DAVAO CITY (September 13) — Government agencies involve in disaster preparedness and mitigation are ready in the event that typhoon Ompong hit the country, said President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday.
Duterte who was briefed about the typhoon at the command center of the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City on September 13, told reporters he just need to observe the situation “because okay naman ang lahat. Everything that needs to be done is nandoon na.”
Ricardo Jalad, NDRRMC executive director, said some PHP1.1 billion worth of cash and other relief items have been prepositioned in Regions 1 (Ilocos), 2 (Cagayan Valley), 3 (Central Luzon), and the Cordillera Administrative Region.
Jalad said, they have close coordination with the local governments and allied agencies in the event that the typhoon hit the country.
Transportation Secretary Arturo Tugade said they already sent advisories to the different seaports and airports and prepared the necessary plan for the storm.
For the Overseas Filipino Workers who will be affected by the storm, in the ports and airports, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said they have allotted funds and it is ready to help the stranded OFWs.
Cayetano said DFA and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) are closely coordinating and have designated personnel 24/7, to immediately respond to the needs of the workers.
This, developed as PAGASA in an advisory issued at 5:00 pm stated, Typhoon Ompong maintained its strength as it threatens Nothern Luzon.
“Ompong” is expected to make landfall in Cagayan-Isabela area on Saturday early morning (September 15).
Even if preparation has been in placed, Duterte emphasized, the government should not be complacent. He designated Atty. Francis Tolentino as his representative to coordinate with agencies and monitor the ground movement.
Tolentino’s role, according to Duterte “Is to report to me the progress of the — whatever is being presented by the typhoon there in those places.”
But Duterte said he will just be around “Dito lang ako — around. I cannot go there. I have so many things to do.”
Duterte emphasized “Well, I said I have dispatched everybody there including the Cabinet members who come from the provinces where it is expected to hit.”-ezc/NewsLine.ph
