Government better prepared for another Ondoy'

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang yesterday assuaged fears of another “Ondoy” disaster, saying the government has learned its lesson and is better prepared to handle such scenarios.

“Rest assured the government is better prepared to handle such situations,” Secretary for Operations of the Presidential Communications Office Herminio Coloma said over state-run Radyo ng Bayan over the weekend.

Coloma said the national government and the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) are now better equipped under the new administration of President Aquino.

Coloma said the President has made sure that the country is better prepared for an Ondoy-like disaster.

Ondoy, known internationally as typhoon “Ketsana,” unleashed a month’s worth of rain in six hours, submerging most parts of Metro Manila on Sept. 26 last year, killing hundreds and displacing thousands.

The floods, along with landslides that struck the country’s northern provinces a week later as another typhoon swept in, left more than 1,000 people dead and affected 9.3 million people, or 10 percent of the country’s population.

The World Bank (WB) put the combined recovery costs at about $4.4 billion and urged the Philippine government to take steps to boost disaster response.

The WB warned that a repeat of the flooding, the worst since the late 1960s, could not be ruled out.

Coloma, however, said the country would now be forewarned properly of any approaching storm through Pagasa.

Coloma said the state weather bureau has implemented better forecasting capability after it received instructions from the President to release hourly updates for a more accurate forecast of storm paths.

Coloma said the government is focusing on how to further improve and strengthen the crisis management measures and disaster response.

“We also made sure that there are adequate relocation sites for affected families, particularly those living in high-risk areas such as waterways. This is one of our priority concerns,” he said.

Coloma said the government also made sure that all waterways in Metro Manila and other urban areas are dredged continually.

He added the government has also pre-positioned relief goods and other vital commodities in flood-prone areas.

The government is also eyeing a supplemental budget, external sources or the national outlay as possible funding sources for the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction Management Act, designed to intensify the country’s disaster preparedness and response measures.

Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Assistant Executive Officer Priscilla Duque said these sources may be tapped to implement the law, which provided for a P1-billion revolving fund for disaster mitigation programs.

The law, enacted last May, has yet to be implemented as officials are still finalizing its implementing rules and regulations (IRR), including funding sources.

“A supplemental budget is one of our options... we can also maximize the support coming from external sources. We have a lot of partners,” Duque said.

OCD Administrator Benito Ramos said the law’s implementing rules have been completed and are awaiting the approval of Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin.

Ramos though admitted the implementation of the law may be delayed to 2012 if the sources of the revolving fund are not available.

“We are working this out. There is already a law and there is a need for an IRR. That is the procedure of the DBM (Department of Budget and Management),” he said.

“We already requested for funds. We hope the funds would be given by 2011. If this does not happen, the funds may be available on 2012,” he added.

The P1-billion revolving fund is not part of the P1.645-trillion outlay proposed by Malacañang. If the fund is sourced from the national budget, it would add to the list of expenses of the government, which is expecting a huge fiscal deficit next year.

A supplemental budget, meanwhile, is on top of the national budget and would require the approval of Congress. It also needs supporting revenues and a certification from the Treasury Bureau that there are available funds.

On the other hand, external sources include the country’s development partners, regional blocs like the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the United Nations, and international non-government organizations.

Duque said the government will have to resort to trainings and awareness campaigns while awaiting the funds.

“For now, we have to look into the non-structural (aspects of disaster preparedness) like advocacy training, and organizing communities,” she said. “In the meantime, we have to maximize our resources. We have to make do with what we have.”

Ramos said they are hopeful that the disaster response funds would be released soon even as he claimed that a delay would not have much impact on their programs.

He said they could still tap the calamity funds disbursed to local governments in times of disaster.

Ramos said the government has also acquired 161 rigid hand inflatable boats to be used for rescue operations.

He said they will spend P50.2 million to buy more of these boats.

“These boats are needed especially during times of floods,” Ramos said. “The typhoons have taught us lessons. We should not just be reactive. We should be proactive and should concentrate on mitigation and preparedness.”

More accurate forecasting

Science and Technology Secretary Mario Montejo, on the other hand, declared they have already beefed up Pagasa’s forecasting capabilities to include a comprehensive five-day weather forecast.

These weather forecasts, on top of the daily weather bulletin, would be posted at the Pagasa website.

The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) is maintaining 59 synoptic stations, the most recent of which was installed in Sorsogon. Synoptic stations are manned weather observation stations doing 24/7 observations and reporting directly all information to the National Weather Forecasting Center.

“The government is doing all it can to prevent a repeat of Ondoy’s wrath. Our weather bureau can now issue weather bulletins every hour instead of the usual every six hours and anyone can access the bulletins at the Pagasa website,” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said.

Montejo added that the DOST can also now monitor water levels in every city and municipality of Metro Manila and surrounding areas and accurately predict when the water levels will rise within two hours.

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), on the other hand, was tasked to draft a Metro Manila Flood Control Plan in coordination with local officials in the metropolis.

On a daily basis, the MMDA is dredging and de-clogging the esteros and rivers in Metro Manila.

The Estero Declaration involving the 17 mayors of Metro Manila is now being strictly enforced to ensure that they each undertake a strict anti-littering program and the dredging of waterways in their respective jurisdictions.

The DOST is confident about giving a two-hour warning, and that he already has a solution to prevent a massive flood like that unleashed by Ondoy, Montejo said. This is now in the final stages of validation but Montejo assured the public the system will not cost billions to operate.

Montejo revealed that the WB recently granted the Philippine government a $50-million loan for the Marikina-Pasig River flood monitoring system, which can be fabricated locally.

Montejo said the DOST has been using text messaging for its forecast but this has been tied to a redundant system, called BGAN to ensure that even in areas with weak or no signal, “we can still text the forecast in these areas,” Montejo said.

Montejo said Pagasa’s data collection, processing and forecast would be improved in the next three months, or until November, by using locally available technologies.

This would ensure prompt, up-to-date and accurate weather tracking and forecasts, avoiding previous incidents when Pagasa failed to timely and accurately inform the public of the paths of approaching typhoons.

Montejo said DOST Undersecretary Graciano Yumul was appointed officer-in-charge of Pagasa to help “get it back in shape” within the next three months.

“We can have a more accurate forecast with less than P100 million. We can do it now. We cannot wait for another three years to raise the P1.8 billion... needed for better forecasting,” he said.

What is necessary, Montejo said, is only to modernize and automate the ground stations of Pagasa so that they could perform faster, more accurately and efficiently.

Montejo said the failure of Pagasa to forecast correctly the path of typhoon “Basyang” recently was only the “tip of the iceberg” indicating the inadequacies of the state weather bureau that will have to be corrected.

Secretary for Development and Strategic Planning Ricky Carandang said the country will have a total of seven Doppler radars by the end of the year.

A Doppler radar is an equipment that measures the exact amount of rainfall, so that the weather bureau can issue hourly updates for every storm.

“They are scheduled to be installed this year in different parts of the country. There are four already installed and they are expected to be operational. So, we have three more that has yet to be installed,” he said.

Montejo added the seven Doppler radars would be installed in seven strategic areas in the country like in Subic, Zambales; Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur; Tampakan, South Cotabato; Baler, Aurora; Baguio City; Tagaytay and Cebu.

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