PGMA orders convertion of Palace into
According to Press Secretary Cerge Remonde, President Arroyo instructed her to conduct a meeting with Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, Presidential Management Staff (PMS) chief Hermogenes Esperon Jr. and Secretary to the Cabinet Silvestre Bello III today to convert Malacanang into a national relief operations center.
Remonde said the move was to augment the relief operations of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) for the victims of typhoon Ondoy who remained in flooded areas in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.
Remonde also said, even the members of the First Family were ordered by President Arroyo to evacuate the Palace to give way to convert the official residence of the President into a national relief operations center.
He said Mrs Arroyo also widened the scope of Oplan Sagip Bayan, wherein aside from the Cabinet members, all the government-owned and controlled corporations help in the relief operations of the government.
Remonde also told Malacanang reporters on Monday that he had already met with officials of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) and Philippine Gaming and Amusement Corp. (Pagcor) and discussed the necessary resources for the Oplan Sagip Bayan of President Arroyo to help typhoon Ondoy victims.
Remonde said that the Social Security System (SSS) had already allocated P100 million fund to augment the relief operations of the government.
The Palace also appealed to its critics to stop fingerpointing but instead help typhoon Ondoy victims.
Mrs. Arroyo on Monday also visited barangays Poblacion and Abangun Sur in Marilao, Bulacan and lead the distribution of relief goods to the typhoon victims.
PGMA cancels Cabinet meeting
Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Lorelei Fajardo said that President Arroyo would hold her Cabinet meeting on Tuesday in Metro Manila, instead of holding it in
Fajardo said the President also canceled her other activities in Guinobatan, Albay on Tuesday and her trip to Polangui, Albay on Wednesday for the groundbreaking ceremony of the Polangui Water system rehabilitation.
Mrs. Arroyo canceled her previous activities to give priority in the relief and rescue efforts for the victims of typhoon Ondoy, Fajardo said.
She also said PGMA also decided to temporarily convert Malacanang into a national relief operations center.
Mrs. Arroyo is also moving out from the Palace and will hold temporary office outside Malacanang to give way for the national relief operations center to move freely in Malacanang.
Earlier, Press Secretary Cerge Remonde also said that even the members of the First Family would move out from the Palace to use Malacanang as the central relief operations center.
Mrs. Arroyo also ordered a wider relief operations through the Oplan Sagip Bayan, wherein she directed all government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCC’s) to help in government effort to extend all the necessary assistance to the flood victims.
President Arroyo also appealed to public to help one another in this time of calamity and practice the Filipino tradition of “bayanihan”.
Mrs. Arroyo visited the flooded areas of
PGMA condoles with families of
BGY. SAN JUAN BAÑO, Arayat, Pampanga -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo condoled last night with the families of those killed after tons of mud and rock cascaded down Mt. Arayat and buried their homes at the height of tropical storm Ondoy on Sept. 26.
The President, fresh from Cainta and Malabon, two of the worst hit-cities in the National Capital Region, arrived at the St. John Chapel here to commiserate with the Dela Cruz, Portacio and Galang families, who lost loved ones in the landslide.
Appropriately clad in a black raincoat over a black dress, the President told Sammy Portacio she felt sorry that he had lost his wife Riza, 28, and their three children Sonny Boy, 8, LynLyn, 5 and Raiza, 4.
From the chapel, the President then went to see Manuel dela Cruz, who suffered the loss of his entire family.
Dela Cruz recounted to the President how he watched in horror as his mother Catalina, 86, his wife Sherly, 31, who was pregnant with their fifth child and their four children Manilyn, 12, Marlon, 11, Maryan, 10, and Mcgyver, 6, were swallowed up by the rampaging mud, rocks and debris.
Last to be visited by the President were Mario and Leonora Galang, parents of Mark, 15, and Marko, 10, who also perished in the tragedy.
In a separate interview, Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Lorelie Fajardo said the President was devastated upon hearing the misfortune that befell her cabalen.
She said the President instructed the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Philippine National Police and the local government units to investigate the cause of the landslide and to present their findings to her immediately.
The President gave each family two checks amounting to P15,000 for each loved one lost: P10,000 from the National Disaster Coordinating Council and P5,000 from the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
Pampanga Rep. Dong Gonzales also donated P5,000 for each victim.
After viewing each casket, the President left for the nearby barangays of Sto. Niño, San Miguel, and San Agustin, all in the
Each bag, contained P250, worth of canned goods, rice, noodles, coffee and sugar.
RP gets immediate assistance from international community
The Philippine government has received assistance from the international community in its efforts to provide assistance to people affected by typhoon Ondoy that wreaked havoc in Metro Manila and other provinces.
In a meeting at the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) in
“Our
The United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) has also donated food and non-food items worth to P15.3 million.
The President thanked the international allies for their immediate support to the rescue mission of the Philippine government at the aftermath of typhoon Ondoy.
At the briefing Teodoro stressed that NDCC has already centralized the donation point for the victims of the typhoon. He identified three centers of the Department of Social Welfare and Development where people can make their donations : the National Relief Operations Center, which is located between the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) 1 and 2 near the Air Transport Office in Pasay City; the Central Office of DSWD right across the Batasan road; and the National Capital Region (NCRF) Crisis Intervention Unit in Legarda, Manila.
No donations will be accepted in
At the same briefing, Transportation and Communication Secretary Leandro Mendoza said the Light Rail Transit (LRT) and Metro Rail Transit (MRT) have been put on a 24 hour operations and are implementing a flat rate P10 fare.
Teodoro also informed President Arroyo that he has declared the suspension of classes at all levels at the NCR and Rizal province Monday (Sept. 28). He, however, leaves it to the local government units (LGUs) and superintendents of schools in other disaster areas covered by the state of calamity to declare suspension of classes in their respective communities and schools.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) likewise apprised the President that
PAGASA said typhoon Ondoy has already left the Philippine area of responsibility, but warned that a cloud clusters in the Pacific could develop into a low pressure area under the potential of becoming another storm.
The Chief Executive ordered her Cabinet to prepare and monitor the situation.
More bodies found, Ondoy death toll reaches past 100
This despite the exit of tropical storm Ondoy, which left over a hundred people dead mostly from drowning, following the deluge that caused massive catastrophe across Metro Manila last weekend.
No storm is inside the Philippine Area of Responsibility, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said, but central and southern parts of
As of Sunday, Ondoy was spotted 560 kilometers west of Iba, Zambales as of 10 p.m.
Metro
Western sections of Visayas and
Authorities warn provinces in these region to remain vigilant against flashfloods and mudslides, especially
The Pagasa is monitoring the developments of a tropical cyclone near Guam, which is heading west northwestward towards the
It however allayed fears because the weather disturbance is still too far to affect the country - 1,000 kms away - but may further enhance southwest monsoon in the next 24 hours.
Meanwhile, television news program Balitanghali said Provident Village residents volunteered to help in the search and rescue operations despite lack of training, saying they want to help find more people, mostly their neighbors, who went missing after the great big flood last Saturday.
Two days after the tragedy, more people are still staying in their roofs with fears of resurgence of flood due to rains Monday morning.
Even
Meanwhile,
National Disaster Coordinating Council's Office of the Civil Defense officer in charge Anthony Golez said the whole of National Capital Region is placed under state of Calamity along with Aurora, Quirino, Nueva Viscaya, Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan, Tarlac, Zambales, Pampanga, Bulacan, Rizal, Quezon, Isabela, Mountain Province, Ifugao, Benguet, La Union, Ilocos Sur, Cavite, Batangas, Mindoro Occidental, Mindoro Oriental, Marinduque, Camarines Norte, and Bataan.
Total cost of damage amounted to P60.5M (infrastructure - P41M; schools P19 M and agriculture - P0.212 M) according to NDCC.
