Statement: On Eruption of Mt. Gamalama in Indonesia

08 October 2018 – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) continues to monitor the situation in North Sulawesi in Indonesia following the eruption of another volcano—Mount Gamalama.

In its report to Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter S. Cayetano, the Philippine Consulate General in Manado said authorities have declared Alert Level II in the immediate vicinity of the volcano and warned citizens to stay outside a two-kilometer danger zone around the crater.

The eruption on Thursday of Mount Gamalama, located 325 kilometers from Manado, came a day after Mount Supotan, also in North Sulawesi, erupted.

Consul General Oscar G. Orcine said the three Filipinos in Ternate near Mount Gamalama are safe. They are all inmates serving prison terms there. Two were convicted a year and a half ago for their involvement in illegal fishing and are scheduled to be released in May while the other has been in jail since 2014 for illegal transport of cyanide and is awaiting repatriation. END