Tuguegarao airport damaged due to ‘Ompong’

FILE: Passenger Terminal Building of Tuguegarao Airport extensively damaged as Typhoon ‘Ompong’ made landfall in Cagayan province early Saturday. (Photo courtesy of DOTr/PNA)

MANILA — Facilities at the Tuguegarao Airport in Cagayan were damaged as Typhoon Ompong made its landfall Saturday, the Department of Transportation reported.

“Nandito po kami ngayon sa Tuguegarao kung saan nakita namin ang nasalantang airport yung mga opisina ditto, pati opisina ng CAAP (We are here in Tuguegaro where we monitored the damaged airport, particularly its offices, as well as the office of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines),” Transport Secretary Arthur Tugade said in a briefing of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).

Tugade inspected the airport to monitor the condition of its facilities and check on the safety of airport personnel.

“Initially wala po kaming nakikitang problema sa runway (Initially, we don’t see any problem on the runway),” he said, adding that electricity is currently cut off in Tuguegarao and efforts are being made to restore communication facilities.

Tugade went to his hometown of Cagayan to supervise ongoing preparations for the typhoon upon instructions of President Rodrigo Duterte.

The department is monitoring the condition of ports, which may be utilized for the delivery of relief goods. It is also awaiting reports on the situation of other airports in Northern Luzon, such as Basco in Batanes and Lallo in Cagayan.

Some 112 local and international flights have been cancelled due to the typhoon, according to the Department of Transportation (DOTr).

Meanwhile, the department will be issuing a truck ban exemption for trucks that will deliver relief goods for those affected by the typhoon, in coordination with the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority.

“We have pre-positioned trucks in regions that will be utilized for the transportation of relief goods,” Assistant Secretary Manny Gonzales said.

He said the Department of Social Welfare and Development may coordinate with the Special Concerns office of the DOTr for the deployment of the trucks.

“Ompong”, which made landfall in Baggao, Cagayan at about 1:40 a.

m. Saturday, continues to weaken and is now slightly off the coast of Laoag, Ilocos Norte, based on the latest weather bulletin of PAGASA.