, Philippines (AP) — A volcano near the Philippine capital spewed lava, ash and steam and trembled constantly Tuesday on the third day of an eruption that could portend a much bigger and dangerous eruption, officials warned as tens of thousands of people fled ash-blanketed villages in the danger zone.

MANILA, Jan 13 (NNN-PNA) — Classes at all levels in Metro Manila on Monday (January 13) has been suspended due to ash fall from the phreatic eruption of Taal Volcano, Philippines News Agency (PNA) reported.

In an advisory on Sunday, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said the suspension of classes include all 17 cities within Metro Manila, aside from the southern provinces Cavite and Batangas, as well as Santa Rosa and Biñan, Laguna.

TAGAYTAY, Philippines (AP) — Red-hot lava gushed out of a Philippine volcano Monday after a sudden eruption of ash and steam that forced villagers to flee and shut down Manila’s international airport, offices and schools.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or major damage from Taal volcano’s eruption south of the capital that began Sunday. But clouds of ash blew more than 100 kilometers (62 miles) north, reaching the bustling capital, Manila, and forcing the shutdown of the country’s main airport with more than 240 international and domestic flights cancelled so far.

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A tiny Philippine volcano that draws many tourists because of its picturesque setting amid a lake belched steam, ash and small rocks Sunday, prompting residents to flee from nearby villages and authorities to raise the danger level.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said Taal Volcano in Batangas province south of Manila blasted steam and ash up to 1 kilometer (about half a mile) into the sky amid signs of its growing restiveness in recent months.