FILE PHOTO: Vice President Leni Robredo. INQUIRER/SCREENGRAB
MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Leni Robredo has been in contact with local government units (LGUs) on the track of Typhoon Odette (international name: Rai), which is forecast to pummel parts of Visayas and Mindanao, and offered help from her office.
Robredo in an interview on Thursday said she has personally talked to the governors of Surigao del Norte and Dinagat Islands amid Odette, which United States weather bureaus have now classified as a super typhoon.
“Actually, kanina kausap ko na ‘yung governor ng Surigao del Norte saka Dinagat Islands, kasi nakikita ko doon ‘yung grabe ngayon. Sabi ni Governor, umiikot siya sa mga evacuation centers, at kailangan [ng] pagkain. So, kami nakikipag-coordinate na kami sa kanila. Maraming tao kasi sa evacuation centers, so tinitignan nila kung alin ‘yung pinaka-hardest hit at ipapaalam sa amin,” she told reporters in an ambush interview.
(Actually, I talked earlier to the governors of Surigao del Norte and Dinagat Islands, because I think they would be the hard-hit areas. The governor said, he is moving around evacuation centers, and they need food. So we have coordinated with them, there are a lot of people in evacuation centers, so they are looking at what areas would be the hardest hit and they would inform us.)
READ: Typhoon Odette makes landfall in Siargao, says Pagasa
“So, sinabi ko sa kanila na kung ano pa ‘yung kailangan, sabihin sa ’min. Pero ang tinitignan na namin ngayon na magpadala na ng team, para may nag-aasikaso na on the ground para mabilis,” she added.
(So, I told them to inform us of what other items they may need. But what we’re looking at right now is to send a team, so that they can attend to things on the ground for a faster response.)
According to Robredo, food remains a pressing need in evacuation centers especially as residents in areas that would be hit by Odette were required to leave their homes.
“Kanina sa Dinagat ay signal number 3 na sila. Pero ine-expect nila na anytime today magiging Signal 4. So, sila, nag-aano sila, nagma-mandatory evacuation. And alam natin, ‘yung problema ‘pag mandatory evacuation kasi talaga kailangan maraming pagkain. So ito kasi, iba-ibang lugar. Iba-ibang lugar, iba-iba ‘yung pangangailangan,” she said.
(A while ago in Dinagat, they are under Signal Number 3. But we expect that anytime today they would be under Signal 4, so they are doing mandatory evacuation. And we know that the problem with mandatory evacuation is that they need food to feed the people. These are different areas with different needs.)
“Kasi ‘pag mga ganitong sitwasyon, hindi pwedeng next week ka pa mag-aasikaso. Dapat kung kailan kailangan, gawin na. Actually, ready na kami as of several days ago, pero ‘yung– umiiba kasi ‘yung direksyon ng bagyo. Bumaba siya eh, bumaba siya tapos westward siya ngayon. Tinitignan namin baka mas maraming mga lugar ang ma-affect,” she added.
(Because in these situations, we cannot address this by next week. If we need something, we should do it immediately. Actually, we have been ready the past few days but the storm’s trajectory changed, it went south and then is now moving westward. We are monitoring the situation because more areas may be affected.)
As of 11:00 a.m. Thursday, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said Typhoon Odette is packing maximum sustained winds of 185 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center and gustiness of up to 230 kph.
READ: ‘Odette’ now a super typhoon, says US weather bureau
It was last seen 175 kilometers east of Surigao City in Surigao del Norte. Currently, the areas of Southern Leyte, the eastern portion Bohol (Talibon, Trinidad, San Miguel, Dagohoy, Pilar, Sierra Bullones, Jagna, Garcia Hernandez, Duero, Guindulman, Anda, Candijay, Alicia, Mabini, Ubay, Pres. Carlos P. Garcia, Bien Unido) in Visayas; and Dinagat Islands, Surigao del Norte including Siargao and Bucas Grande Islands in Mindanao were placed under Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal No. 4.