The quiet life of the Aeta people in the municipality of Floridablanca, Pampanga has been disturbed in recent days due to the alleged earthquake in the mountains.
Pampanga Gov. Dennis Pineda confirmed this Wednesday that the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) has raised Mt. Pinatubo Alert Level from 0 to 1.
The governor clarified in his Facebook post that no volcanic eruption is expected.
As of Jan. 20, 2021, there have been 1,722 recorded tremors under the volcano, Phivolcs said. Tremors were first recorded at the fault called the Sacobia Lineament. The quake had a depth of 15 to 28 kilometers.
According to the agency, the fault last became active in 1991. In addition, the volcano has remained Alert Level 0 since January 1996.
Ruben Casupanan, one of the indigenous Aeta, is worried about the increase in the alert level of the volcano, especially since they are still rising from the strong earthquake there in 2019.
Some Aetas in Pampanga worry about Alert Level 1 of Mt. Pinatubo
“Siyempre, nakita mo na noong unang pumutok na yan eh, kung ganun ulit ang puputok siya, eh parang ganun din… Maraming mababahang tao,” said Casupanan.
Anita Casupanan, the captain of Brgy Nabuclod in Floridablanca, is also worried because they still feel the quake.
“Kahapon po, gumalaw ng alas-3… ng konti. Pero nagpe-pray po kami sa Panginoon. Panginoon lang po ang may alam kung, kailan po iyon, basta magtiwala lang po tayo sa Kaniya,” she said.
In a text message sent by Capas Mayor Reynaldo Catacutan of Tarlac province, he said that there is no need to evacuate his area yet.
It is said that there are no more people near the crater and they are more than 5 kilometers away.
Phivolcs reminded the local government and those living around Pinatubo to still prepare for earthquakes and other possible volcanic hazards.
Meanwhile, Pinatubo Volcano’s monitoring network recorded nine (9) volcanic earthquakes during the 24-hour observation period, PHIVOLCS reported Friday, March 5.
Alert Level 1 is hoisted over Pinatubo Volcano, which means that there is low-level unrest that may be related to tectonic processes beneath the volcano and that no imminent eruption is foreseen.