Monsoon to dump rain over Philippines – Pagasa

MANILA, Philippines — The southwest monsoon and its trough will continue to bring rain over most parts of the country, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).

Some areas in Bataan, Occidental Mindoro, Palawan and Zambales can expect cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms as these are directly affected by the southwest monsoon, PAGASA said.

Metro Manila and the rest of the country may have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with moderate to at times heavy rain due to the monsoon trough.

PAGASA warned residents to watch out for rain-induced flash floods and landslides. Temperatures in Metro Manila may range between 25 and 32 degrees Celsius.
Meanwhile, PAGASA said the low-pressure area monitored in the West Philippne Sea is slowly moving away from the Philippine area of responsibility.

The low-pressure area was last spotted 625 kilometers west of Dagupan City at
3 p.m. yesterday.

It could develop into a tropical cyclone as it moves away from the Philippine area of responsibility or toward Southern China and Northern Vietnam.

DDR bill approval sought

Leyte Rep. Lucy Torres-Gomez said it would be best if President Duterte would certify as urgent a House-approved measure providing for the creation of the Department of Disaster Resilience (DDR) now that the rainy season is officially here.

“I am appealing to President Duterte to please certify as urgent the proposed DDR, which has been in the list of priority measures for the past two SONAs,” Gomez said, referring to the State of the Nation Address.

“Having the DDR in place ensures that whatever economic gains we achieve would not be at risk of slipping back just because of disaster events, especially as we re-establish our economy post-COVID,” she said.

House Bill 5989 has been approved in September 2020, and has since been transmitted to the Senate.

Gomez, chair of the House committee on disaster resilience, urged their counterparts in the Senate to soon act on the proposal.

She said the creation of the proposed DDR would ensure a more efficient, coordinated and complete system of disaster management, thus mitigating extensive damage to lives and properties. – Delon Poralla