Marcos conducts aerial inspection over Karding-hit areas

MANILA – President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Monday morning conducted an aerial inspection over areas affected by Typhoon Karding (international name Noru) just after presiding over a situation briefing with top government officials.

Marcos shared a short video clip of himself inside a chopper on his official Twitter account and announced in a press briefing at the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) headquarters in Quezon City his plan to conduct an aerial inspection.

He is flying over Bulacan, Nueva Ecija and Tarlac, according to Malacañang.

“Now we are going to fly to see and to see — talagang I wanted to see what the level of the water is. Tingnan natin (Let us see) how far we can go. Iba ‘yung nakikita mo na siya (It’s different when you can really see it),” he told reporters in a press briefing.

However, he said he would defer meeting with local government officials until after they have conducted response and relief operations.

“I will not land in any place because from my experience pagka nasa local government ka lalo na just after the typhoon, marami silang trabaho. ‘Pag bumaba ako, kailangan nila akong i-welcome, kailangan ‘yung pulis sa akin, kailangan kukunin ko ‘yung mga sasakyan nila. Eh ang dami nilang kailangang gawin so makakaistorbo lang ako (if you go right there just after the typhoon, they have lots of work. If I land, they would need to welcome me, they would need to deploy police, deploy cars. There’s so much work and I would just disturb them),” he said.

“Then time will come, I’ll go and talk to them and see what else they need after, the immediate emergency support,” he added.

Currently, Marcos said both national and local governments are prioritizing the airlifting of food materials, food packs, and water to Quezon province’s Polillo Islands, which was affected by the typhoon’s eyewall with fierce and torrential rain.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will be distributing assistance to individuals in crisis situations (AICS) after delivering their basic needs, he said.

“So the whole range of assistance is prepared, is ready to go. But right now, having cash is really not very useful for them. So unahin natin ‘yung mga (So we will prioritize their) immediate needs nila and then when the time comes na magagamit na nila ‘yung AICS, ibibigay natin sa kanila (that they can use them, we will give it to them),” he said.

AICS serves as a social safety net or stop-gap measure to support the recovery of individuals and families suffering from unexpected life event or crisis.

“The provision of psychosocial intervention and/or direct financial/material assistance may enable them to meet their basic needs in the form of food, transportation, medical, educational and burial assistance,” the DSWD said on its website.

On its 8 a.m. advisory, the NDRRMC said that Typhoon Karding is forecast to continue tracking generally westward over the West Philippine Sea towards Vietnam.

“On the track forecast, it will exit the Philippine Area of Responsibility tonight [Monday night]. It is still forecast to slightly weaken or maintain its strength in the near term as it begins to move away from the landmass of Luzon,” the NDRRMC said.

The NDDRMC said the period of reintensification may occur beginning Monday night or Tuesday early morning as the typhoon moves over the West Philippine Sea.

“The center of the eye was estimated based on all available data 190 km West of Dagupan City, Pangasinan,” it added.