President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. emphasized the need to change how people view typhoons, saying that frequent weather disturbances should no longer be considered emergencies but rather a normal part of the Philippine climate.
“Hindi ito unusual. Hindi ito emergency. Ito ngayon talaga ang panahon, at mangyayari ito,” Marcos said after a meeting with the NDRRMC and members of the Cabinet to assess the government’s response to recent tropical storms.
Along with this were the president's updates regarding the administration's response to the frequent devastation caused by the southwest monsoon (habagat) and tropical cyclones Dante and Emong.
He noted improvements in response time, particularly in the distribution of relief goods, rescue operations, and road clearing.
PBBM stated that he had visited two evacuation centers in Rizal province and said operations appeared to be running smoothly.
However, the president expressed concern over overcrowding in evacuation centers, which increases the risk of disease outbreaks.
“The other thing that I was concerned about nung nakita ko sa evacuation center, napaka-congested. ‘Pag isa diyan ang magkasakit, kakalat nang napakabilis iyan,” he said.
He stated that both national and local government medical teams are now being deployed to ensure that every center has sufficient medical support and supplies.
“Ang trabaho lang talaga sa national ay tiyakin na meron silang sapat na supply ng mga gamit at saka gamot. And that’s what we are doing now. So far: that’s what we have to attend to,” he stated.
Another issue raised was the impact of class suspensions on students.
With frequent school closures, Marcos acknowledged the disadvantage students are facing and said the government is now exploring alternative modes of learning to minimize disruptions.
“Masyado na silang lugi kung mapipilitan silang hindi pumasok. So we’re finding alternative ways—teaching modes na para sa ating mga estudyante,” he remarked.
Despite being overseas, Marcos noted that standard operating procedures were already in place.
The president also expressed the need to semipermanentize disaster preparedness as the country expects 12 to 15 typhoons this year.
“This will happen this year, it will happen next year, it will happen a year after that.”
As Tropical Storm Dante exited the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR), Emong weakened into a tropical storm and is currently passing near the Babuyan Islands as of 2:00 p.m., July 25, according to the latest update from PAGASA.
