Palace trumpets new ‘culture of disaster preparedness’

Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – With many places reporting no casualties in the aftermath of Typhoon Ruby, Malacañang is hopeful that the Philippines has “evolved toward a culture of preparedness.”

Albay, a province frequented by storms and now known for an effective system of disaster response, reported no deaths or injuries, much to the satisfaction of the Palace.

“It’s good that we start seeing that the culture is slowly changing,” Palace spokeswoman Abigail Valte told reporters. “We hope that this will continue and that local government units, like [the] national [government], will continue to strive to achieve that system that may not be perfect but will always help achieve zero casualty.”

The Palace commended towns and cities that recorded no deaths or injuries from Typhoon Ruby, which steadily grew weaker after coming ashore in Eastern Samar Saturday evening.

“We look at their models—Albay is one—and that we continue to learn from them as well and to adopt measures that they implement that can also be implemented by the national government,” she said.

Malacañang welcomed a “competition” among local government units to meet their “zero-casualty” target.

“Competition is good for your constituents especially when it comes to disaster risk mitigation,” Valte said, noting that President Aquino himself had set the “zero-casualty” target early in his administration.

The Palace was hopeful that the country had learned its lessons and was now more prepared following the devastation caused by Super Typhoon Yolanda in November last year and two other major storms that came after that.

Meanwhile, the President fell sick Tuesday, according to Valte, but continued to monitor relief efforts for families affected by Ruby, which weakened into a tropical depression as it moved toward the South China Sea. He skipped a Pasay City conference promoting fair competition.

“He is feeling a little unwell,” Valte said.

The President also decided to no longer attend the summit commemorating the 25-year relations between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and South Korea in the port city of Busan on Dec. 11 and 12.

But Valte said Aquino would miss the affair not because he was not feeling well. The President was sending Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima and Cabinet Secretary Jose Rene Almendras to represent him so he could “focus on actions that need to be taken in the aftermath of Typhoon Ruby,” she said.

A Philippine National Red Cross official earlier said there were 21 deaths reported in Eastern Samar, 16 of them in Borongan. Valte said the government was still checking reported casualties under a “system of verification” that “does not only involve eyeballing a casualty.”

“This is a look behind the process of validation and vetting that needs to be undertaken before a casualty is added to the official count,” she said. “I cannot speak for the Red Cross as to the system that they implement.”