MANILA, Philippines - Storm signal no.3 was raised over Metro Manila and a number of provinces Friday afternoon as Typhoon ?Santi? neared the metropolis and Southern Luzon.

At its current speed of 24 kilometers per hour, the typhoon was expected to make landfall in Quezon province between 9p.m. and 11p.m. Friday night and pass through the other provinces of Laguna, Cavite and Batangas and Metro Manila early Saturday, bringing heavy rains and gusty winds.

?This will be an intense typhoon. We should be prepared,? said Prisco Nilo, director of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa).

He said Santi could be compared to Typhoon ?Milenyo,? which hit Metro Manila in September 2006 and toppled billboards on major thoroughfares.

Nilo said Santi could pass as close as 40 kilometers south of Metro Manila early today.

He said as much as 15 to 20 millimeters of rain could fall every hour during the six hours that it was expected to cross Luzon.

?In Metro Manila, this rainfall might flow into low-lying areas. The rain band (the scope of rain clouds) is very wide and very developed,? Nilo said.

But after Santi crosses Southern Luzon this morning, Metro Manila can expect improving weather conditions by this afternoon, Nilo said.

The typhoon should be 600 km west northwest of Puerto Princesa City by tomorrow morning, and 760 km west southwest of Metro Manila or over the South China Sea by tomorrow afternoon.

GMA orders evacuation

In a statement read Friday at a briefing in Malacañang, President Macapagal-Arroyo called on residents of provinces in Santi?s path to ?seek safer ground, especially if you?re not sure of the sturdiness of your homes.?

?This typhoon is packing strong winds, and we should take extra care,? she said.

In Guagua, Pampanga, Ms Arroyo ordered the preemptive evacuation of all residents in low-lying areas, and challenged town officials to keep the number of casualties to ?zero,? according to Malacañang.

Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said Ms Arroyo also called for the deployment of policemen for rescue and relief operations and for security reasons.

?Exactly, the Philippine National Police has been directed, as part of disaster-preparedness, not only to prepare our troops for rescue operations but also to maximize police visibility to bring a sense of security to the residents who will be evacuating their homes,? Remonde said.

He said public schools, sports complexes and multipurpose centers had long been pre-identified as possible shelters for evacuees.

Asked if Malacañang would again open its doors to evacuees, Remonde said: ?It will be done again [if there?s a need for it].?

Storm signals

In its 5 p.m. update Friday, Pagasa also raised Storm Signal No. 3 over Quezon, Polilio Island, Bulacan, Bataan, Rizal, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Oriental Mindoro, Lubang Island, Marinduque, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur and Catanduanes, where winds of 101-185 km per hour were expected in the next 18 hours.

Signal No. 2 was hoisted over Aurora, Quirino, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Pampanga, Zambales, Occidental Mindoro, Albay and Burias Island, where winds of 61-100 kph were expected in the next 24 hours.

Signal No. 1 was raised over Isabela, Ifugao, Nueva Vizcaya, Benguet, La Union, Pangasinan, Sorsogon, Masbate, Romblon and the Calamian Group of Islands, where winds of 30-60 kph were expected in the next 36 hours.

Residents of coastal areas in provinces under Signal Numbers 3 and 2 were warned against storm surges or big waves.

Residents of low-lying areas in these provinces were warned against flash floods and landslides.

DepEd hopes

The Department of Education is hoping that Santi would not be as destructive as the earlier Storms ?Ondoy? and ?Pepeng,? which wrecked school buildings and swept away or damaged thousands of text books.

?We are moving toward recovery and we are hoping that Typhoon ?Santi? will not derail our efforts to recover,? Education Undersecretary Ramon Bacani said yesterday at a press conference.

High school and elementary classes were suspended in the entire Metro Manila yesterday morning as Storm Signal No. 2 was earlier hoisted over the metropolis.

Classes in these levels are automatically suspended with the declaration of Signal No. 2, DepEd National Capital Region director Teresita Domalanta said.

Bacani observed that it did not rain yesterday morning in the metropolis. ?But I guess it is better to err on the side of prudence,? he said.

Domalanta said all schools in the metropolis had resumed classes even if a few still served as evacuation centers for Ondoy?s victims.

She cited a few schools in Muntinlupa City as examples, where she said some areas had been allocated for evacuees so as not to disrupt classes.

Domalanta said makeup classes during Saturdays were ongoing in certain schools, many of which needed to make up for 10 to 12 missed days.

Damage costs

The DepEd reported Friday that the damage wrought by Ondoy and Pepeng on school buildings amounted to P547 million and P549 million, respectively.

The schools in affected areas also collectively lost some P739 million worth of textbooks.

Bacani said many school buildings damaged by typhoons last year still had to be repaired. The damage was estimated at more than P293 million.

The DepEd has allocated for building repair at least P115 million?the remainder of its P600-million quick response fund for this year.

Bacani called on private groups to join the DepEd adopt-a-school program, in which the Inquirer is also involved.