By Marian Pastor Roces
THE OUTRAGE spiked social Geiger counters. The Imelda Marcos re-appearance at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), upon the invitation of its Board to be honored as founder, set off rumblings at a time of heightened seismic activity. Even if low intensity, the bubbling-over is as much produced by pent-up steam as Taal’s.
i’m actually surprised that there are no prayer brigades storming the heavens for a miracle that would end the volcano’s level 4 eruption, as well as the earthquakes and fissures that signify magmatic activity that could escalate into a lethal explosion of level 5 proportions.
but wait, just found this. Cardinal Tagle urges Filipinos to include Taal Volcano eruption victims in prayers. according to a january 13 circular:
In solidarity with our brothers and sisters who are affected by the eruption of Taal Volcano Cardinal Luis Antonio G. Tagle requests that a second collection be taken at all Masses from the evening of Saturday, January 18 and the whole day of Sunday, Janurary 19.
…We also encourage that intention that the eruptions may end and that all may be safe be included in the Prayer of the Faithful of all our Masses.
rather cryptic and hardly inspiring. but thanks na rin for the second collection (sana the first also) for the taal victims, and yes let’s pray for their safety, but how about praying even harder for taal — lord, let the magma subside, the eruptions end — which would take a miracle, yes, and where else to turn for a miracle, who else to lead prayers for a miracle, for maximum effect, before things get worse.
it would take a lot of faith of course, because we know that not all prayers are granted, but let’s give it a shot, why not. we have more to lose than we’ve already lost and continue to lose, across all classes and sectors, including religious orders that have retreat houses in tagaytay and, of course, the altas of forbes and dasma and the new-rich for whom a resthouse or hideaway with a view of the crater lake had become a status symbol.
but never mind. baka naman everyone’s already praying hard. what’s important is that we’re all on the same page, praying for the same thing: for taal to calm down. hindi na sana mag-level 5, because that would be catastrophic for quite a major chunk of luzon.
i guess we thought taal volcano would accommodate us forever just because her last eruptions were rather mild and subdued. and so we thoughtlessly fearlessly took over her slopes, and developed developed developed all the way to the top, the more spectacular the view of the lake, the higher the returns, ka-ching!
the babaylans and shamans say that the gods are angry and need placating, perhaps with a promise to show a little more respect for the volcano, keep our distance, so to speak, and perhaps with a living sacrifice tossed in for good measure, why not indeed.
the scientists are more circumspect but saying essentially the same thing, that we have trifled with, messed up, the unique ecology of a killer volcano, we refused to heed warnings of danger to come, and now we pay the price.
Few volcanoes on Earth pose as much of a potential threat to human life as Taal in the Philippines. It’s a caldera volcano that last erupted in 1977 and which has over 24 million people living within ~60 miles (100 km) of it. Taal has the potential for large explosive eruptions that could spread ash across much of the Philippines, including the capital, Manila. Read on…
