MANILA – The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) has put the blame to the Filipino citizens for not heeding government warnings regarding typhoon “Ulysses,” which lashed Luzon on Thursday.
During a council briefing, OCD Assistant Secretary Casiano Monilla said they were not caught flat footed by the typhoon as they have issued warnings prior to its landfall.
“We were not caught flat footed dito sa typhoon Ulysses. Kung minsan lang po kasi nag–iikot ang ating mga local officials ay hindi kaagad sumusunod ang mga kababayan natin,” Monilla said.
“Mas nagre-rely tayo kung ano ang ating nararamdaman, kung ano ang prevailing na situation na ating nararamdaman rather that the advice na binibigay ng PAGASA,” he added.
Monilla said evacuation of residents in flood-prone areas began early as the devastation caused by Typhoon Ondoy in 2009 already served as a lesson for the government to prepare early for the impact of impending calamities.
“Since then, nagkaroon na ng patuloy na pagpaplano. Na-capacitate na rin lahat ng ating local government para sa pagpaplano hanggang sa kanilang execution at sa mga contingencies, sila ay nakahanda,” Monilla said.
“For the other regions, sila rin ay well-informed, they have planned and continuously ay nakaabang sila sa developments dahil ang typhoon track [forecasting] naman ay based doon sa model kung saan ito dumadaan most usually kapag ganitong panahon sa taon,” he added.
The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said Ulysses is “comparable” to Tropical Storm Ondoy which struck the capital region in September 2009 and left at least 464 dead.
“In terms of pagulan natin, ina-assess pa rin natin pero comparable po… Masasabi nating mas maraming pag-ulan na naranasan dito sa bagyong Ulysses compared kay Ondoy dahil malawak ang bagyo,” PAGASA weather forecaster Benison Estareja told ABS-CBN’s Teleradyo.
“The worst is over (in Metro Manila) pero di naman po natin masasabing getting any better sa ngayon dahil marami pa rin pong lugar na apektado,” he added./PN
