Metro Manila, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said assets that have already been deployed to the regions in response to recent storms would help in response efforts in light of incoming Typhoon Pepito (international name: Man-yi) this weekend.
“We have everything that we need to have in place. We have very little time left to prepare, but it’s a good thing kahit papaano nasa labas na mga gamit natin; hindi na natin dadalhin [our assets are already in the field; we won’t make the extra effort to deploy them],” Marcos said during a situation briefing on Friday, Nov. 15.
[Translation:. We no longer need to transport them.]Marcos said relief packs and search-and-rescue assets have been pre-positioned to areas that would need them most. “Pepito” is expected to affect the Visayas, Bicol, and Central Luzon. The president directed the readiness of airlift assets to deliver aid before and after the storm.
Sufficient food supply
Despite the damage to the agriculture sector of successive typhoons, Marcos assured the public that food supply is adequate. “In terms of food security, we’re alright…ang dami nang nasira na palayan, ang dami na nasira na tanim. We will just have to compensate for that,” he said. [Translation: But many have been destroyed. The rice fields, crops — there is so much damage. We will just have to compensate for that.]
