Amid missing sabungeros search, Taal Volcano erupts in phreatomagmatic event

MANILA, Philippines (Updated 5:12 p.m.) — Taal Volcano experienced a minor phreatomagmatic eruption on Thursday afternoon, July 17, amid the government’s search for the missing sabungeros.

According to Phivolcs, the phreatomagmatic event lasted around 12 minutes from 3:01 p.m. to 3:13 p.m., generating a greyish-white plume that rose 2,400 meters above the crater. 

It occurred at the Taal Main Crater, which is surrounded by the Taal Lake, where the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has been conducting diving operations in search of the possible remains of the cockfighting enthusiasts allegedly dumped there.

Phivolcs Volcano Monitoring and Eruption Prediction Division Chief Ma. Antonia Bornas said that the eruption won't affect the PCG's search operations in Taal Lake. 

The plume drifted southeast, which she said was opposite to the location of retrieval operations in the northwest. 

State volcanologists have been warning of a potential eruption since early July due to Taal Volcano’s heightened seismic activity. Monitoring stations have logged a sustained increase in earthquakes and tremors, with some lasting longer than usual. 

A phreatomagmatic eruption is more explosive than phreatic eruptions, since it takes place when hot magma interacts with water, triggering the projectile of juvenile clasts and lava particles. 

Meanwhile, a phreatic eruption is steam-driven and produced when groundwater interacts with hot magma. 

Taal Volcano has produced minor phreatic and phreatomagmatic eruptions in recent months, but remains at Alert Level 1, or low-level unrest. One of its largest recent plumes, reaching over 2,800 meters, was recorded in December 2024. 

The PCG has recovered five sacks from Taal Lake, containing bones mixed of human and animal. The Philippine National Police’s Forensic Group said six of the 91 bone fragments retrieved were from a human. 

On Thursday, two more sacks were recovered, which the Department of Justice (DOJ) confirmed contained human remains. 

The case of the missing sabungeros involves 34 cockfighting enthusiasts who went missing between 2021 to 2022. One of the considered suspects is gaming tycoon Atong Ang, whom whistleblower Julie "Dondon" Patidongan claimed was the mastermind. — with reports by Ian Laqui