The Philippine government should try the “primitive way” and make an offering to calm down the rumbling Taal volcano.

President Rodrigo Duterte made the joke on Tuesday evening during a situation briefing with government officials on the Taal volcano eruption.

“You should go there and you know say a little prayer and offer something. Let’s go by the primitive way of doing it just like what our forefathers would do it. You make some offerings. It was true then but it might be true now,” Duterte said.

Speaking to reporters in Taguig city on Monday, he said his “years of smoking” had deteriorated his lungs, but that would not deter him from visiting the area near the volcano, the online news site Coconuts Manila reported.

“I was warned by my doctor to be careful [about the ash fall]. I’ll eat that ash, and I’ll even pee on Taal, that damned [volcano],” Coconuts Manila quoted him as saying.

Thousands have been evacuated after authorities raised an alert Level 4 in Taal volcano which means that “explosive eruption” is imminent. Its highest alert level is five, indicating an eruption is taking place.

Taal, which straddles in the province of Batangas, had been restive for months until it suddenly rumbled back to life on Sunday afternoon, spewing a giant ash column into the sky after a phreatic eruption occurred in its main crater.

Swarms of earthquakes and slight inflation of portions of the volcano were detected by authorities who advised residents to stay indoors and to wear protective masks if they had to go outside. They warned that the volcano could spew ash and lava for weeks.

PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER/ANN