Teodoro: Full damage assessment needed after deadly storms

Defense Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro Jr. calls for a full assessment of damage from the southwest monsoon and tropical cyclones Mirasol (Mitag) and Nando (Ragasa) on Wednesday, at Camp Aguinaldo, warning that continued rains could worsen conditions as thousands remain in evacuation centers. —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Defense Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro Jr. on Wednesday called for a full assessment of the destruction left by the southwest monsoon, tropical depression Mirasol (international name: Mitag) and Super Typhoon Nando (international name: Ragasa), warning that continued rains could worsen conditions across northern Luzon as thousands remain in evacuation centers.

“We need to increase the time so that we can conduct an honest-to-goodness needs and damage assessment so that the total damages can be calculated,” Teodoro said after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s situation briefing with disaster officials at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.

Teodoro said the government must verify losses before releasing final figures, noting that initial estimates put agricultural damage at P15 million, still subject to validation. He also stressed the need to prepare for another potential weather system, locally named Opong (international name: Bualoi), that could bring more rain to already saturated areas.

According to Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Deputy spokesperson Diego Agustin Mariano, the storms left 11 people dead, 11 injured, and one missing. He added that 156,000 families, or 692,000 individuals, were affected across multiple regions. About 7,000 families remain in evacuation centers as of Wednesday.

Mariano said the fatalities included one person in Calayan, Cagayan; one in Tuba, Benguet, from a landslide; two in Morong, Bataan, hit by debris; and seven fishermen in Sta. Ana, Cagayan, who perished at sea.

Teodoro said relief goods had been prepositioned before the storms, but road clearing, power restoration in parts of Region 1, and rebuilding homes in Batanes, Ilocos, and Calayan Island remain priorities.

READ: Nando batters northern Luzon; thousands evacuated

He added that Marcos was satisfied with inter-agency coordination so far, but emphasized the need for accountability for anomalies in flood-control and infrastructure projects.

“First of all, this is a sin to the country. It’s proof that whoever is involved in this is guilty because life is really at stake here,” Teodoro said.

“It should serve as a lesson that flood control is a national government initiative because the rivers and river systems are not left in a municipality, district, or province,” he added.

Government agencies, he said, have sufficient quick response and emergency funds on standby should additional augmentation be required. /cb