PRESIDENT Marcos Jr. yesterday directed local government units, emergency services, and other agencies to monitor and provide assistance to those affected by the onslaught of severe tropical storm “Aghon.”
The President, in his official X and Facebook accounts, also assured the public that food and non-food items have been prepositioned and health services and evacuation centers mobilized to support affected communities.
Marcos asked the public, especially those in the affected areas, “to stay vigilant and prioritize your safety.”
“The well-being of our people is our utmost priority… Let us all look out for one another, especially the most vulnerable members of our communities. Together, we will get through this storm. Stay safe, and may God bless us all,” he added.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said P1.288 million worth of aid such as food packs and hygiene kits have been provided by the DSWD and local government units (LGUs) to affected families in Albay, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, and Sorsogon as of yesterday.
Social Welfare Assistant Secretary and spokesperson Irene Dumlao said over 24,900 family food packs are prepositioned and available for distribution in the affected areas while the DSWD’s National Resource and Logistics Management Bureau is set to dispatch additional boxes of food packs to Field Office 4A (Calabarzon) to augment the stockpile for the regional office’s disaster response efforts.
“The DSWD is working tirelessly in coordination with LGUs to ensure the timely distribution of relief goods and other essential services to the affected population,” she said.
Dumlao said 6,542 families or over 8,200 persons from 22 barangays were affected in regions V (Bicol), VII (Central Visayas), and VIII (Eastern Visayas).
CROPS
The Department of Agriculture’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management said up to 199,268 hectares (ha) of rice and corn crops in the Cagayan Valley, Bicol, Eastern Visayas and Caraga regions may be affected by Aghon.
The DA advised farmers to harvest mature crops and use post-harvest facilities; secure seed reserves, planting materials and other farm inputs, as well as feed and water for livestock; relocate animals, farm machineries, and equipment to higher ground; secure sufficient feeds and water for relocated animals; and clear drainage in irrigation and rice paddies from obstructions to prevent flooding.
POWER
The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) assured customers its personnel are ready to respond to power outages and electricity service concerns that may result from Aghon.
“As a 24—hour service company, we are ready to respond to these types of emergency. Our crews are on standby to attend to any trouble that may affect our facilities in areas that may be hit by the storm,” said Joe Zaldarriaga, Meralco vice president and head of corporate communications, in a statement.
Zaldarriaga added that Meralco has put in place measures to mitigate the possible impact of the weather disturbance, including issuance of advisories on appropriate precautionary measures.
“Meralco has consistently requested billboard owners and operators to temporarily roll their billboards up to prevent these structures from being toppled by the strong winds,” Zaldarriaga added.
Meralco said that billboards that fall into electrical facilities are among the main reasons for power outages whenever there are strong winds.
ALERTS
The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) said that as of 2 p.m. yesterday, only the Pitogo-Mulanay 69 kilovolt line is still affected by Aghon. It has been partially restored but still affecting services of the Quezon Electric Cooperative Inc.
The NGCP also said it has mobilized line crews and is assessing the impact of the tropical storm on its operations and facilities.
Simultaneous restoration activities are also being conducted in areas already accessible.
It said localized disturbances may be better addressed by distribution utility as some outages could have been caused by lines exclusively serving directly connected industrial customers.
Specific cities and municipalities affected by the unavailable transmission facility are determined by concerned distribution utilities, unless the outage affects the entire franchise area.
The Luzon Grid was again placed under yellow alert as of 3 p.m. yesterday as 28 power plant units were on either forced outage or de-rated with a total unavailable capacity of 4,417.5 megawatts (MW).
Yellow alert, issued when power reserve level in the grid is low and power interruptions are not yet imminent, was was raised in the Luzon Grid yesterday from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. and from 11 p.m. to 12 a.m. of May 27.
According to the NGCP, the alerts were raised as available capacity in the Luzon Grid was only 11,127 MW against a peak demand of 10,776 MW. — With Jed Macapagal
