Marcos to visit areas affected by Abra quake, but ‘staying away’ for now

MANILA, Philippines (Updated 3:13 p.m.) — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Wednesday he might visit areas affected by the magnitude-7.0 Abra quake that hit earlier in the day, but is “staying away” for now so as to not disturb local government officials from responding to the disaster.

“It has been my experience as governor, it has been my experience in [Super Typhoon] Yolanda, that when the national officers come to the affected areas immediately, we just disturb the work of local officials,” Marcos said partly in Filipino at a press briefing in Malacañang just hours after the quake struck.

He said that he would need to coordinate with police and local officials if he were to visit, swamping them with even more work.

“So I said, let them do their work, let us wait for them to tell us what the true situation is and maybe I can schedule a trip perhaps tomorrow, as soon as possible,” he said.

Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles said in an earlier press briefing that Marcos will “immediately fly to the area as soon as the all clear is given.”

“He will make an inspection of the disaster areas as soon as he is given the all clear. As long as it is safe for him to travel and do so.”

Angeles said Marcos is also coordinating with the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council and the Department of Social Welfare and Development, which he ordered to immediately dispatch relief teams to Abra.

Marcos is also said to be coordinating with local officials in the province and to have ordered all agencies involved in disaster preparation and relief to be dispatched.

The president is also calling on telecommunications companies to give immediate assistance and free communication to all areas where towers have gone down due to the quake to keep communications channels open.

The shallow quake struck three kilometers west northwest of Tayum town at 8:43 a.m., leaving one dead in La Trinidad, Benguet, according to the NDRRMC. The tremor also caused damage to some structures, including heritage sites like bell towers in Ilocos Norte and Spanish-era buildings in Calle Crisologo in Vigan City, Ilocos Sur. — Xave Gregorio