July 27, 2023

Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benhur Abalos urged local government units (LGUs) on Wednesday afternoon to maintain vigilance against any eventuality as Typhoon “Egay” and the effects of Southwest Monsoon or Habagat continue to affect majority of Luzon and parts of Visayas.

In an emergency meeting by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), which was co-chaired by the DILG, Abalos reported that majority of the provinces in the path of Egay have implemented their respective pre-disaster response and mitigation measures within their area of jurisdiction.

“Maganda ang ating naging preparedness. Malayo pa lang ang Bagyo ay nakapre-position na ang ating mga assets, nakaready na ang ating response plans, evacuation centers at command centers ng mga LGUs,” Abalos said.

“But we should not let our guards down. As PAGASA reported, patuloy na magdadala ng ulan ang Bagyong Egay at palalakasin ang Habagat kaya patuloy rin tayong maging handa upang masiguro ang kaligtasan ng ating mga kababayan,” he added.

Typhoon Egay continues to batter the country with strong winds and heavy rains, leaving one person dead in Calabarzon. Two other individuals were also reportedly injured, according to data from NDRRMC.

The Typhoon has so far affected 180,439 individuals, and 11,041 of them had to temporarily leave their homes.

The Southwest Monsoon intensified by Egay will also continue to bring occasional monsoon rains over the western parts of Central Luzon, Southern Luzon, and Visayas for the next three days, according to PAGASA.

Meanwhile, Abalos said the DILG will continue working with other agencies involved in the disaster preparedness and response clusters of NDRRMC to comply with the directives of President Marcos in his second State of the Nation Address (SONA) to strengthen the country’s disaster preparedness and response capabilities.

He said local government units have improved their capacities to respond during disasters as they continuously adhere to the Operation Listo manual, which lists down critical preparedness actions LGUs should do before, during, and after disasters.

In his SONA, the President said the government is “reorganizing our response teams to make them more adaptable, agile and effective in times of calamities and crises, with a clear unity of command.”

Original Article at: https://dilg.gov.ph/news/Abalos-to-LGUs-Remain-vigilant-vs-Typhoon-Egay-Habagat/NC-2023-1127