Panayam kay OCD-NDRRMC spokesperson Director Edgar Posadas
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00:00 We also want to know the situation of affected areas of Baguio-Cabayan from Director Edgar Posadas, the spokesperson of OCD and DRRMC.
00:11 Director Posadas, good afternoon.
00:14 Good afternoon, Usec Mark. Good afternoon to all the listeners and viewers of your program.
00:21 Okay. In your monitoring, sir, how many individuals or families are affected by the storm in Baguio? I understand that the storm has subsided.
00:31 Yes. It is now within the NPA in March and it is now in the area of Cabuanga.
00:37 So far ma'am, earlier at 8 a.m., former tropical depression Cabayan has affected already 25,489 families or 86,321 individuals and 217 barangays.
00:55 These are the three most affected regions in Mindanao ma'am. These are Carraga, Region 11 and Region 10.
01:07 So far, I hope it stays that way ma'am. In March, we did not have any casualties.
01:16 We have initially one injured and one missing person, which are still subject for validation. I hope we can find a missing person alive.
01:26 We do not have any untoward incidents in March that are still being recorded other than those.
01:36 We also have, ma'am, only three days ago, when we had our tropical cyclone wind signals hoisted, we had 636 passengers, 157 rolling cargos, and nine vessels,
01:55 which were stranded in Regions 8 and Carraga. We also have four seaports, ma'am, that are still non-operational in Regions 11 and Carraga and five seaports in Region 10.
02:10 But the operations have resumed. We have also a total of 53 damaged houses initially in March in Region 10, Region 11 and Carraga.
02:23 Fifty were partially damaged and three totally damaged. We also had, we monitored 83 cities and municipalities, ma'am, with class suspensions in Regions 10, 11 and Carraga.
02:36 We have also 57 cities and municipalities declaring work suspensions in those three regions.
02:44 We also have episodes of power interruption in three municipalities in Carraga. Five municipalities. The power supply was restored in March.
03:02 For our part, in Endrim OT, when the typhoon passed, it was stable. We lowered our alert from red to blue in Campagnano.
03:16 But nothing to worry about. This is an internal process just to make sure that the President's guidance to provide adequate, efficient and effective response, relevant response.
03:30 One step ahead will be provided by government through the Endrim OT and through the Office of Civil Defense.
03:38 We also have reports also, but this is during the tropical cyclone wind signals.
03:51 We have 6,910 families or 22,695 individuals who were preemptively evacuated in Region 7, 8, 10, 11 and Carraga.
04:04 As of now, our regional offices in Regions 8, 10, 12 and Carraga are still on red alert, while the rest are on blue alert to include our... here in our Endrim OT.
04:22 In March, I will add our response efforts. We have provided family food packs to our Carraga regional office based in Butuan.
04:35 These are also coming from the LCUs, our family food packs. The Philippine Coast Guard issued a sea travel advisory dated yesterday, December 18, 2023,
04:52 that is resuming their operations because there is no longer a tropical cyclone wind signal. More or less, our latest from the Endrim OT is in March.
05:06 Thank you Director Edgar for that very detailed account. But sir, you mentioned that the regions you mentioned are affected, 7, 8, 10 to 12 and Carraga.
05:17 Can you tell us the specific areas affected by flooding? You mentioned earlier that the communications lines and electricity are affected.
05:31 Perhaps we could tell our viewers what those areas are?
05:36 Our communication lines are already restored ma'am. The reported cases that are flooding are in Davao de Oro, New Bataan, Davao Oriental, Carraga,
06:01 in Cacihil, Manay, San Ignacio and Carraga. These are the areas affected by the Remedios T. Romualde in Agusan del Norte.
06:11 Director, are there any reported infrastructure damages in the areas affected by the current typhoon?
06:20 There are no major damages ma'am that would prevent our response efforts and the usual allowing the passage of not only relief goods ma'am,
06:34 but also the goods that are being delivered to the market. That is also our goal, not to hamper that so that the conditions in the affected areas would go back to normal,
06:51 to its normal conditions as soon as possible. This is also with the help of our member agencies like the DPWH, who is in charge of these regions.
07:03 This is also the LGUs ma'am for Indonesia.
07:07 Director Posadas, this is Nina Corpus. Director, we also asked for an update on the people we evacuated.
07:16 How many evacuees are there now and how are they doing at this time?
07:24 So far ma'am, as indicated here, we have preemptively evacuated people. These are totaling 22,695 individuals.
07:40 These are the regions 7, 8, 10, 11 and Caraga. They are well provided ma'am. We have not yet received any major requests for assistance.
07:53 If you notice, Maminia and Yucat March, before this, these were also the same, almost the same regions and LGUs, especially in Mindanao, that were affected by the earthquake.
08:13 So the efforts we are making are a bit high. We are just adding, even the prepositioning of goods, even our services, all the people concerned with response,
08:28 in addressing the needs of our fellowmen there, are already there. We just added it because of the past experience of former tropical depression fellowmen
08:38 that brought the same effects. But not in our monitoring ma'am. Thank God, the effects are not that severe in the regions you mentioned.
08:54 All right. Director Posadas, you said more than 22,000 individuals are our evacuees for now. Will they continue to return to their homes?
09:11 Will they be able to celebrate Christmas in evacuation sites?
09:15 Our goal is to really... especially for our Filipinos, no matter how hard life is, we should celebrate Christmas together with our families.
09:28 So far, we have no reported deaths. Our regional offices and especially our LGUs are doing their best because there are not many houses destroyed.
09:45 So this is just an assurance that it's okay. When the weather improves, the hope we gave when we met with them last Sunday during the PIDRA,
09:57 the Pre-Disaster Risk Assessment meeting with all concerned agencies, this is Enri Mosi. As he said, starting today, the weather will improve,
10:07 save for the area of Palawan where the LPA will be issued. But in general, we are hoping that the weather condition will improve.
10:23 I just came from Legazpi this morning. Yesterday, it was raining and cloudy. Now it's cloudy but less of the rain.
10:31 But this is due to the effect of the shear line because we have three weather conditions that we have wracked the other day.
10:43 In Ticapayan, we have the shear line and we have the Northeast monsoon at the top of the Northern Luzon.
10:51 All right. Just to be clear, based on your assistance with the experts, is there no hope that we will have no more severe storms or shear line and more rains until next year?
11:06 I asked that to Ma'am Bina during that meeting because I know that's the usual question. That is also what I would like to ask.
11:15 They will forecast up to the 23rd that they will not see a weather disturbance. But additional, like if there is an LPA or what have you.
11:27 Beyond that, when they give us their forecast, we will report also to you or they report directly to you.
11:35 That's the answer of Alfar when he was in the meeting. At least until the 23rd, they will not see additional weather conditions that can increase.
11:51 But they will still give us the forecast after the 23rd.
11:55 Director Edgar, according to our Coast Guard, some passengers were stranded in the ports. What assistance is the government distributing to them?
12:07 There are many mechanisms, Usec March. Sometimes, the host, of course, the DFWD is also there, the local government hosting the ports.
12:20 I became regional director in Region 54. The host LGUs of those ports are providing initial assistance like food until such time that the people who were stranded there can cross and get off.
12:39 Plus, our DFWD is also there. If necessary, the resources of the Office of Civil Defense are also there.
12:45 But so far ma'am, I think we are not hearing any requests. So probably, the local... my assumption here, like when I was the regional director,
13:00 the resources of the local government and the DFWD are enough to assist our stranded. But since the Coast Guard lifted the warning on the stoppage of the trip
13:26 and since we don't have the tropical cyclone warning signal, eventually, the number of stranded will decrease.
13:36 Hopefully, they reach their homes, their final destinations before Christmas to celebrate Christmas with their families.
13:43 Okay. That's right. Sir, do you know if the big ships have already traveled and the number of stranded has decreased?
13:53 I understand that more than 4,000 were stranded when there was a signal and now it's just one LTA. Are there many who were able to leave?
14:01 Yes. In fact ma'am, as I told you earlier, the Coast Guard lifted the suspension of sea travel in one place.
14:12 That's a protocol. If all warning signals were lifted, the ships will proceed. Not only in terms of passengers, but we also have rolling cargos,
14:30 we also have cargo vessels that should be released especially before Christmas so that they can reach the market and bring their cargoes in time for Christmas.
14:44 All right sir. Lastly, good news that the LTA has already lifted the national typhoon.
14:51 But they said that the weather is unpredictable and you said that it will last until December 23 and the rains may continue in some places.
15:01 What are your reminders to our countrymen that this bad weather will affect them?
15:09 Yes. We should always be alert. We should be thankful to our friends in the media. Your role in this whole process of informing our countrymen
15:24 for their safety is very big. We cannot talk to every Filipino, but through your program, your program is very rich.
15:33 All of our media friends whom we talk to, we receive these messages. First, we have to be prepared all the time. We should be ready.
15:46 We should know the areas that are prone to landslides, mudslides or soil erosions. If we are near those areas and we experience, in our opinion, more than normal,
16:03 the expected rainfall, we should be prepared. If we are invited to move to a safer ground or safer place, like a temporary evacuation,
16:17 we should be prepared to remain safe. But just the same, let's celebrate Christmas in gratitude that everybody is still here, we're with families.
16:32 Our home is there, we have a roof. We should not let our fears govern us. We should celebrate also, but we have to be prepared.
16:48 We have to be mindful of the possible disasters and hazards that can affect us. The critical role of our local governments in providing for
17:09 and responding to the needs of their citizens. I would like to thank them most and congratulate them for doing a good job.
17:20 Let's continue to talk and communicate as often as we could to our fellowmen to assure them.
17:28 I would just like to echo and compliment the message of our President, and complementing that is also the instruction of the SND and chair of the NDRC,
17:37 Secretary Chodron and of course, CEO Nepomuceno, who is the one who is making sure that these guidance are implemented for government to be there,
17:49 one step ahead to provide the necessary response if necessary. Let's just celebrate Christmas with the mindset that we should be prepared for any eventuality.
18:03 Always be prepared. Thank you very much for your time, Director Edgar Posadas, the spokesperson of the OCD and DRRMC.
18:15 Thank you very much and Merry Christmas.