PBBM mulls yearlong effect as ‘Paeng’ cuts deadly path nationwide
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) on Saturday urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to declare a yearlong national state of calamity following the onslaught of Severe Tropical Storm Paeng that left at least 45 people dead and displaced close to 300,000 others in 10 regions across the country.
Sixteen out of the country’s 17 regions are classified as high risk as the storm cut a deadly path, causing flash floods and landslides from Luzon to Mindanao, NDRRMC executive director Raymundo Ferrer told the President in a virtual meeting.
NDRRMC said damage to agriculture at the Soccsksargen region alone in Mindanao was placed at over P54 million. The Department of Agriculture said agriculture damage in Negros Occidental was so far pegged at P2.24 million.
Mr. Marcos said he will wait for the resolution of the NDRRMC, even as he acknowledged the number of regions affected already merits a state of calamity declaration.
“Considering that many regions are affected, that justifies the state of calamity,” the President said.
Declaring a state of calamity will allow the government to tap calamity funds, impose a price freeze on basic necessities, and grant interest-free loans.
“(We should) declare a national state of calamity due to the effects, damage and projected impacts by Severe Tropical Storm Paeng for a period of one year, unless earlier lifted,” Ferrer said.
Paeng, which maintained its strength while traversing the northern portion of Cavite on its way to the southern portion of Bataan, has so far affected 271,259 individuals or around 72,000 families, data from the NDRRMC showed. At least 37 landslides were recorded.
Paeng is forecast to track west-northwestward throughout Sunday morning and is expected to be outside of the Philippine Area of Responsibility by 5 p.m. today.
As of late Saturday evening, 12 areas in Luzon remained under Signal No. 3:
• The central and southern portions of Zambales (San Marcelino, Subic, Olongapo City, Castillejos, San Antonio, San Narciso, San Felipe, Cabangan, Botolan),
• Bataan,
• southern portion of Bulacan (Hagonoy, Paombong, City of Malolos, Bulacan, Obando, City of Meycauayan),
• the western portion of Pampanga (Masantol, Macabebe, Sasmuan, Lubao, Floridablanca, Porac),
• Metro Manila,
• the southwestern portion of Quezon (City of Tayabas, Lucena City, Lucban, Sariaya, Candelaria, Dolores, Tiaong, San Antonio),
• Laguna,
• Batangas,
• Cavite,
• Rizal,
• the northwestern portion of Occidental Mindoro (Paluan, Abra de Ilog) including Lubang Islands, and
• the northwestern portion of Oriental Mindoro (San Teodoro, Puerto Galera, Baco, City of Calapan)
Mr. Marcos, during the virtual meeting, expressed dismay over the high fatality count in Maguindanao province, which was initially placed at 67.
“That seems very high for a flooding incident. It will be important to us to look back and see why this happened and why we were not able to prevent this high number of casualties and why were they not evacuated,” he said.
Acting Defense Secretary Jose Faustino Jr. explained the figure was corrected to 40 fatalities from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao on Saturday morning.
But Mr. Marcos said the government could have done better.
“We could have done better in Maguindanao in terms of preparing because… the 40 deaths with over 10 people missing is a little too high. We should have done better than that,” the President said.
BARMM chief minister Ahod Ebrahim said of the 40 fatalities, 27 were recorded in Datu Odin Sinsuat, six in Upi, five in Datu Blah Sinsuat, and two in Barira.
At least 31 individuals are reportedly injured, while 15 others are missing, according to Ebrahim.
BARMM as well as Zamboanga City were already placed under a state of calamity due to massive flooding and landslides caused by continuous rains.
Ebrahim told Mr. Marcos the affected residents in the region needed portable water and clean water.
Marcos then directed government agencies to prioritize delivering potable water as well as purifying systems to the typhoon victims.
He also ordered agencies to prioritize the power restoration in hospitals and evacuation centers.
Mr. Marcos asked Science Secretary Renato Solidum as to why there was no advance warning regarding flooding in the province.
“I just wanted to know why we had no advance warning that flooding in Maguindanao was going to be like this? I don’t think it happened in those areas before,” he said.
Solidum said the government already released forecasts of heavy rains and issued flood advisories in Mindanao.
The President then directed Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos to help BARMM access calamity funds.
“As far as I know, the budget of the transition authority still has some funds that they can use so we can facilitate the downloading of calamity funds if needed so they have everything they need,” Mr. Marcos said.
He also ordered Energy Undersecretary Felix William Fuentebella to restore the power supply in affected areas in the province.
“The general instruction is always to find ways to bring it all back as quickly as possible,” Mr. Marcos said.
“There were affected transmission and distribution lines. Some of them are already back but we need to come up more comprehensive report that give us a better picture. As far as the generation is concerned, no problem,” Fuentebella said in response.
Social Welfare Secretary Erwin Tulfo said a total of P426,827 worth of assistance was provided to the affected families in Regions VI, VII, and Caraga.
Tulfo said there is still enough standby funds of up to P1.5 billion.
“We are already preparing because there is another typhoon loitering outside the Philippine Area Responsibility in Mindanao,” Tulfo said.
In Metro Manila, a total of 124 domestic and international flights have been canceled so far on Saturday, the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) said.
Local airlines urged passengers to avoid going to the airport unless they have confirmed flights.
The Manila Electric Company (Meralco) also reported Saturday power interruptions that affected a total of 2,243,212 customers across its franchise areas.
Of the total, 626,343 customers are still affected in parts of Laguna, Quezon, Batangas, Cavite, Metro Manila, Rizal, Bulacan and Pampanga, it said in a statement.
“We ask for our customers’ patience and understanding since could not give a definite time on when service will be restored. For safety reasons, we have to wait until the strong winds and heavy rainfall subsides before restoration activities in some areas resume,” Meralco spokesperson Joe Zaldarriaga said.
