After a phreatomagmatic eruption of the Taal Volcano on Thursday, July 1, nearby communities feared for the worst. The trauma of the death and destruction wrought by last year’s volcanic eruption was still fresh on their minds.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) raised Taal Volcano to Alert Level 3 after its main crater “generated a short-lived dark phreatomagmatic plume one kilometer high” past 3 pm. Phivolcs also recommended the evacuation of residents in the Taal Volcano Island and high-risk barangays in the towns of Agoncillo and Laurel in Batangas.
Despite the gravity of the agency’s warning, the President still managed to crack a joke and downplay the situation, saying it is “not really a grave concern”.
“Dumaan man kami kanina. Siguro lagyan ko lang ng cap, ‘yung butas. Itong Taal na ‘yan,” the chief executive said.
(We passed by earlier. Maybe I will just put a cap on the hole. That Taal.)
Making a joke amid an emergency is not new for the President. During the eruption of the Taal Volcano last year, the chief executive said he would eat the ash and pee on the volcano. In November 2020, Duterte and other officials said they were “undersexed” and had “too many women” during a situation briefing on Typhoon Ulysses. (READ: Sexist jokes are Duterte’s way of coping with disasters – Roque)
Not a laughing matter
Filipinos online were nowhere near amused to this latest antic of the president. In response to Duterte’s jest, people took to social media to show their disapproval of how he made light of the situation.
Many pointed out that instead of saying he would put a cap on the volcano, the president should be sensitive about the fate of those affected and take concrete steps in response to the situation.
“‘Kakainin ang ashfall,’ he’ll ‘pee on it,’ cursing the COVID-19 virus, ‘sampalin ang gago,’ are all part of part of #DutertePalpak rule, bordering to being insane, when everybody in the country is already concerned,” Ariel “Ka Ayik” Casilao, Anakpawis Party-list National President said in a press statement.
“The jokes [don’t] work anymore. It ends here. It should’ve ended a long time ago. Give us something. At least catchphrases in RPDR and other reality shows are funny and witty. Yours, Duterte, is just rude, callous, and insensitive. It stops now,” said theater actor Phi Palmos.
Ang lagyan mo ng cap iyang bunganga mo Duterte. Puro kabastusan ang lumalabas.
— LAHING
Kaya nagkakaloko-loko ang bansa dahil puro ka dada kulang sa gawa. Mabuti pa iyong bulkan may ibubuga. Ikaw WALA! pic.twitter.com/Ucu5vW24tKPINOY
(@lahingpnoy) July 1, 2021
PINOY
(@lahingpnoy) The caption though.
—
So, ganyan nila paghahandaan ang pagtugon nila sa Taal? Well, mas lalong walang assurance ang response nila kung gayon. LALAGYAN NG CAP? Ano 'yan, soda bottle na pwede mo ibalik ang takip kapag sumasabog pagkatapos mong alug-alugin?https://t.co/ynttgZobtN
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(@divergentmockin) July 2, 2021
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(@divergentmockin) Reminder for elections
Netizens also pointed out that this instance should serve as a reminder of who the president is for voters in the 2022 national elections. Duterte has expressed intentions to run for vice president.
“He doesn’t know or care [about] what’s happening. Remember him not in the 2022 elections,” Twitter user @lzydro said.
Here’s what other netizens had to say about this:
– Rappler.com
Kristel Ogsimer is a Rappler intern from the University of Santo Tomas taking up a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism.