Silva’s house and vegetable plot on the Volcano Island were most likely still buried deep in tons of ash that had left Pulo bare and gray. Without property titles on Pulo, families on the island considered their horses and fishing boats their prized possessions. ADVERTISEMENTSilva said her family used to earn P500 to P750 from every tourist riding the horse on the uphill, scorching trail of Taal Volcano Island. The island horses were never registered in public veterinary offices, unlike the imported thoroughbred or racehorses that required papers for transport. Equine doctors were careful about moving the island horses to mainland Batangas to prevent an outbreak of equine infectious anemia, a viral horse disease, that threatened private stables.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer September 19, 2020 21:00 UTC