President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has approved the recommendation of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) to declare a "state of national calamity" following the devastation caused by Typhoon Tino and in anticipation of another approaching weather disturbance, Typhoon Uwan.
In an interview after a situation briefing at the NDRRMC headquarters on Thursday, November 6, Marcos said the declaration would allow the government to mobilize more resources and speed up relief and recovery efforts for affected communities.
“Because of the scope of problem areas that have been hit by Tino and will be hit by Uwan, there was a proposal by the NDRRMC which I approved — that we will declare a national calamity,” the President said.
“Because ilang regions na 'yan…almost 10, 12 regions will be affected. Pagkaganong kadami, ganoon ang scope, we have to [declare] a national calamity,” he added.
The President said the government is continuing to provide relief and support to residents displaced by Tino.
“We are doing our usual relief and support activities para lahat ng mga na-displaced, lahat ng naging biktima ay matutulungan natin ng pamahalaan,” Marcos said.
He added that many government personnel are currently deployed in the Visayas for relief operations and that planning is ongoing to redeploy teams to areas expected to be affected by potential super Typhoon Uwan, which is forecast to make landfall in Central and Northern Luzon, possibly in Cagayan Province, by Sunday morning.
"Unfortunately, mayroon tayong inaabangan na parating na may potensyal na maging mas malakas pa. Ito nga pinapangalanan na Uwuan. And so we are also preparing for that," Marcos stated.
“Hindi namin iiwanan na Cebu habang lahat na ay in place na. The same thing, but we will do as much as we can to anticipate” he added.
Marcos expressed concern over the high number of casualties from Typhoon Tino, though he refrained from giving specific figures pending official validation.
The President explained that declaring a state of national calamity will enable the government to access emergency funds more quickly and bureaucratic procedures, and to "immediately provide assistance to the victims" of affected areas.
High casualty count and damage validation
Marcos noted that Typhoon Tino caused severe damage and a high number of casualties, though he withheld figures pending validation.
"Unfortunately, the casualty count is very high. I do not want to give a number because we are still in the process of validating all the numbers about the damages, the number of people who have been displaced, the number of families that are under evacuation centers, those that have been displaced na umuwi sa kanilang mga kamag-anak, mga kaibigan," he said.
"Those are still being processed but it is a significant number," he added.
As the nation continues to recover from Typhoon Tino and brace for possible super Typhoon Uwan, Marcos assured the public that the government remains focused on relief, recovery, and preparedness efforts.
"We are also doing everything that we can para ma-anticipate at makapaghanda tayo ng mabuti dito naman sa parating na Typhoon Uwan,” he said.
According to PAGASA, the tropical depression outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) has intensified into Tropical Storm Fung-Wong. This is expected to enter PAR late Friday evening or early Saturday, where it will be named “Uwan.”
The National Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported on Thursday, that the death toll from Typhoon Tino has climbed to 114, with 127 people reported missing.
