LGUs affected by Seniang adequately warned – Palace

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang yesterday defended the government’s preparations and response to Tropical Storm Seniang while assuring it would continue to invest in strengthening frontline agencies to effectively mitigate the impact of disasters and calamities.

Reports quoted some local officials and victims in the Visayas as saying they did not get advance warning on Seniang and that the basic needs of the evacuees were not being addressed.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said they were aware of such reports and stressed the national government had been ready to help the victims, and in fact monitored the actions of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council from the time Seniang was spotted as a low-pressure area.

Valte said the NDRRMC issued a warning on Dec. 26, which was repeated on the subsequent days so that the regional and local disaster and risk management councils could prepare and implement preemptive evacuation first and foremost.

She said there was a summary of reports published by the NDRRMC on its website and which were sent to the local governments concerned.

Valte, however, said the government would endeavor to improve further its abilities to deal with disastrous weather disturbances.

According to Valte, this year “also represents the continuation in our journey to become more resilient to climate change.”

“Not only are we continuing to build back better the areas affected by Typhoon Yolanda, we have also learned much from the past in preparing for calamities... The whole of government stands with the survivors of these typhoons – from Yolanda to Seniang – and will maximize its efforts to help all those affected,” she said.

Among the government’s major agencies dealing with disasters and forecasting are the NDRRMC, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).

Valte said among the major thrusts of the government was to increase the yearly budget of these agencies.

In the case of PAGASA, the government has upgraded the agency’s equipment, Valte said.

She said PAGASA received attention from the government, especially on its needs for better weather forecasting.

The DOST, PAGASA’s mother agency, has tried to resolve issues on the allowances of its personnel with the help of the Department of Budget and Management.

Valte said this would show the willingness of the administration to sit down and talk about acceptable solutions to problems involving government personnel.

“We continue to invest in mechanisms that will help them make better tracks or make better predictions,” Valte said.

DOST’s Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards (Project NOAH) has been expanded, Valte said, adding that efforts to complete hazard mapping would continue.

The government not only focuses on PAGASA, but is also improving the capability of first responders and rescuers to operate effectively during disasters, Valte said.

The government has also augmented PAGASA’s budget, increasing it from P396.5 million in 2014 to P3.46 billion for 2015, an increase of 526.5 percent.

A large chunk of PAGASA’s 2015 allocation is intended for the purchase of state-of-the-art weather monitoring equipment, Valte pointed out.

The new budget will also go to personnel services of PAGASA.

In 2014, PAGASA had an allocation of P352 million for personnel services; in 2015, the state weather bureau got P434.4 million for personnel services, a 23.4 percent increase.

The country’s weather bureau as well as other government front line agencies once again came under close scrutiny after several major typhoons hit the Philippines in 2014.

Among these weather disturbances were Typhoon Ruby that devastated Eastern Visayas as well as the more recent Seniang that brought massive flooding and landslides in Mindanao and the Visayas regions.

No return

The death toll went up to 55 with Eastern Visayas, particularly Catbalogan City in Samar province, registering the highest casualty count from Seniang.

On Friday, another unidentified dead body was retrieved from the landslide that buried three villages in Barangay Mercedes of Catbalogan.

This brought the total number of fatalities from the area to 21, while another is still missing.

Mayor Stephany Uy-Tan said they might have to relocate the families living there, taking note that the area is prone to landslides during heavy rains.

“They (the evacuees) are no longer allowed to return to their homes as we are relocating them,” Tan said.

She added the roads leading to the villages would be closed.

Tan said all burial expenses of the victims and basic needs of those families relocated to evacuation centers will be shouldered by the local government.

Apart from the 21 dead in Catbalogan City, the Department of Health (DOH) regional office reported 12 fatalities in Tanauan, Mahaplag, Baybay, Palo and Burauen, all in Leyte.

“The storm has also injured at least 22 persons” in Eastern Visayas, said DOH assistant regional director Paula Paz Sydiongco.

In Central Visayas, the death toll rose to 21, with 12 others injured and several missing.

The regional Office of Civil Defense said at least 93 houses were destroyed, displacing some 115 families or 562 individuals in Cebu and Bohol.

Cebu Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management chief Baltazar Tribunalo Jr. pegged the damage in southern Cebu at about P1 billion.

Tribunalo said this figure does not include other towns that have yet submit their assessment reports.

The NDRRMC said 41 people were injured and eight others are still missing  from 19 monitored flooding or flashfloods, 16 landslides and three maritime incidents in Southern Tagalog’s Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan) region; Bicol Region, Central, Eastern and Western Visayas; Northern Mindanao, Davao and Caraga region, as well as in Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARRM).

However, the figures obtained from regional disaster offices based in Central, Eastern and Western Visayas showed a much higher figure of 68 deaths, with the number  of fatalities still expected to rise. – With Ricky Bautista, Jaime Laude