Agoncillo mayor to residents: Lives more important than possessions

Human lives are more important than possessions, the mayor of Agoncillo, Batangas said on Monday.

Mayor Daniel Reyes made the remark amid the plea of his constituents to be allowed to return to their homes to retrieve their belongings or feed their livestock amid the threat of Taal Volcano.

Reyes reiterated that Agoncillo was within the Taal Volcano’s danger zone.

“Higit ko pong pinahahalagahan ang buhay ng bawat isa,” Reyes said on "Balitanghali". “Mahalaga po ang buhay kaysa kung ano pa man ang babalikan nila dun sa kanilang tahanan.”

Reyes’ constituents earlier went to the entrance of their town in hopes that they would be allowed back in.

Agoncillo was one of the areas placed on lockdown following the phreatic eruption of the Taal Volcano last week.

Reyes said that over 8,000 Agoncillo residents are currently taking shelter in evacuation centers, while over 33,000 others are taking refuge in the homes of their friends or relatives.

“‘Yung mga nasa evacuation center, maganda po ang kalagayan nila sapagkat sinasagot po ng local government ang kanilang mga pangangailangan,” he said.

“Ang inaalala po namin ay ‘yung mga tumakbo sa mga kaibigan nila, kamag-anak, hirap din po ang buhay. ‘Yun po ang priority namin na madalhan kahit papaano para maka-survive,” Reyes said. —NB, GMA News