Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 31) — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said there is no need to put the entire country under a state of calamity in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Paeng.
He said on Monday the storm did not heavily affect all parts of the country.
“I don’t think it’s necessary,” the president told reporters after he visited an evacuation center in Noveleta, Cavite and attended a situation briefing with local officials.
“I came to that conclusion… in consultation with DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources). Sabi… highly localized ang mga damage [They said the damage is highly localized],” Marcos said.
The president said government will “focus better” if only certain localities were under a state of calamity.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) recommended the nationwide declaration to expedite aid to victims.
Placing an area under a state of calamity allows the government to use quick response funds (QRF) for relief, rehabilitation and other disaster-related services, as well as reprogram funds for repair and upgrading of public infrastructure and facilities. It also authorizes the government to impose a price ceiling on basic commodities and grant no-interest loans to the most affected section of the population.
“Ang importante dito kung merong state of national calamity, it will facilitate efficient and fast response tulad ng paggamit ng QRF. Ang maganda dito, ‘yung mga unaffected regions or LGUs (local government units) ay it will trigger or allow them to provide assistance sa mga affected na regions,” said NDRRMC spokesperson Raffy Alejandro during a public briefing on Monday.
[Translation: What’s important here is that a state of national calamity will facilitate efficient and fast response, such as utilization of the QRF. Unaffected regions or LGUs will also be able to provide assistance to other affected regions.]
Meanwhile, Marcos assured people in Cavite that officials will implement long-term solutions to flooding. Before his visit to the evacuation center, the president also conducted an aerial inspection of the province, which is among the hardest hit by the storm.
‘PH should have known better by now’
Philippine Red Cross (PRC) chief and former senator Richard Gordon said the country should “learn to be on a national high state of alert,” instead of government heeding the call for a nationwide state of calamity.
“The whole country should learn to be on a national high state of alert at all times. Not to take any disturbance of the weather, or for that matter, of climate, or physical events such as earthquakes or volcanic eruptions for granted. We should be able to predict what the challenges are when it comes to floods, how we can cope with it,” Gordon told CNN Philippines’ The Final Word.
“It’s so important because we don’t seem to learn. There is a cycle of disaster and poverty in our country and we should have known better by now,” the PRC chief added.
Gordon said the country was not disaster ready because it has “no culture of preparation” and only acts when disaster has already hit.
The former senator suggested challenging home architecture to build homes that could withstand strong winds brought by annual typhoons.
Gordon said each family should have at least one member who knows first aid or disaster response, adding that this family member will prepare all the necessary things and decide when to evacuate.
Based on a 6 p.m. update, the storm killed 101 people, 73 of which were confirmed.
Fifty-three of the validated casualties were from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, while 66 people are still reported missing.
According to the state weather bureau, Paeng again intensified into a severe tropical storm on Monday morning as it moved away from the country.
