From his Davao City retreat, President Duterte could have beamed early visual messages of assurance of being one with the victims and of speedy government assistance to the distressed folk in the stricken areas around Taal lake. Taal victims needed badly to feel their President. In the President’s absence from ground zero, private organizations, Good Samaritans and the volunteer group of Vice President Leni Robredo, wasted no time ministering to Taal victims in evacuation centers despite their limited resources. Unfortunately, when President Duterte finally arrived in Metro Manila the next day, he was shown addressing not Taal victims but a gathering of Marines. The Pansipit River narrowed down where once upon a time galleons could enter from Balayan Bay to Taal Lake.

Source: Philippine Star January 15, 2020 13:41 UTC