LEGAZPI -- Philippine villagers continued to flee
                 yesterday as the Mayon volcano spewed rocks the
                 size of rooms down its slopes.

                 The 2,460-m volcano, famous for its cone-like shape,
                 is about 340 km south-east of Manila in Albay
                 province.

                 At least 3,950 people from seven villages on its
                 south-eastern slope were evacuated on Tuesday.

                 However, Dr Ernesto Corpuz, chief of volcano
                 monitoring at the Philippine Institute of Volcanology
                 and Seismology, said that there was no sign of an
                 imminent eruption.

                 He said the volcano, one of the Philippines' most
                 active, was following its usual pattern -- a gentle rising
                 of magma, followed by an eruption and subsequent
                 decline in volcanic activity.

                 Most residents of Bonga, directly in the path of a
                 possible lava flow, have been evacuated, but many
                 men remained to watch over crops and farm animals.
                 -- AP

                      Adapted from The Straits Times, 24 Feb 2000.