LGUs, national agencies on high alert for Leon

Concerned national and local government units are on high alert following the directive of President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. to prepare for the possible effects of Super Typhoon Leon.

The Presidential Communication Office said Thursday that Batanes Governor Marilou Cayco already confirmed that evacuation efforts are underway for the residents who are affected by Leon. Moreover, food packs for the next three days were already distributed. 

The governor also said that healthcare and social welfare personnel were deployed to evacuation centers.

Meanwhile, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Undersecretary for Disaster Response Management Group (DMRG) Diana Rose Cajipe said the agency has prepositioned nearly 2,000 family food packs for affected residents of Batanes.

Cajipe said an additional 5,500 family food packs would be transported by a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) vessel from Pangasinan to Batanes as soon as the weather permits.

“We will coordinate with the Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) kasi kapag nag-clear mas mabilis po tayo makapagpalipad through C130, definitely magdadala na tayo kaagad sa Batanes,” Cajipe said in a press release. 

For its part, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesperson Colonel Francel Margareth Padilla said the military has standby assets deployed in areas affected by Leon.

The AFP is also working with other government offices, including the DSWD, for the transport of needed supplies and relief to the affected residents. 

In its 8 a.m. bulletin, weather bureau PAGASA said Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal (TCWS) No. 4 was hoisted over Batanes as Leon started to move away from the province.

PAGASA said Leon is now heading towards Taiwan. The center of Leon was located 110 kilometers north northeast of Itbayat, Batanes and moving northwestward at 20 kilometers per hour (kph).

Leon was packing maximum sustained winds of 195 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 240 kph.

—VAL, GMA Integrated News