FALSE: ‘Phivolcs found Mount Pinatubo irregularities’ after Luzon earthquake

Claim: An article on Philnews.ph claimed that the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) found “irregularities” at Mount Pinatubo following the magnitude 6.1 earthquake that hit Luzon on April 22.

The article, with the headline “Phivolcs Found Irregularities at Mt. Pinatubo Following Pampanga Quake,” was supposedly written by a certain Jay Nelz. It was published on April 25, or 3 days after the earthquake struck.

The subhead and first paragraph of the article repeated what the headline claimed. 

Rappler spotted the article on Facebook Claim Check, one of its channels for fact checking.

As of this writing, a post featuring the article shared by the Facebook page of Philnews.ph had around 307 reactions, 27 comments, and 347 shares.

The Philnews.ph page has a reach of 212,442 likes as of this writing. Other pages such as Watta Beautiful Life and Viral Facts have also been sharing the post. 

Rating: FALSE

The facts: Phivolcs has not announced any irregularities observed at Mount Pinatubo. In fact, Phivolcs made assurances through a post on its official Facebook page that “no changes in the monitored parameters were detected to indicate volcanic unrest.”

Phivolcs further said that the “ash and smoke” observed by residents after the magnitude 6.1 earthquake were dust clouds caused by rock slides that resulted from the earthquake and succeeding aftershocks.

Phivolcs posted its full statement on its Facebook page on April 25.

The generation of dust clouds, according to the statement, was verified by the Phivolcs Quick Response Team who went to Sitio Pasbul in Barangay Camias, Porac, Pampanga, on April 24.

Philnews.ph included Phivolcs’ statement, as reported by GMA News’ IMReady Twitter page on April 24, only in the latter part of the article.

Mount Pinatubo last erupted on June 15, 1991. The eruption came a year after the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that hit Northern Luzon and Central Luzon on July 16, 1990.

Philnews.ph claims to deliver “current news and trending topic throughout the Philippines and the whole world.” It has no about page. Its contact page only lists an email address, but does not indicate a physical address or contact number.

It also has a disclaimer which says the website “does not endorse the accuracy or reliability of any of the information” contained there. – Addie Pobre/Rappler.com

Keep us aware of suspicious Facebook pages, groups, accounts, websites, articles, or photos in your network by contacting us at factcheck@rappler.com. Let us battle disinformation one Fact Check at a time.

Misleading reports during disasters could mean lives lost, unnecessary panic, or people put in harm’s way. Watch our fact check tutorial to learn more about fact-checking during disaster scenarios.