IPAT LUNA: “Busting 7 Myths on Taal Lake and Volcano”
… mythmaking is a necessary facet of living and inner peace.
But some are also merely errors, either assumed by many and corrected by science, or never really determined. I guess no one can claim their truth to be eternal, because what is true now may be disputed tomorrow. The trick is to dispute what is scientifically proven with equally good science and to hold off on believing something that is mere hypothesis and not supported by any peer reviewed studies. Here are a few, and if any of them are proven or disproven, please cite the study, method, etc etc. The last two are legal opinions at best, but I can defend them:
1. Taal volcano is the smallest volcano. Who did the measurements and what was measured? Is it the cone, the crater, which cone or crater, the magma chamber, the caldera? A handful of other volcanoes in the world lays claim to this same distinction and no one has ever given a measurement. There are claims that what people actually mean is that it is the lowest active volcano, which is a poor excuse because what is actually claimed is that it is the smallest. But even at a low 311 meters, it does not seem to hold that distinction either.
2. There is a sunken church from previous eruptions. This was mostly derived from what is probably the only tome on the lake — Hargrove’s Mysteries of Taal where he described what looked like human made piles of rock. Dr Bong Dizon of the National Museum later disputes this saying there are no artifacts around the structures that would indicate human habitation and that the formations are natural.
4. Maliputo is a species endemic to Taal. Maliputo is the giant trevally present also in salt water and not a different species. It is known to many of us as the talakitok. When it migrates upstream and feeds on the microscopic life forms of Taal Lake, the consistency of the flesh changes and price triples.
5. The tawilis is a species that evolved after the 1754 eruption because the body of water turned from salt to fresh. .Studies clearly show that tawilis as a species has been in existence since the late Pleistocene. https://www.ingentaconnect.com/…/0000…/00000001/art00018https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233068698_Origin_and_geologic_features_of_Taal_Lake_Philippines
6. Taal Volcano is national park and therefore cannot be occupied. Land on Volcano Island is for the most part private, having been titled as early as the Spanish colonial government and the titles are recognized today. Private lands within protected areas have to be respected but their owners and occupants need to follow the rules and regulations imposed int he protected area, unless such constitutes a taking of private property for public use, in which case government has to expropriate.
7. The entire shoreline has 20 meters of shoreline that is owned by the public. The shoreline of Taal Lake has been changing and there is as yet no clarity as to where the zone should be measured from. The e-NIPAS Act specifies that easements in protected areas are now at 40 meters but that does not necessarily mean it is public. Throughout the history of land law, the time of titling would determine whether the claim would have been given up to the water line or declined for that zone. Nevertheless, an easement does not necessarily mean there is no private owner, it only means the private owner must respect an annotation on his title that requries no permanent structures in that zone. The legal questions remain whether existing structures within the 20 to 40 meters will be tolerated or if the owners of those can claim that such an increase in easement would mean a taking of private property for public use, in which case it can only be demolished if expropriated.
IPAT LUNA: “Busting 7 Myths on Taal Lake and Volcano”
… mythmaking is a necessary facet of living and inner peace.
But some are also merely errors, either assumed by many and corrected by science, or never really determined. I guess no one can claim their truth to be eternal, because what is true now may be disputed tomorrow. The trick is to dispute what is scientifically proven with equally good science and to hold off on believing something that is mere hypothesis and not supported by any peer reviewed studies. Here are a few, and if any of them are proven or disproven, please cite the study, method, etc etc. The last two are legal opinions at best, but I can defend them:
1. Taal volcano is the smallest volcano. Who did the measurements and what was measured? Is it the cone, the crater, which cone or crater, the magma chamber, the caldera? A handful of other volcanoes in the world lays claim to this same distinction and no one has ever given a measurement. There are claims that what people actually mean is that it is the lowest active volcano, which is a poor excuse because what is actually claimed is that it is the smallest. But even at a low 311 meters, it does not seem to hold that distinction either.
2. There is a sunken church from previous eruptions. This was mostly derived from what is probably the only tome on the lake — Hargrove’s Mysteries of Taal where he described what looked like human made piles of rock. Dr Bong Dizon of the National Museum later disputes this saying there are no artifacts around the structures that would indicate human habitation and that the formations are natural.
3. There was a thousand foot pre-historic huge volcano that collapsed unto itself and Tagaytay ridge and Makulot are the sides. Emmanuel Ramos disputed this in 2002 describing the origin of Taal Lake using this illustration: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233068698_Origin_and_geologic_features_of_Taal_Lake_Philippines
4. Maliputo is a species endemic to Taal. Maliputo is the giant trevally present also in salt water and not a different species. It is known to many of us as the talakitok. When it migrates upstream and feeds on the microscopic life forms of Taal Lake, the consistency of the flesh changes and price triples.
5. The tawilis is a species that evolved after the 1754 eruption because the body of water turned from salt to fresh. .Studies clearly show that tawilis as a species has been in existence since the late Pleistocene. https://www.ingentaconnect.com/…/0000…/00000001/art00018https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233068698_Origin_and_geologic_features_of_Taal_Lake_Philippines
6. Taal Volcano is national park and therefore cannot be occupied. Land on Volcano Island is for the most part private, having been titled as early as the Spanish colonial government and the titles are recognized today. Private lands within protected areas have to be respected but their owners and occupants need to follow the rules and regulations imposed int he protected area, unless such constitutes a taking of private property for public use, in which case government has to expropriate.
7. The entire shoreline has 20 meters of shoreline that is owned by the public. The shoreline of Taal Lake has been changing and there is as yet no clarity as to where the zone should be measured from. The e-NIPAS Act specifies that easements in protected areas are now at 40 meters but that does not necessarily mean it is public. Throughout the history of land law, the time of titling would determine whether the claim would have been given up to the water line or declined for that zone. Nevertheless, an easement does not necessarily mean there is no private owner, it only means the private owner must respect an annotation on his title that requries no permanent structures in that zone. The legal questions remain whether existing structures within the 20 to 40 meters will be tolerated or if the owners of those can claim that such an increase in easement would mean a taking of private property for public use, in which case it can only be demolished if expropriated.
https://www.facebook.com/notes/ipat-luna/busting-7-myths-on-taal-lake-and-volcano/10157223417678579/
CARL REHNBERG:”Taal eruption update”
https://www.volcanocafe.org/taal-eruption-update/