Duterte places Luzon under state of calamity

FILE: President Rodrigo Roa Duterte delivers his remarks during the virtual 15th EAST ASIA Summit at the Malacañang Golf (Malago) Clubhouse in Malacañang Park, Manila. KING RODRIGUEZ/ PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte has declared the entire Luzon under a state of calamity after the successive typhoons that ravaged the country’s largest island.

In a taped speech aired Tuesday night, Duterte bared that he signed the proposal of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) to place Luzon under a state of calamity.

“Last night, I think, I signed the proclamation,” he said.

Malacañang has yet to release the proclamation.

On Monday, the NDRRMC announced that it approved a resolution recommending Duterte to put Luzon under a state of calamity due to the damage brought by Super Typhoon Rolly and Typhoons Quinta and Ulysses.

A declaration of a state of calamity hastens rescue, relief, and rehabilitation efforts of the government and the private sector, including any international humanitarian assistance.

It also effectively controls the prices of basic goods and commodities in the affected areas.

“Quinta”, which made landfall on October 25, left PHP1.56 billion and PHP2.66 billion worth of damage to agriculture and infrastructure, respectively.

“Rolly” left PHP5 billion worth of agricultural damage and PHP12.9 billion worth of infrastructure damage.

Typhoons Siony and Tonyo did not cause significant damage but “Ulysses” left PHP2.1 billion and PHP483 million worth of damage to agriculture and infrastructure, respectively.

Over the weekend, Duterte created a task force to implement immediate solutions to disaster rehabilitation and recovery of typhoon-hit areas outside of the current bureaucratic framework.

An executive order to form the task force, which will be headed by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, is being drafted.