No announcement of January 8 lockdown in Luzon as a consequence of Mayon Volcano unrest

Whereas Albay’s Mayon Volcano has been raised to Alert Stage 3 as of Tuesday, January 6, authorities haven’t declared potential lockdowns, opposite to the declare

Declare: A lockdown shall be imposed on January 8, 2026, in a number of areas of the Philippines, together with Metro Manila, Mimaropa, and Calabarzon, as a consequence of rising unrest at Mayon Volcano. 

Score: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: A Fb web page referred to as “Nagkakaisang Pilipino TV Newsline” posted two related movies of a pseudo-newscast on January 5.   

Within the video, the feminine announcer declares: “Posibleng i-lockdown ang buong Metro Manila, Mimaropa, Calabarzon, at iba pang mga lugar dahil sa pag-aalburoto ng Bulkang Mayon ngayong January 8, Huwebes.”

(Metro Manila, Mimaropa, Calabarzon, and different areas could also be positioned beneath lockdown on Thursday, January 8, as a consequence of Mayon Volcano’s unrest.)

Textual content overlaid on the video additionally reads, “Lockdown January 8 dahil sa pagsabog ng Bulkang Mayon (due to the eruption of Mayon Volcano).”

The announcer additional alleged that the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) has suggested the general public to put on face masks for security. The announcer additionally directed viewers to a hyperlink within the put up’s caption that supposedly lists the areas beneath lockdown.  

As of writing, the 2 posts have collectively garnered greater than 40,000 views, 750 reactions, 230 shares, and 24 feedback.  

The details: There aren’t any bulletins of any lockdown to be imposed in Metro Manila, Mimaropa, or Calabarzon beginning January 8 as a consequence of rising unrest at Mayon Volcano.

On Tuesday, January 6, Phivolcs raised the alert stage standing from Stage 2 to Stage 3, citing an “elevated tendency in direction of a hazardous eruption” of the volcano.

“Because of this Mayon is exhibiting magmatic eruption of a summit lava dome, with elevated possibilities of lava flows and dangerous PDCs [pyroclastic density currents] or uson affecting the higher to center slopes of the volcano and of potential explosive exercise inside days or even weeks,” Phivolcs stated.

Whereas state volcanologists beneficial evacuation inside the 6-kilometer-radius everlasting hazard zone surrounding Mayon, there aren’t any bulletins of a potential lockdown in Metro Manila and different areas talked about within the deceptive social media posts.

The video of the supposed information announcement can be AI‑generated, identifiable by a watermark within the lower-right nook of Google Veo, a sophisticated AI text-to-video generator. 

The alleged listing of areas beneath lockdown can be pretend. The hyperlink redirects to an app retailer obtain for an e-commerce app, as verified by means of Bitly. (READ: Phishing 101: Learn how to spot and keep away from phishing)

Fixed monitoring: The elevating of Alert Stage 3 comes only some days after Mayon was positioned beneath Alert Stage 2 on January 1, following elevated volcanic exercise. 

In its January 6 replace, Phivolcs famous that because the alert stage standing was raised from Alert Stage 1 to Alert Stage 2 on January 1, “repeated collapse of the unstable summit dome of Mayon Volcano has generated an rising quantity and quantity of rockfall occasions.”

A complete of 346 rockfall occasions and 4 volcanic earthquakes have been recorded since January 1, 2026, in comparison with 599 rockfall occasions from November to December 2025. 

The final time Mayon was positioned beneath Alert Stage 3 was in June 2023. Phivolcs stated the volcano stays beneath shut monitoring. – Cyril Bocar/Rappler.com

Efren Cyril Bocar is a journalist from Llorente, Japanese Samar who graduated with a level in English Language Research on the Visayas State College. Cyril can be a graduate of the Aries Rufo Journalism Fellowship of Rappler for 2024. 

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