Duterte to visit typhoon-hit Bicol

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines — Local officials had been ordered to submit reports on the damage left by Typhoon Tisoy ahead of President Duterte’s visit to the region today.

Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Bicol director Claudio Yucot said he has also ordered regional government agencies to submit updated reports, which he will present before the President at a briefing.

“We are going to brief President Duterte on what exactly happened in Bicol after the lashing of Tisoy. Prepare what assistance you need so that the President would be guided on what help to extend to Bicol,” Yucot told the officials.

At the same time, Yucot ordered the regional Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to confirm if the reported five fatalities are typhoon-related.

“But without official confirmation of their dead to be typhoon-related, the (regional disaster) council maintains that Bicol is zero casualty,” Yucot stressed.

Tisoy (international name Kammuri) killed at least 12 people on Tuesday as it tore roofs off houses and forced the evacuation of thousands of families in Southern Luzon.

Tisoy roared ashore late Monday and passed the Bicol region before tearing through south Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

Just before Tisoy exited into the South China Sea, the typhoon killed five people in the Bicol region, according to regional police spokesperson Maj. Maria Luisa Calubaquib. Their names were not immediately available.

Calubaquib said three drowned in the towns of Bulan in Sorsogon and Goa and Pili in Camarines Sur.

She said one died from electrocution in Libmanan, Camarines Sur and another died of still undetermined cause at an evacuation center in Sorsogon City.

Five people were also killed in the Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan) region, according to the initial report of the regional police.

Mimaropa regional police spokesperson Lt. Col. Imelda Tolentino identified the five fatalities as barangay tanod Ildefonso delos Santos, 59, Jessie Santos, 37 and Bernabe Lundag, 37, who were hit by fallen trees in Baco and Pinamalayan towns in Oriental Mindoro, and Gasan in Marinduque, respectively.

The two other fatalities – Efren de Guzman, 48 and Domindor Lazo, 64, both of Pinamalayan – died of heart attack.

Two people also died in Quezon, according to Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) spokesperson Lt. Col. Chitadel Gaorian.

Gaoiran said an unidentified individual died after being hit by a fallen tree in Catanauan, Quezon while another was hit by lightning in Polilio Island.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said their fatality report remains at zero.

NDRRMC executive director and OCD administrator Ricardo Jalad said that despite the reports of fatalities coming in, they will have to verify if their deaths were directly caused by the typhoon.

NDRRMC spokesman Mark Timbal said before they could release the death toll left by Tisoy, this must first undergo the process of validation, as per protocol.

“We follow our rules that before we could publish the fatality and those injured, we must have full verification report coming from our regional disaster councils. We have to ensure that these (deaths) are fully verified. We heard news of deaths but here at the NDRRMC level, we are still verifying those (deaths),” Timbal said.

Jalad added the NDRRMC is in the process of collating all damage reports from the regions affected by Tisoy.

“We are still in the process of conducting an assessment. Most of the damaged houses were made of light materials. All roads are now passable. There were minor landslides and no casualties; there were flooded areas but the flooding has subsided,” he said.

Jalad said the destruction left by Tisoy was minimal compared to past typhoons that ravaged the country.

Tisoy left a path of destruction where many houses were seriously damaged, many power poles toppled and flooding in low-lying areas, mostly in the Bicol region and Oriental Mindoro, one of the most battered provinces directly in the path of the typhoon.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) said the initial estimate of damage to agriculture has reached P532 million.

This covers 14,637 hectares of agricultural lands with production losses at 18,455 metric tons, affecting some 3,800 farmers in Calabarzon and Bicol region, according to the report of DA’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Operation Center.

The rice sector was hardest hit, accounting for 60 percent of damage with 12,435 hectares of rice fields and 11,539 metric tons of produce valued at P319 million.

Losses in high-value crops reached P146 million and affected 1,025 hectares of crops with 5,240 MT.

Corn production loss was placed at P67 million and affected 1,176 hectares with 1,676 MT.

The DA is estimating an initial P11.6 billion in losses for the farm sector, particularly for rice.

DA data showed the total areas at risk stood at 218,938 hectares for rice and 25,915 hectares for corn from all affected regions.

Crops at reproductive and maturing stage are the most vulnerable to strong winds and flooding with a total of 156,594 hectares for rice and 6,737 hectares for corn.

Moving on

Tisoy was downgraded to a severe tropical storm yesterday after it roared past the country.

Tisoy was expected to exit the Philippine area of responsibility last night or early today, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said.

PAGASA has lifted all tropical wind signals as of 11 a.m. yesterday.

However, gusty conditions associated with the northeast monsoon may be experienced in some areas in Northern Luzon, Central Luzon, Calabarzon and Mimaropa regions, especially in the coastal and mountainous areas.

Tisoy is expected to continuously weaken due to its interaction with the northeast monsoon, or cold and dry air from China and Siberia.

As of 3 p.m., the center of Tisoy was spotted at 380 kilometers west of Subic, Zambales, packing winds of 95 kilometers per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 115 kph, moving west northwest at 20 kph.

Meanwhile, PAGASA is monitoring a new low- pressure area east of the country but it has a slim chance of intensifying into a cyclone in the next 48 hours. The weather system was expected to enter the country this weekend.

One more cyclone is predicted to enter the Philippine area of responsibility this month.

“The country will be cyclone-free until the weekend,” PAGASA weather specialist Raymond Ordinario said.

Taking note of the hard lessons learned from past typhoons and calamities, lawmakers suggested to simplify the process of relief and rehabilitation.

Sen. Francis Tolentino filed a bill empowering the government to conscript professionals like doctors, nurses and engineers during calamities.

Sen. Lito Lapid is pushing for a measure to seek free of charge freight services on transporting relief good to calamity-stricken areas.

Meanwhile, state-run financial institutions are offering financial packages to residents affected by Tisoy. Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) senior vice president Joseph Andres said the pension fund for state workers has an emergency loan program for those living in calamity-hit areas. 

“As far as the emergency loan package is concerned, we need a declaration of state of calamity, whether it’s national or local, plus a request from the Sanggunian asking for the granting of the said loan within their areas of jurisdiction,” Andres said. The Land Bank of the Philippines, for its part, has a Calamity Rehabilitation Support Program (CARES), which provides working capital, loans and livelihood financing. Landbank first vice president Emily Tamayo said the program covers both manmade and natural calamities. The interest rate for loans availed of by farmers is five percent while the rate for other borrowers is six percent. – Jaime Laude, Helen Flores, Emmanuel Tupas, Louise Maureen Simeon, Alexis Romero, Danessa Rivera, Paolo Romero, Cecille Suerte Felipe