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Mayon volcano belches hot emissions down its slope as seen from Daraga town, Albay province, northeastern Philippines, Wednesday, June 14, 2023.
A GENTLE eruption of the Philippines’ most active volcano that has forced nearly 18,000 people to flee to emergency shelters could last for months and create a protracted crisis, officials said today.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr flew to north-eastern Albay province to meet villagers who had been forced to evacuate from mostly poor farming communities within a 3.7-mile radius of the Mayon volcano’s crater since volcanic activity spiked last week.
Authorities enforced a mandatory evacuation of tens of thousands of villagers living within a permanent danger zone around the volcano.
Huge protests against corruption and preventable deaths during flooding have rocked the government — the masses are not likely to be able to take direct control in their own interests yet, writes KENNY COYLE, but it’s a promising show of people power