‘Philippines has enough evacuation centers’

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang has assured the public that the country has enough evacuation centers for communities affected by Tropical Storm Ambo, which battered several areas last week.

Eastern Samar Gov. Ben Evardone had said the crowding at evacuation centers, originally set aside as coronavirus quarantine facilities in his province, was “a nightmare,” with physical distancing impossible to observe.

“We are prepared for the storm. We have Oplan Listo. We have enough relief goods and evacuation centers. I think some members of the private sector have donated permanent evacuation centers,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said yesterday.

However, the government’s plan to build evacuation
centers in disaster-prone areas has been put on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“All of our plans were set aside because we are focused on COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) now,” Roque told dzBB last Saturday when asked about the status of the plan to construct evacuation centers in various regions.

Last January, President Duterte ordered agencies to build evacuation centers in areas facing the Pacific Ocean like Isabela, Cagayan and Samar.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said Ambo affected close to 10,000 families or more than 40,000 persons. In the Calabarzon, Bicol, Cordillera and Eastern Visayas areas, more than 18,000 families or about 70,000 individuals were evacuated.
It is not clear if Duterte will visit the devastated areas as the presidential security aides are still assessing the situation.
“It has been the practice of the President to visit areas hit by calamities but we will see if the President can do that. I’m sure the PSG (Presidential Security Group) wants the President to stay in one place because of the threat of COVID-19,” he said.

In Eastern Samar, Ma. Josefina Titong, Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) officer, reported at least five persons dead—three in Oras and two in San Policarpo town—and 14 others injured.

The PDRRMC pegged the damage to infrastructure in Maslog town at P40 million. In Oras town, damage to agriculture was estimated at P912 million and to fisheries at P15 million.

It was still waiting for the damage reports of other towns as of press time.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said Ambo weakened into a low pressure area spotted at 125 kilometers northwest of Basco, Batanes as of yesterday afternoon.

It lifted the tropical cyclone signal over Batanes, but warned residents of light to moderate to at times heavy rains until last night. It also cautioned fishermen against going out into the seaboards of Batanes and Babuyan Islands as moderate to rough seas would persist in the next 24 hours.

Metro Manila and the rest of the country will experience warm weather with a chance of rain due to localized thunderstorms. The temperatures in the metropolis will range from 24 degrees to 35 degrees Celsius in the next five days.

In Tuguegarao City, Cagayan, the maximum temperature is forecast to hit 38 degrees Celsius this week.

PAGASA said no new weather disturbance was expected to affect the country in the next three to five days.