A restaurant owner in Tagaytay City paid 40,000 pesos for water to clean ash from their building after Taal Volcano erupted on January 12. The payment covered 24 truckloads delivered by private companies, as the municipal water supply remains unavailable.
The money was used solely for washing ash off the property, not for repairs, wages, or supplies. The eruption blanketed multiple regions with ash, grounded flights, halted tourism, and prompted evacuation orders. One week later, local lawmakers have authorized businesses to reopen.
As of January 20, 59 establishments—including hotels, restaurants, supermarkets, and shopping malls—are officially back in operation. Tagaytay’s economy depends heavily on tourism.
Without it, the local economy stalls and residents lose income. However, reopening does not mean full operations have resumed. Physical cleanup is far from complete.
Ash and mud coat properties, streets, and other surfaces across the city. The primary obstacle is a lack of water.
Residents and business owners cannot obtain sufficient water from municipal services. They must purchase it from private companies, which is costly. For a restaurant that has been closed for a week and may not see customers for weeks more, 40,000 pesos represents a significant financial burden.
Clyde Yalong, Chief of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, coordinates the city’s response. His office must balance safety against economic survival.
The volcano remains active, located just kilometers away, and the threat has not passed. However, the immediate risk of economic collapse is pressing. People need to work, and businesses need to earn. The decision to reopen reflects this reality.
A gap exists between permission and possibility. A lawmaker can authorize a restaurant to open, but that does not provide the owner with water to clean ash from tables, money to pay private trucks, or customers to return.
The administrative green light is real, but the logistical red light is equally real. What is at stake extends beyond the tourism season. The survival of small businesses after a disaster depends on their ability to afford recovery costs.
The restaurant owner who spent 40,000 pesos on water used money that could have paid staff, bought food, or kept the business afloat for another week. Instead, it went to a private water hauler.
This is the real cost of reopening before infrastructure is ready. Fifty-nine establishments have resumed operations, a number that suggests progress. However, each of these businesses likely faces similar challenges, paying out of pocket for basic resources and burning through cash just to maintain operations.
The municipal water supply is still limited, cleanup remains slow, and the volcano is still active. The recovery is real but fragile, expensive, and for many, barely affordable.
