Ahead of Pepito, Marcos tells gov’t: Prepare for the worst

MANILA, Philippines – Ahead of Super Typhoon Pepito (Man-yi) making landfall in the Philippines, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has told all government agencies to “prepare for the worst-case scenario,” the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) said on Saturday, November 16.

OCD Administrator Ariel Nepomuceno said in a news forum that Marcos and Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. want agencies to prepare not just for areas directly hit by Pepito, but for other regions that may potentially be affected as well.

“Ang usapan namin diyan, at iyan din ang pag-uutos ni Presidente Bongbong Marcos at ni Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, dapat gawin natin iyong worst-case scenario planning. Mas maganda na iyong sobra ang paghahanda kaysa magkulang,” Nepomuceno said.

(Our discussion, which was also what President Bongbong Marcos and Secretary Gilbert Teodoro ordered, was that we needed to do worst-case scenario planning. It’s better we over-prepare than under-prepare.)

The OCD said personnel have been mobilized in Eastern Visayas, Bicol, Calabarzon, Metro Manila, Central Luzon, the Cagayan area, Ilocos, and the Cordillera Administrative Region.

Nepomuceno also said in a separate briefing that the government had already prepositioned air, land, and sea assets.

“Kaya’t dito sa bagyo na ito, pampito na ho ito eh — simulan natin sa Julian, Kristine, Leon, Marce, Nika, Ofel. Pampito itong si Pepito. Kaya’t iyong paghahanda natin, hindi ngayon ho sinisimulan iyan. Kailangan maunawaan ng ating mga kababayan na ito ay nakadugtong doon sa anim na mga naunang bagyo,” he said.

(This storm is the seventh to come — starting from Julian, Kristine, Leon, Marce, Nika, Ofel. Pepito is the seventh. So our preparations are not only starting now. Our countrymen should know that these preparations have been going on since the first six storms.)

At least 11,448 families or 35,335 individuals were reported to be staying in temporary shelters. Nepomuceno advised people who have stayed in evacuation centers following the previous storms to refrain from returning to their homes.

Pepito is the Philippines’ 16th tropical cyclone for 2024, and the sixth in less than a month. It is seen to hit Eastern Visayas and much of Luzon the hardest.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration’s (PAGASA) forecast sees Pepito “more likely” to make landfall in Catanduanes on Saturday evening, November 16, or early Sunday morning, November 17. But landfall may still occur in Camarines Sur, Albay, Quezon, or Aurora.

The local government in Catanduanes announced a forced evacuation policy on Saturday morning.

Luzon is still reeling from the earlier storms which had already devastated dozens of towns with flooding, heavy rainfall, and landslides.

As of 8 am on Saturday, a National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council situation report said that the combined effects of tropical cyclones Nika, Ofel, and Pepito have affected over 110,400 families or 424,000 individuals. Over 57,800 have been displaced.

The three tropical cyclones have also caused damage to over P320 million worth of infrastructure, P855,000 worth of agriculture, and 62.21 hectares of crops. – Rappler.com