PRESIDENT Marcos Jr. yesterday said designated sites under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) between the Philippines and the United States will be tapped for relief and rescue operations in areas affected by severe tropical storm “Kristine,” especially for the airlift of assistance.
The EDCA, signed in 2014, grants American troops access to designated Philippine military facilities and allows them to preposition equipment, aircraft, and vessels in the sites, mainly for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) missions and training. Nine military facilities have been designated as EDCA sites.
The President also ordered responders to prepare for the main storm’s landfall .
“The volumes of water are unprecedented. We should closely monitor that,” he said.
Marcos cancelled his schedules yesterday to monitor the situation in areas affected by the storm, and convened the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).
First to be hit by Kristine was the Bicol region.
Marcos said several areas in Bicol are already flooded, making it necessary to airlift goods, equipment and even personnel.
“The AFP is also continuing to monitor the situation so that we will be able to activate the EDCA sites, which were put there specifically for this purpose,” he said.
The EDCA sites are Antonio Bautista Air Base in Palawan, Basa Air Base in Pampanga, Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija, Mactan-Benito Ebuen Air Base in Cebu, Lumbia Air Base in Cagayan de Oro City, Naval Base Camilo Osias in Sta Ana in Cagayan, Lal-lo Airport in Lal-lo also in Cagayan, Camp Melchor Dela Cruz in Gamu in Isabela, and Balabac Island in Palawan.
HADR MISSIONS
AFP chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., during the NDRRMC meeting, said the military has coordinated with its American counterpart which he said is ready to send aircraft to the EDCA sites to help in delivering assistance to the storm-stricken areas.
Brawner in August said the EDCA sites have proved their worth in HADR missions as some of these have been used for disaster response for typhoons. He said Lal-lo Airport was used as one of the staging sites for relief missions.
Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr., at the NDRRMC meeting, said the Department of Defense is also coordinating with its counterparts in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and other partner-nations of the Philippines for the delivery of aid to affected areas, possible deployment of personnel, and rescue operations.
Brawner said a multinational coordinating center would be established to coordinate the assistance from other countries.
Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa said the US has sent a 30-man medical team, complete with WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) facilities for outpatient care, which is ready for deployment to Bicol and Central Luzon.
Herbosa said other teams from partner nations of the Philippines are offering help in relief efforts, which Marcos welcomed.
Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian said the agency has over two million packs of food and non-food relief boxes on standby in their hubs as well as prepositioned in the areas within Kristine’s path.
AID TO BICOL
The President directed the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to coordinate with the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) for the provision of water filtration systems to the Bicol Region, on top of the food assistance that would be provided.
The DSWD will send over 100 buckets of water filtration kits to Kristine-affected areas in the region. Each family water filtration kit could provide clean water supply to approximately 100 individuals per bucket in one day.
DSWD said it will also continue to provide hot meals to passengers stranded in the ports after sea travel had been suspended due to the storm.
Marcos said since Bicol was among the first to be hit, the government can start its relief and rehabilitation efforts there.
He directed the Department of Public Works and Highways to clear all roads and bridges blocked by debris.
In areas where roads are not passable, he ordered the DSWD, in coordination with the defense department and the Philippine Coast Guard, to airlift relief goods, medical equipment and other items.
The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority said it will deploy rescue equipment and personnel to affected areas in Bicol.
MMDA Chairperson Romando Artes said the agency is coordinating with the Office of Civil Defense and the DSWD on the deployment of rescue boats, water purifiers chain saws, dump trucks, and ambulances.
RUBBER BOATS
Marcos said the government is also deploying to Bicol, and the Western and Central Visayas regions rubber boats used in Mindanao and other areas that do not need or use it at present.
The Office of Civil Defense said it is coordinating with other areas, specifically with the Western and Central Visayas regions, for the provision of rubber boats to augment rescue efforts in the region.
Officials of Naga City in Bicol, and former vice president Leni Robredo who is from the city, have appealed for pump boats and big trucks to rescue residents who are forced to move to the roofs of their houses because of floods, some six feet deep.
Meanwhile, Robredo also warned the public that someone is using her name and a fake cellphone number to collect donations for typhoon victims.
“(I am not that person. I only have one number and I don’t have a Messenger account), she said in a Facebook post.
She said she or anyone from “Angat Buhay” or her Naga Team cannot accept cash donations and only “Kaya Natin! Movement” is authorized to receive donations “for transparency and accountability.”
DAMS
Marcos has also ordered operators of dams in Luzon to start releasing water slowly ahead of expected heavy rains to prevent dams from reaching their full capacity.
He said the “measured response” would prevent a bulk release of excess water, at the height of the storm, which can add to the flooding adversely affecting Filipinos in downstream communities.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said some dams like Magat, Binga, and San Roque, have started to release water.
P390M CASH AID
Speaker Martin Romualdez said President Marcos Jr. has ordered a large-scale relief operation, prompting the House of Representatives to assist families severely affected by Kristine.
Romualdez said he has facilitated the immediate release of some P390 million in cash aid, which will be distributed to 22 districts affected by the tropical storm in four regions — Bicol, Eastern Visayas, Calabarzon, and Mimaropa.
House Deputy Secretary General Sofonias Gabonada Jr. said P15 million cash assistance per district and party-list representative will come from the DSWD’s Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) program.
He also said the Office of the Speaker and the Tingog party-list, which is represented by the Speaker’s wife Rep. Yedda Romualdez and Rep. Jude Acidre, are preparing 2,500 relief packs, for a total of 62,500 packs worth over P21 million.
Gabonada said Rep. Zaldy Co (PL, Ako Bicol), who chairs the House Committee on Appropriations, is also preparing for a separate relief mission.
EVACUATION CENTERS
The Marikina City government said evacuation centers have been set up in barangays, with designated rooms for evacuees with specific needs such as persons with disabilities (PWDs), senior citizens, pregnant women, among others.
Mayor Marcelino Teodoro ordered the preparation as early as Tuesday.
Metro Manila was placed under storm Signal No. 2 yesterday.
Water levels at the Marikina River remained at normal level as of 2 p.m. yesterday.
In Pasig City, the local government instructed construction agencies and billboard owners to take safety precautions including securing heavy mechanical equipment; and ensuring that tower cranes, construction elevators, gondolas, lifters, and other construction machineries are safely anchored or relocated to protected areas. – With Wendell Vigilia, Ashzel Hachero, and Christian Oineza
