by Nikolai Ordoña

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. renounced the notion of declaring a year-long state of national calamity, saying that it is unnecessary since the damage caused by Severe Tropical Storm Paeng did not affect all parts of the country.

Instead of a nationwide scale, Marcos Jr. declared a six-month state of calamity in Region IV-A, Bicol Region, Western Visayas, and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

“We’re talking about the east coast Quezon, here in Cavite, then Maguindanao […] There’s no need for a national calamity for Region 1 and Region 2 […] Highly localized ang mga damage,” Marcos stated in an interview.

The proposal was brought up by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) Executive Director Raymundo Ferrer last October 29 during an emergency meeting with the president. 

He said that 16 out of the 17 regions in the country were assessed as high risk for the effects, damage and impact of Typhoon Paeng.

Meanwhile, contrary to his decision, the president initially said that the high number of affected regions “already justifies the state of calamity”.

State of Calamity

NDRRMC spokesperson Raffy Alejandro explained that placing an area under a state of calamity gives the government access to quick response funds (QRF) for a more efficient relief, rehabilitation, repair of infrastructures, and other disaster-response services. Unaffected Local Government Units (LGUs) may also give assistance to the affected regions.

He added that it also gives authorization to the government to impose a price ceiling on basic commodities and grant loans to affected people.

The reported casualties from Typhoon Paeng have reached 122, while 36 are still missing, and 103 have been injured. Moreover, about 3.32 million individuals and 7,658 barangays are affected, with 10,345 homes destroyed and Php 1.03-billion infrastructural damages.

Thumbnail from Manila Standard