GMA takes over DND

President Arroyo has taken over the defense portfolio, presiding over the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) meeting yesterday on typhoon "Queenie" at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.

No casualties were reported as of press time, though some families in the affected areas were forcibly evacuated.

Outgoing Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz Jr., whose resignation takes effect on Nov. 30, was absent from various important events over the past days.

Sources said the President is already running the affairs of the defense department and that Cruz’s absence was noticeable at yesterday’s NDCC meeting.

Cruz normally presides over the NDCC meetings as defense secretary and chairman of the body. Mrs. Arroyo used to join the NDCC meetings with Cruz at the helm.

He also did not appear at a press conference with visiting American Deputy Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs John Hillen Friday. Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Hermogenes Esperon represented Cruz at the press conference.

Mrs. Arroyo said she will act as defense secretary until she decides who will replace Cruz.

Cruz resigned after complaining of intrigues in the Cabinet and expressing his opposition to the moves to change the 1987 Constitution through a people’s initiative.

At the NDCC meeting, Mrs. Arroyo ordered authorities to ensure the safety of the residents of the provinces of Aurora, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Zambales, Isabela, Quirino, Nueva Vizcaya, La Union, Ifugao, Benguet and Pangasinan, which are expected to be hardest hit by typhoon Queenie.

She also asked disaster management and other concerned officials to ensure that there will be no casualties once dams — Pantabangan in Nueva Ecija and San Roque in Pangasinan — are opened to let rainwater dumped by the typhoon out.

Mrs. Arroyo likewise told Social Welfare Secretary Esperanza Cabral to replenish relief goods for Aurora and other areas expected to be hit by the typhoon.

Officials said the areas that will be affected by typhoon Queenie are the same areas that suffered from the battering of Typhoon "Paeng" two weeks ago.

Mrs. Arroyo said authorities should always see to it that rescue and relief operations are sustained and that power outages will immediately be addressed.

Queenie developed into a tropical depression on the evening of Nov. 8 and became a storm as it continued to move towards the provinces of Aurora and Quezon. — Aurea Calica