3 PH volcanoes erupting on the same day in 1641

Taal Volcano may be small, but it can be terrible. Its most destructive eruption occurred in 1754
and lasted seven months. I have written about this eruption in a previous column, quoting
eyewitnesses who described it as a taste of hell on earth. Last weekend, Taal gave us ash fall,
some earthquakes, and a flood of photographs on Instagram and Facebook that made you marvel
at the beauty of nature.

Eruption photos provide the same awe and fear we get looking at lifelike pictures of snakes and
sharks. For those glued to AM radio on Monday, the lack of visuals was compensated by the
excitement of commentators who repeatedly used the adjective “alboroto,” to describe the
ongoing volcanic activity.

Alboroto was used mindlessly by the ignorant who didn’t take the trouble to check its meaning
— “rampage.” An 18th-century account of volcanic activity in the Philippines deployed the word
“rebentaron” (burst), reminding us of the origin of “rebentador,” often mispronounced as
“labentador” for the triangle-shaped traditional New Year firecracker.

While thinking of English or Filipino words to best express volcanic activity, I looked up one of
the rare 17th-century imprints in the Lopez Museum and Library; its vivid and kilometric title
reads: “Suceso raro de tres volcanes, dos de fuego y uno de agua, que reventaron a 4 de Enero de
este año de 1641 a un mismo tiempo en diferentes partes de islas Filipinas, con grande estruendo
por los aires como de artilleria y mosquetaria. Averiguado por orden y comision del Señor Don
Fray Pedro Arce, Obispo de Cebu y Gobernador del Arzobispado de Manila. En la Compania de
Jesus, Manila Año MDCXXXXI por Raymundo Magisa.”

[A rare account of three volcanos, two of fire and one of water, that erupted on January 4 of this
year 1641, at the same time in different parts of the Philippine Islands, with a great roar in the air
like that of artillery and musket blasts. Informed by order and commission of Fray Pedro Arce,
Bishop of Cebu and Governor of the Archbishopric of Manila. In the (printing press) of the
Society of Jesus, Manila in the year 1641 by Raymundo Magisa.]
Bibliographers describe this work of six leaves of paper as a “book” when it should rightly be a
“booklet,” a “leaflet” or a “pamphlet.” Despite its religious imprint, the brief contents are quite
engaging: Returning to Manila after undertaking repair works in historic Fort Pilar in
Zamboanga, men in a Spanish navy boat instinctively sprang into combat readiness after hearing
explosions emanating from an island near Sulu. They mistook the sounds from a rumbling
volcano for artillery and musket fire. Darkness covered the sky, such that at one in the afternoon
it was like night, and in some places there was zero visibility. Candles and torches lighted up the
churches where people congregated, all weeping, praying and imploring God’s mercy because
they mistook the natural phenomena for the biblical Day of Judgement. Blackness reigned for a
day, and at the first sign of light, from the moon, people realized that a great quantity of fine ash
had commenced to descend on them.

Pedro Arce, bishop of Cebu, ordered this account to be validated and published, leaving us with
documentation on the day when three volcanoes erupted around the same time — in Sulu, in
some place called “Isla de Sanguil” and in Ilocos. Aside from the eruption, there were reports of
strong winds, a hurricane, frightening noises heard many leagues around, and rain. Earthquakes
were depicted in human terms — such as the ground opening up like a mouth that vomited rocks,
great seashells and ash, destroying everything in its path.

This calamity was interpreted in many ways: as the work of the devil, as God’s punishment on a
sinful people, as the end of the world. Today, we have a more scientific appreciation of the Taal
eruption, with news of it resulting in a precautionary holiday for schools and government in
Manila, and “epal” actions from some politicians stealing the limelight from the National
Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council and Phivolcs. We make everything in our
image and likeness, injecting political color into neutral natural phenomena. A radio
commentator, for instance, expressed his wish that Sen. Leila de Lima be released from prison
and then dropped into the crater of the active volcano, and the crater blocked. I wish it were him
instead, or some other politician.
 Reckless gambit

And so the Philippine government has started the process of terminating the Visiting Forces
Agreement (VFA) with the United States, after an incensed President Duterte lashed out last
week at the reported cancellation of the US visa of his longtime Davao City police chief Ronald
“Bato’’ de la Rosa, now a senator.

Mr. Duterte gave the United States one month to “correct’’ Bato’s visa cancellation, but the
presidential rumbling was apparently at alert level 4 such that the following day, Foreign
Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. disclosed on his Twitter account that he had already conscripted
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana to start the ball rolling, while also praising his boss’
outburst as a “good move.’’

One can almost hear the drumroll as presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo soon chimed in:
“The process for terminating the same has started. The President feels that we cannot sit down
and watch idly.’’ The urgency had nothing to do with the fate of the thousands displaced by Taal
Volcano, or the spread of the deadly coronavirus strain from Wuhan. It’s about recovering Dela
Rosa’s US visa so he can, per his earlier lament, visit his relatives and continue to watch his
fellow senator Manny Pacquiao’s boxing fights in Las Vegas.

Even for a nation that has grown accustomed to the unconventional and unbelievable, this VFA-
for-visa tantrum was as jaw-dropping as it can be. Scuttling a 21-year-old bilateral agreement,
along with 70 years of defense, security and diplomatic alliance with the United States so that
one travel-itchy senator can regain his US visa? “Pray tell, where is the connection?’’ Sen.
Panfilo Lacson was quick to retort, hitting the nail on the head as he pointed out that a US visa is
a conditional authorization granted to a foreigner while the VFA is a “bilateral agreement
between the PH and the US that went through some careful diplomatic discussion.’’

Irony of ironies, Bato’s nemesis, the militant Left, was all for abrogating the VFA and “all
vestiges of a neocolonial control of the US.’’ But even they were crestfallen that this was all for
the President’s love of Bato. “What kind of foreign policy is that? Terminating a treaty based on
the personal interest of Duterte’s ally?” asked Bayan secretary general Renator Reyes Jr.
For Jose Cuisia Jr., former Philippine ambassador to the United States, trivializing foreign policy
this way was mind-boggling. “You will put at risk the relationship between the US and the
Philippines because of that? To me, it doesn’t make sense,” he said in an ABS-CBN interview.

Malacañang attempted damage control by saying there were other factors behind Mr. Duterte’s
move, such as the US ban on officials behind the imprisonment of Sen. Leila de Lima and the
bloody drug war.

Bato is certainly right—that “I do not deserve this bargain’’ and that “this is not all about me.’’
The move also seems to play into Mr. Duterte’s vaunted pivot to China, an observation shared by
a number of defense analysts such as professor Jose Custodio who told ANC that Bato’s visa was
“just an excuse’’ for scrapping the VFA, and that this episode is more of an indication of where
Mr. Duterte’s loyalty lies. Whatever the pretext, it’s China that stands to gain most from the
piecemeal dismantling of the Philippines’ longstanding military and security ties with the United
States.There is basis to call for a review of the VFA, or the other bilateral agreements with the
United States such as the 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement and the 1951 Mutual
Defense Treaty. Over the years, these agreements have been assailed for having lopsided
provisions in favor of the more powerful partner. The United States retaining custody of errant
US soldiers and the fact that the Philippines gets mostly hand-me-down planes and military
equipment have shown the unequal status between the two “friends, partners, allies.’’

But the VFA has also helped upgrade the capability of the Philippine military, and gave a
helping hand in the country’s fight against terrorist groups Abu Sayyaf and Islamic State. Apart
from the security aspect, Custodio pointed out that part of the goodwill generated by the VFA is
that the United States has always helped the Philippines in times of disasters and calamities.
With wear and tear on Philippine planes and equipment during disaster response, the United
States acts as a vital force multiplier in making timely response to victims of disaster, Custodio
said.

Lorenzana, more than just “understanding’’ the President’s fury over Bato’s visa, has the duty to
impress on his boss a more sober, rational and measured perspective on this reckless gambit. The
stakes are far bigger and graver than a bruised presidential ego, let alone the sense of entitlement
of one bellyaching senator.