All eyes on tropical depression east of PHL 

PAGASA is closely monitoring a tropical depression far east of the country that may enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) in the coming days. 

Bearing the international code name "Meari", the cyclone will be named "Marce" upon entry into the PAR.

As of Thursday afternoon, Meari was spotted some 1,435 km east of Luzon, with a maximum speed of 65 kph and gusts of up to 80 kph. A tropical depression northeast of Meari is slowing the cyclone's progress towards the PAR.

"Halos hindi ito papasok dahil almost stationary ito sa ngayon, pero meron namang model ngayon na papalapit ito sa PAR kaya binabantayan natin ito sa mga sumusunod na araw," explained GMA resident meteorologist Nathaniel "Mang Tani" Cruz in a televised interview.

"Ang bagyong Meari mismo ay lubhang malayo para maka-apekto sa atin sa kasalukuyan. Ang low-pressure area na galing sa intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) ang dahilan kung kaya umuulan ngayon sa Luzon," he added.

Although Meari has no direct effect on local weather and is not expected to hit the Philippines, PAGASA will continue to monitor the TD closely over the coming days. — GMA News