Some evacuees back in Taal Lake to feed caged fish, gather food

Several residents of Agoncillo, Batangas have started to return to the Taal Lake area, albeit on a limited basis, to gather food and tend to their livelihoods.

According to data from the Batangas Public Information Office (PIO), Taal Volcano's activities had driven some 13,000 individuals to evacuation centers.

A majority of the evacuees -- or 8,593 individuals -- have sought refuge in their relatives' homes, while the remaining 4,739 are being served in evacuation centers.

Earlier this month, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) placed the Taal Volcano under Alert Level 3, after an eruption that vented a kilometer-high phreatomagmatic plume.

PHIVOLCS also had warned of the possibility of another eruption.

Some of the evacuees, like Ramjay Dela Luna, went back to Agoncillo over the weekend to harvest fish for some five evacuee families.

Dennis Suarez, another evacuee, went back to the area to feed the fish in pens in Taal Lake, and did laundry for his family.

The Batangas provincial government allows one male per household to return to the lake area for essential activities from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., most of them are fisherfolk who need to feed the fish in their fish pens. —LBG, GMA News