By Deighton Acuin

PHOTO: PCOO

As the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) reported that the Taal Volcano has been raised under Alert Level 3 due to magmatic unrest, President Rodrigo Duterte said there is no need for a command conference regarding the situation.

During the inauguration of the Light Rail Transit  (LRT) 2 East Extension Project on Thursday, July 1, he said and even joked: "Not necessarily. Hindi ko malaman kung – dumaan man kami kanina. Siguro lagyan ko lang ng cap, 'yung butas. Taal na 'yan.”

Duterte furthered the eruption is not a grave concern as of this time.

"We will raise the alert on the level that it should. Now, it's just a rumbling and it's spewing. I do not know if it's really the ashes. Apektado raw tayo but it's not really a grave concern for us at this time," he said.

Meanwhile, Duterte assured that the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and other government agencies are prepared for the eruption.

The chief executive once again cracked another joke that some officials that are expected to attend the inauguration were not there because they may had "fallen into the crater" of the volcano island.

This was not the first time Duterte threw jokes amid disasters. Last January 2020, the President said in jest he will eat the ashes and urinate the Taal Volcano after its eruption.

During the Typhoon Ulysses, moreover, Duterte had exchanged “sex jokes” during his meeting with Camarines Sur officials. Malacañang has said it was only meant to “lighten the mood.”