Marcos to gov't agencies: Prepare for incoming cyclone

President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. on Friday tasked government agencies to prepare for the tropical cyclone that is expected to enter the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) this weekend. 

“We’ll just have to keep monitoring the situation and make sure, always, the rescue and relief don’t stop. It doesn’t matter [if] there’s another storm coming, we cannot stop. That cannot stop,” Marcos said during a situational briefing.

Marcos gave the order even as the country grapples with the effects of Severe Tropical Storm Kristine

“And then, the support that we are giving, that DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development) is giving  [to] those who have been displaced, who are still in the evacuation centers, there are [those] staying outside of their homes, with their relatives, their friends, that also cannot stop,” he said. 

State weather bureau PAGASA said a tropical cyclone could enter PAR by Saturday or Sunday, with possible close approach to landmass on Wednesday or Thursday. 

PAGASA said the cyclone could also recurve by early Tuesday and exit the northern boundary of PAR by Wednesday. 

As of Friday morning, 46 people have been reported dead due to Kristine, according to data from the Office of Civil Defense (OCD).

most of the reported fatalities were from the Bicol Region with 28, followed by Calabarzon with 15. One fatality was reported each in Ilocos Region, Central Luzon, and Zamboanga Peninsula.

The OCD also said that 20 persons were reported missing and seven others were reported injured due to Kristine.

About 20 big storms and typhoons hit the Philippines or its surrounding waters each year, damaging homes and infrastructure and killing dozens of people.

A recent study, however, showed that storms in the Asia-Pacific region are increasingly forming closer to coastlines, intensifying more rapidly and lasting longer over land due to climate change. —with Agence France-Presse/KBK, GMA Integrated News