TOMAS, BATANGAS – Hours after Taal Volcano erupted January 12, thousands of families from the municipalities of Agoncillo, Lemery, Talisay, San Nicolas and several villages in Tanauan City were loaded on to military trucks and were brought to safer areas in Sto. Tomas.
In aid distribution lines and rooms crowded by evacuees, one thing still shone amid the disaster - the Batangas residents’ discipline. ABS-CBN News checked on each room shortly after noontime one weekend and saw the evacuees using cartons and paper fans to cool themselves amid the warm weather. To kill boredom, she said they instruct their children to either play inside the school compound or read books inside their temporary shelter.
In Barangay San Felix, also in Sto. Tomas, Batangas, more than 200 families coming from the municipality of Talisay, stayed at the covered court, with pieces of cartons warming their back.Village chief Gerry Punzalan said they decided to shelter the evacuees using their personal funds and assistance from friends and strangers coming from various places.Families meantime opted to occupy the corners of the court.