MANILA, Philippines – Under the grand chandeliers of Malacañang’s Kalayaan Hall, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s marching orders to a room full of Cabinet officials, top generals, and fellow politicians was simple: Think about Filipinos still in the flood, with no food, water, and shelter.

“If you think you are tired, think about what your condition is. Let’s always keep that in mind,” said Marcos on Friday, October 25, as he convened members of his Cabinet, line agencies, and representatives of the private sector for a briefing on the effects of Severe Tropical Storm Kristine (Trami).

As of Friday morning, the National Disaster Risk Reduction Council (NDRRMC) said over 2.66 million Filipinos have been affected by the storm, with over 239,200 people inside evacuation centers all over the country.

The NDRRMC reported an initial death toll of 13, which is expected to rise once reports from various government agencies and local government units are validated. Of the 13 confirmed deaths related to Kristine, 11 were reported in Bicol, the region hardest hit by the storm.

Kristine, thus far, is the biggest storm to affect the Philippines under the Marcos administration.

The NDRRMC’s October 25 report lists all regions — save for Metro Manila — as among those whose populations were affected by the storm.

Aid to Bicol

In a statement released ahead of the meeting on Friday, Marcos promised that aid was on its way, through “land, air, and, even by sea.” A day prior, in an October 24 statement, the President said the government has been “tirelessly and urgently working towards the immediate deployment of relief, recovery, and rehabilitation” to Bicol.

Early Friday, the national government deployed a C-130 plane from Manila to Naga City with satellite communication equipment, generator sets, water filtration units, and additional personnel on board. The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) earlier said over 17 air assets were on standby in Villamor Airbase in Pasay and in Cebu City for deployment should the weather clear up.

Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian dialed into the meeting and was joined by Naga Mayor Nelson Legacion and Camarines Sur 3rd District Representative Gabby Bordado via videoconferencing.

In Camarines Sur, nine of the 38 local government units were still “submerged under water,” while six remained “partially submerged,” said Gatchalian, quoting Governor Luigi Villafuerte.

While food provisions in the province were “okay,” Gatchalian said potable water was a “main concern.”

“I know we did send the water purification systems pero nagkataon (it just so happened), Mr. President, naipit ho ‘yung trucks sa Milaor kasi naputol ho ‘yung road na ‘yun medyo baha pa ho (the trucks are stuck at Milaor because the road is cut off by the flooding,” said Gatchalian.

Water containers will be provided by Manila Water and Maynilad, and transported by the Philippine Air Force.

“I think we’ll be okay with water, Mr. President, as long as we’re able to deploy using the C-130s,” said the social welfare chief

Fuel is also a growing concern in the province, since tankers are still stuck in Milaor and Matnog Port.

In all calamities, the local government units are meant to be the first line of defense — providing rescue, preemptive evacuation, and preparing resources for those who will be displaced.

But in areas like Naga City, where over 30% is submerged under flood water and where up to 70% of the population are affected by flooding, resources are not the issue — it’s the difficulty of reaching those in need.

“Ang tingin po namin, Mr. President, hangga’t hindi pa nako-cross ‘yung highways sa Milaor at hangga’t hindi pa po nakakarating ‘yung mga ayuda coming from Metro Manila, from the national government, ay mas mahihirapan pa po kami,” said Legacion.

(The way we see it, Mr. President, while Milaor is impassable and until aid from Metro Manila, from the national government, is unable to reach us, we will have a hard time.)

Asked by Marcos if there was no way to bring flood levels down fast, Legacion explained: “Sa parte po ng Naga, kasama na din po iyong Milaor area, mukhang ito talaga iyong parang basin. Dito bumababa lahat ng tubig na nanggagaling sa upper portion, including those in Rinconada at from Albay. Mukhang maghihintay po talaga.”

(For Naga, and even Milaor, it appears that these are really basins. Water flows down here from higher areas, including those in Rinconada and from Albay. It looks like we will really have to wait.)

Marcos earlier ordered full mobilization of all uniformed personnel — from the military, police, fire bureau, and coast guard — for relief operations.

“I have ordered them to deploy vehicles, aircraft, boats, ships and all other transportation assets for — first rescue, and then relief and rehabilitation. This includes presidential helicopters,” said Marcos in a statement.

The national government and its agencies are in a time crunch — a tropical depression could enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility over the weekend.

“We have a weather window of about two days for air operations in Bicol. And we will try to take full advantage of all that,” Marcos had said in a Gawad Pook event in the Palace before the Kristine briefing.

A helpless government?

The President’s pronouncements and orders on Friday were in contrast to an NDRRMC briefing held just before Kristine made landfall. A seemingly forlorn Marcos, after hearing updates from top officials, said then: “The worst is yet to come, I’m afraid. So, let’s all prepare — let’s just all prepare so that the minute that we get the signal that it’s okay to go in, we’ll all be able to go in.”

“Wala tayong magagawa (We cannot do anything). We just…. I’m feeling a little helpless here.… All we can do is sit tight, wait, hope, pray that there’s not too much damage, that there are no casualties. And then go in as soon and as quickly as possible with as much as we can to alleviate the effects, especially first to the population. And then afterwards, we will take care of all the other infrastructure: the power, the roads,” said the President.

At that point, reports of heavy flooding in Naga City and the rest of Camarines Sur had already started pouring in. At the time, Marcos said Kristine had yet to make landfall and the inclement weather would not allow disaster response operations to go full blast.

Former vice president Leni Robredo, Marcos’ 2022 rival, had sounded the call for additional rubber boats as responders struggled to address all calls for help in the city.

Marcos’ admission that he felt “helpless” did not go unnoticed. An excerpt of that line from the hour-long briefing has made the rounds on social media.

Progressive group Anakbayan criticized Marcos, pointing out that the Marcos administration, the environment department, and the provincial government of Albay were responsible for the “profit-driven destruction of the environment” brought about by corporations.

Rehabilitation

As difficult as risk reduction and rescue efforts have proven, the last phase will be even more daunting: recovery. Following the Friday briefing, Marcos flew over Metro Manila, Batangas, and Cavite.

He is set to visit Camarines Sur on Saturday morning, October 26, for a “dialogue” with leaders from the region “to put together a comprehensive resiliency plan,” said Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla in a text message to Rappler.

Remulla, former governor of Cavite, was appointed to the post just a few weeks back.

“Nobody will be left behind. Everyone now is part of his constituency. Even former VP Robredo’s concerns will be addressed,” added Remulla. Asked if Robredo would be part of the gathering with the President, Remulla said he had “no information to that effect, but the President was insistent that no one will be left behind.”

According to Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, there are around P1.9 billion in calamity funds and over P15.38 billion in Quick Response Funds (QRFs) available — a little under half of which is valid only until the end of 2024.

The QRFs of towns, cities, and provinces, at this point, are assumed to have run out.

“The QRF of all the affected LGUs are virtually exhausted. The President has made available to the affected LGU’s the QRFs of the DPWH [Department of Public Works and Highways], DILG [Department of the Interior and Local Government], DA [Department of Agriculture], and the DND [Department of National Defense],” Remulla said.

At the end of the hour-long October 25 meeting, with the sound of the presidential helicopters creeping into Kalayaan Hall, Marcos made it a point to acknowledge the task ahead of national government.

“[Response and recovery] is made much more complicated by the fact that the effects are far reaching…. It [becomes] complicated, because the effect is huge, but it did not happen at the same time. Of course, the storm also passed through slowly. So, we just have to be more creative and be able to maximize our resources,” said the President in a mix of English and Filipino. – Rappler.com