By AARON RECUENCO
LEGAZPI CITY – Authorities here are waging war against fake volcanologists who suddenly sprouted on social media after Mayon volcano’s quiet eruption last week.
While officials respect opinions of anyone regarding the volcano’s activity, the head of the Albay Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, Dr. Cedric Daep expressed alarm now that
While there seems to be no hitches as everybody is entitled to express their views on their social media.accounts, according to Dr. Cedric Daep, head of the Albay Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council opinions of some netizens are being given credence by residents reading the posts.
“We received a lot of complaints and we have been the subject of attacks because of these fake analyses on Mayon Volcano being posted in the social media,” Daep told the Manila Bulletin here.
Even radio stations here are receiving commentaries in the social media about the various inaccurate and conflicting advisories and analyses which ironically did not come from the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.
“The problem is when the people started to believe on what these fake volcanologists have to say because it affects our strategies on evacuation and public safety from the threat of Mayon,” said Daep.
For instance, when a decrease in the volcano’s activities were monitored since Thursday, a lot of commentaries and analyses sprouted on social media that any hazardous eruption is already unlikely.
This led an expert from the Phivolcs to raise the issue in a press briefing here.
“I would like to dispel any notion that since there were decreases in its activity, the explosive eruption is already unlikely. That is not true. We are still looking at several parameters,” said volcanologist Mariton Bornas.
“We have to look at all the parameters on a daily, hourly basis for changes because any thing could still happen anytime,” she added.