Sorsogon: The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is not seeing any reason to postpone the May 12 midterm elections in areas near Mt. Bulusan despite the volcano's eruption early Monday morning. "Currently, we don't see any reason for the Comelec to postpone the conduct of elections," Comelec Chairperson George Garcia said in an interview.

According to Philippines News Agency, Garcia stated that election officers in the affected areas of Irosin, Juban, and Bulusan in Sorsogon province have been instructed to devise contingency plans should the volcano's activity escalate. "The concerned election officers are given instructions to coordinate closely with the Department of Education, local government units, and Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology for formulation of election-related contingency plan should there be an escalation of Mt. Bulusan activity," he said.

Part of the contingency plan includes the establishment of satellite voting centers, potentially in evacuation centers, if necessary. Garcia noted that as of Monday, there have been no reported forced evacuations in Irosin, Juban, and Bulusan, the municipalities located at the foot of Mt. Bulusan.

Mt. Bulusan's 24-minute phreatic eruption has prompted the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) to raise the volcano's alert status from Level 0 (normal) to Level 1 (low-level unrest).