MANILA, Philippines -- Anticipating the impact of what might be super typhoon ?Pepeng,? President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declared yesterday the entire country in a state of calamity to ensure that all government resources would be ready for a worst-case scenario.

The declaration of a state of calamity clears local government officials to tap 5 percent of their funds for calamity purposes, and trade officials to set price ceilings on commodities, officials said.

Pepeng (international code name ?Parma?) slowed down at sea yesterday afternoon, prompting the Pagasa weather bureau to warn residents of Metro Manila and surrounding areas to prepare for the possibility of the typhoon changing direction and passing close to the metropolis.

At a press conference, Dr. Prisco Nilo, Pagasa director, expressed concern over Pepeng?s slowdown, which, he said, was caused by a high-pressure area in Hong Kong that was blocking its northward progress.

This could cause the typhoon to linger longer in the Philippines and dump more than the usual rainfall, Nilo said.

Arroyo decided to expand the coverage of the state of calamity to the rest of the country after presiding over a meeting of the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) at the municipal hall in Cainta, Rizal.

The meeting, aired live on government-run TV and radio, was called to enable Cabinet and local officials to plot contingency measures in anticipation of Pepeng?s expected landfall in extreme northern Luzon.

It was Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro who announced on TV the expanded state of calamity that initially covered only Metro Manila and at least 23 provinces battered last week by Tropical Storm ?Ondoy.?

In Malacañang, Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said: ?The President agreed to declare the archipelago under a state of calamity for two reasons -- for local government units to have access to calamity funds and [subsequently] be more prepared, especially in areas threatened by Pepeng, and to address rampant overpricing.?

Small possibility

Because of the high-pressure area, Nilo said Pepeng might move a little to the south and continue on a westward path. If that occurs, it may cross Central Luzon close to Metro Manila.

?Be prepared, those residing in Metro Manila and those in the Calabarzon area,? Nilo said, adding that the chance of this happening was 30 percent.

Under this scenario, he said, heavy rains could be expected in Metro Manila where, just last weekend, continuous rains brought by Ondoy flooded parts of the eastern metropolis and led to the deaths of some 300 people.

But he said there was only a small possibility that Pepeng would directly hit Metro Manila.

The other scenarios that Pagasa was studying were a possible northward path that would lead Pepeng to miss northern Luzon, and, most likely, the typhoon making landfall over the Aurora-Isabela area and cutting across northern Luzon, dumping heavy rains over much of Luzon and parts of the Visayas, and sporadic but heavy rains over Metro Manila.

In its 5 p.m. update, Pagasa said the eye of the typhoon was spotted 150 kilometers north northeast of Virac, Catanduanes. It was packing maximum sustained winds of 195 km per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 230 km per hour.

Storm signals

It was still moving west northwest at 13 km per hour.

Pagasa has raised public storm signal no. 3 over Catanduanes, meaning winds of 101 to 185 km per hour were expected over the area in at least 18 hours. These winds could deal heavy damage to agriculture, uproot large trees, destroy nipa huts and disrupt power and communication. Pagasa also said travel by land, sea and air is dangerous.

Public storm signal no. 2 has been raised over Cagayan, Isabela, Aurora, Quirino, Northern Quezon, Polillio Islands, Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur.

Public storm signal no. 1 has been raised over the Calayan and Babuyan Islands, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Apayao, Abra, Kalinga, Mountain Province, Ifugao, Nueva Vizcaya, Benguet, La Union, Pangasinan, Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, Zambales, Bataan, Pampanga, Bulacan, Laguna, Batangas, Cavite, Rizal, the rest of Quezon, Marinduque, Albay, Burias Islands, Sorsogon and Metro Manila.

If Pepeng moves closer to Metro Manila, ?most likely, Metro Manila will have sporadic but heavy rains? with the weather getting worse and the rains stronger than if the typhoon continues on its track and makes landfall over Aurora and Isabela, said Pagasa Deputy Director Nathaniel Cruz.

As it was, Pepeng already has the capacity to topple billboards and power lines and destroy small houses, Cruz said.

Not yet supertyphoon

For this afternoon and tonight, as Pepeng crosses northern Luzon, heavy rains and strong winds can be expected in Luzon, the Bicol region, Visayas and parts of Mindanao.

Cruz said stormy weather was expected in Cagayan, Isabela, Aurora, Quezon and the Bicol Region until today. Strong to gale-force winds can also be expected in the Visayas and Mindanao during the same period.

Cruz warned that coastal areas in areas covered by storm signal sos. 2 and 3 should watch for storm surges or tidal waves similar to tsunamis.

Nilo said Pepeng was still technically not a supertyphoon -- a category given to storms with maximum winds of 215 km per hour or more.

However, he said, there was still a chance that it could be upgraded: ?It is still possible for Pepeng to become a supertyphoon because it is still out at sea.?

But he also noted that the typhoon had not intensified in the last few hours.

Cruz denied text messages circulating that Pepeng was already a ?Category 5 hurricane? similar to ?Katrina,? which struck New Orleans in the United States in August 2005.

A Category 5 hurricane has maximum winds of 250 km per hour or more. ?This is still a strong typhoon even if it doesn?t reach Category 5. We should be prepared,? Cruz said.

Price control

Teodoro said the declaration of a nationwide state of calamity meant an effective price control and automatic use by local government of 5 percent of their budget for calamity purposes.

Trade Secretary Peter Favila said he was recommending the expansion of coverage to allow the government to keep a price ceiling on goods and stop unscrupulous traders from taking advantage of flood victims.

Apart from canned sardines, milk, instant noodles, vinegar, laundry soap and batteries, the other items covered by the price ceiling were liquefied petroleum gas, lubricants and other ?oil-related products,? as well as construction materials, Favila said.

He said the National Price Coordinating Council had received reports that traders were selling commodities at higher prices in areas not affected by the heavy flooding spawned by Ondoy, as well as relief goods, he said.

Favila said the National Bureau of Investigation has assigned 100 agents to the Department of Trade and Industry for price monitoring.

?Didn?t somebody try to attack you?? Ms Arroyo asked Favila at one point.

Favila also said burial expenses and other fees charged by funeral parlors were covered by the price ceiling.

Earlier at the NDCC meeting, Favila reported that some funeral parlors in the metropolis were charging fees double the regular rate.

Arroyo said the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) would provide P10,000 in burial assistance to the families of each of those who died in the floods.

GMA orders water deliveries

She also issued orders to the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System, Local Water Utilities Administration and Bureau of Fire Protection to coordinate in delivering potable water to towns and cities in Rizal and other areas worst-hit by Ondoy.

?I was at the Montalban municipal hall the other night. It smelled of urine. And they said that?s because of the lack of water,? she said.

Senator Richard Gordon, chair of the Philippine National Red Cross, said water bladders were being distributed to all evacuation centers to help ease the need for potable water.

The Manila International Airport Authority, Light Rail Transit Authority and Philippine Ports Authority will also supply water ?to any area,? Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza said.

?In the end we will have to use rubber boats,? Secretary Hermogenes Esperon of the Presidential Management Staff, who is overseeing the packing of relief goods in Malacañang for distribution, told the Inquirer.

According to Social Welfare Secretary Esperanza Cabral, 300,000 of the 648,500 families displaced by flood have been served. With reports from Jonas Cabiles Soltes, Joanna Los Baños and Delfin T. Mallari Jr., Inquirer Southern Luzon; Charlene Cayabyab, Anselmo Roque and Carmela Reyes, Inquirer Central Luzon; and Villamor Visaya Jr., Inquirer Northern Luzon