PRESIDENT DUTERTE: I’d like to hear from the Department of Agriculture. What is the assessment and what needs to be done?

DA SEC. EMMANUEL PIÑOL: Thank you Mr. President. Good afternoon sir.

Sir, just like NDRRMC, the DA also has a real time monitoring of tropical disturbances, we call it DREAMS. And we have been monitoring the movement of TD Usman since December 25. So we were able to preposition.

Our latest na figures Mr. President was as of 8 p.m. last night. So medyo may diperensya po ‘yung numbers namin sa numbers ng NDRRMC.

Sir, as of last night, 8 p.m.: estimated damage to agriculture is 801 million; affected farming and fishing families, 37,419; total affected areas, 39,582 hectares; production loss estimated at 18,763 metric tons.

Ang pinakamalaki pong damage rice — 697 million involving 30,000 farmers and fisherfolk and 33,000 hectares.

Sa irrigation naman po medyo minimal. But we were able to preposition everything Mr. President because we actually were projecting this.

So ready na po kami with 10,000 bags of seeds — 5,000 is already here, 5,000 will be coming in by next week.

And the only consolation Mr. President is that while there was damage in the rice crops, the rice actually were in the vegetative stage, katatanim pa lang po so we have a chance of recovering.

And again, another consolation is that since we are bringing in seeds to be given out to the farmers, we will be expecting an increased production. Kasi po ang dala nating binhi ngayon hybrid and magandang klaseng inbred. So papalitan po natin lahat nung mga binhi nila.

Made-delay lang po tayo nang konti sa harvest time natin but we are expecting actually a higher production because of what happened, parang blessing in disguise.

Mr. President, we would like to thank you for approving on December 28 additional five billion for the rice industry. We were advised by DBM that you have approved this allocation and we thank you. It gives us greater flexibility in addressing disasters like this.

So because of this Mr. President, we were able to visit Masbate yesterday, Albay yesterday, and of course, Camarines Sur. We have committed P20 million for loaning assistance to Masbate farmers and fisherfolk; 50 million for Albay; and 100 million for Camarines Sur.

Ito po ‘yung easy access credit natin available for farmers.

Within the next two weeks Mr. President, we will also be releasing P5,000 initially para sa pagkain po ng mga farmers na affected under our program survival and recovery loaning program.

Ito po ‘yung pautang ng DA na tatlong taon bago bayaran, walang interest, walang collateral. Pangbili lang po nila ng pagkain at saka pang-recover until such time that they are able to harvest again.

Within the next two weeks Mr. President, we will be releasing the insurance payments already under the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation.  And 10,000 bags of seeds will be available for immediate replanting as soon as the floods subside.

We have 7,000 bags of rice daily available for the whole region. This will be good for 40 days Mr. President. We have prepositioned this already.

And we have directed, para matulungan po ‘yung mga farmers na tinamaan ngayon, we have directed the NFA, following your directive na maging aggressive sa pagbili ng local palay production ng mga farmers.

I told the NFA Region 5 that we will operate like private traders, if the private traders go around, we will also go around and buy the palay of the farmers to protect them from lower prices.

Also Mr. President, using our quick reaction fund, we will help in the repair of the irrigation systems and canals, even if this is under the NIA because kailangan-kailangan po ng ating mga farmers, dahil nasira po ‘yung mga canal.

Mr. President, these are so far our report sa — based on what we have done. And tomorrow sir, I will be flying to Northern Samar because it was also affected by the typhoon and I will report to you whatever we will gather in Northern Samar sir.

Thank you sir.

PRESIDENT DUTERTE: May we ask Secretary Bello? What is happening in the labor front? How many people are marginalized or out of jobs? Or is there a need for you to infuse money?

DOLE SEC. SILVESTRE BELLO III: Mr. President, thank you. Iyong aming report Mr. President from our regional office, may konting variation from the reports earlier submitted pero hindi ma — hindi importante sa amin ‘yun, Mr. President.

What we are going to present today is that we are ready to dispose of 10 million as financial assistance to OFWs affected by this Typhoon Usman.

In addition Mr. President, we are prepared to give 3,000 affected residents of Sagñay and Tiwi, about 3,000 of them, and give them an emergency employment for 15 days which should entitle them to about 3,000 which would amount to about 10 million, Mr. President.

Iyong aming available funds for the OFWs is about 85 million, pero nandiyan na po ‘yung 10 million dala-dala namin para sa mga affected OFWs.

In addition Mr. President, we also have livelihood projects for all those affected by Typhoon Usman. Iyon po ang amin.

PRESIDENT DUTERTE: How much livelihood projects?

SEC. BELLO: Wala pong limit Mr. President. Basta kung anong kailangan nung mga affected wor — residents. We are ready to give them the necessary financial assistance Mr. President.

PRESIDENT DUTERTE: You have the money now?

SEC. BELLO: Po Mr. President?

PRESIDENT DUTERTE: You have the money now?

SEC. BELLO: Yes, Mr. President. Ready na po.

PRESIDENT DUTERTE: I’d like to know from the — General Bautista. Kindly give me a picture of what the department did all along.

DSWD SEC. JOSELITO BAUTISTA: Good afternoon sir. Sir, prior to the arrival of the typhoon, we have already feeding those who were stranded due to the prohibition of the Coast Guard of travelling by sea. So we already started providing them food, for those who are stranded.

Then prior to the arrival of the typhoon, we already preposi — two days before the arrival, we already prepositioned more than 30,000 food packs at the different provinces of Region 5 and as well as more than 20,000 non-food items. These includes the malong, the hygiene kits, family kits, and among others.

But at the height of the typhoon, more than 10,000 food packs were distributed; 17,000 plus non-food items were distributed and as of now we have five million on standby fund, intended for immediate assistance.

Then we have a standby of 20,000 food packs, standby for distribution and there will be also pushing more than 30,000 family food packs anytime today just to ensure that — if there will be an access to the affected areas then we can immediately respond to those who — affected individuals and communities.

So as a whole sir, the DSWD is prepared and can accommodate any request from the different LGUs.

PRESIDENT DUTERTE: Okay. Secretary Año, General Año give me the…

DILG SEC. EDUARDO AÑO: Yes sir. For the DILG sir, before the onslaught of the typhoon, the DILG through our regional offices have issued the advisory to the LGUs to activate their local DRRMC and then we also advised the local government officials to be present in their stations and I can say that about 94 percent of the mayors are there.

Those who have already asked for leave, there are OICs and acting mayors that were designated, who attended to the needs of their constituents.

And based on the briefing, really the problem that arose are the landslides that actually aggravated the situation and caused casualties. That is why we are going to propose for the possible forced evacuation of residents before onslaught of typhoons.

And then for the long-term, we will program the relocation of families living in landslide prone areas and for the assistance to the municipalities, our priorities would be the construction of local evacuation centers.

Aside from the regional evacuation centers to be constructed by the DPWH, particularly in the eastern seaboard of our country where about 15 to 20 typhoons are visit — are visited every year.

The performance of our LGUs are commendable. Although, we still have a lot of casualties. But for the succeeding preparations, we’ll make sure that we will aim for zero casualty Mr. President.

PRESIDENT DUTERTE: I agree with you. And that was the second time — this is the second time that this matter was brought up.

Alam mo every typhoon, calamity that would need the evacuation of people, the public schools really suffer. And also it disturbs the system. It causes an aberration rather in the schooling of children.

In the matter of building some structure to accommodate evacuees, maybe General Del Rosario can give us a blueprint of that in about… Since you are here and you can go around and study.

Pakitingin nga kung pwede ba itong but it has to be a durable one, semento. But this can only be used for evacuation purposes and to keep the people safe and not to disturb the resumption of the governmental functions that we have, the ministrant schooling and everything na hindi makakaistorbo in this area.

This is the second time. I… Baka si — if you are not so loaded with work in Marawi, you might also want to assign one guy here to do just the observation and for you to go around and suggest what would be the best remedy. You can always contact General Año kung ano.

NDRRMC EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR USEC. EDUARDO DEL ROSARIO: We’ll do that Mr. President.

PRESIDENT DUTERTE: How about our communications General Rio?

DICT SEC. ELISEO RIO JR.: Good afternoon Mr. President. So far, typhoon Usman has not — no damages were reported on our telecommunication infrastructure, except for some disruption in services because of lack of power but when these cell sites have gen set and when they were used up to now, we have 100 percent — we have restored 100 percent services, telecommunication services.

What was affected more was our free wi-fi, hotspots. Nineteen access points were affected because of lack of power sir and also the government emergency communication system, we had some problem in its bidding.

However, we were able to obligate it before the end of 2018 and we will have this system operationalized by the first quarter of this year sir. So we will have more — our communication setup in case of emergency will be more effective sir.

PRESIDENT DUTERTE: Matanong kita. Are other projects that are ongoing running smoothly? Do we have any particular project, including the telco that is now the subject of a litigation? Because I’ve always warned the judiciary not to interfere about injunctions and all because it will delay the projects of government.

SEC. RIO: Well, sir, so far we… Because of your — actually, because of your strong political will, you have already announced that sir way back when you were pushing us for the third telco. You already announced that “I don’t want any injunction.”

And so far, sir, no injunction, no terms — temporary restraining order was ever done by any court on any of our projects in telecommunication.

PRESIDENT DUTERTE:  Yes, sir. Iyan kasi ang pinaka-kwartahan nila eh. Some  — some son of a b**** will file an opposition or an objection then he goes to court.

Who is this idiot? Itong nag-file ng kaso sa telco?

SEC. RIO: Well, sir, hindi na namin pinapansin ‘to sir. We are sure it will not really prosper. We can answer all the — their concerns sir in court. So far we are — we were not yet brought to court sir.

So tuloy-tuloy ho ito. We will have a third telecommunication by middle part of this year sir. Wala na itong problema sir.

PRESIDENT DUTERTE: Well, worse comes to worst, never mind the… You know, if you give importance to every governmental action by other branches of government or department, bigyan mo ng ano, matatagalan talaga tayo.

Why don’t you just go ahead and wait? If they are — if you are cited in contempt of court, you can always go to jail for that.

SEC. RIO: Yes, sir. That’s what we are doing. Tuloy-tuloy lang sir. Wala namang nagbibigay…

PRESIDENT DUTERTE: Basta wala lang corruption.

SEC. RIO: Yes, sir. We have — we’ll make sure of that.

PRESIDENT DUTERTE: That’s the only thing that I am worried about. But if there’s, you know, an insistence on our part, to go ahead with the job and it’s clean, no corruption is involved, they can all go to hell, you can proceed.

SEC. RIO: Yes sir. You can be assured that we will follow your instructions, your desire, sir.

PRESIDENT DUTERTE: So Ed ‘yung bahay na sinasabi ni General Año. Tulungan kay ikaw ‘yung sa housing. Maybe you can… Is Escalada here?

OFFICIAL:  Nandito sir ‘yung regional director ng NHA.

PRESIDENT DUTERTE: Gawaan lang ninyo ng ano. It has to be a concrete… I would not be satisfied with ‘yung mga kahoy-kahoy lang.

They will be the first to go if the winds come. This is quite a novelty of recent time because walang hangin, puro tubig. So nakita ko kanina, it has become a huge lake. And nataas — nataas ito sa bukid and I do not see any…

Paano ito? I may ask General Cimatu? Paano mo i-drain ‘yan sir? Iyong tubig diyan ngayon?

You are through with Boracay. It’s clean. Maybe you can get rid also of the water there because it cannot stay — they cannot make use of the land.

DENR SEC. ROY CIMATU: Hindi ma — Mr. President, this area is really — the elevation, normal elevation in the area is really low, mababa po kaya konting ano lang ‘yan nababaha rito eh.

But to drain it really is — takes nature itself. By evaporation po ito eh. It takes — by evaporation — takes time mag-evaporate naman ‘yan. But to drain kasi… Ginagamit po ito sa rice fields eh, ‘yung normally kung nagagamit. Nag-e-evaporate po ito eh. Of course, the agriculture.

But to drain it, ‘yung nakita niyo ho — when we came here by helicopter, Mr. President, nakita ko ‘yung mga ano also there. And medyo matagal na rin yata ‘yun ‘di pa nag-subside.

So we can drain it by mechanical way, by — meron sa mga pop-out naman ito. Iyan… Iyong ginagawa nila doon sa Netherlands, Amsterdam. May ganun pa man. They bring out their water.

Kasi below sea level po kasi ‘yun eh, ‘yung sa lugar na ‘yan. Ginagamit nila ‘yung windmill doon, ‘yung old windmill. Eh wala naman po ito ngayon dito.

So mechanical siguro if we have to drain them but it will be very costly. So just leave it muna for a drainage system.

PRESIDENT DUTERTE: Are those equipment available here? Can we buy them here?

DENR SEC. ROY CIMATU: The pop-out, Mr. President. There are some big pumps that can bring out the water to the sea.  Ganon ang mangyayari.

But ito naman problema naman sa pollution po naman ito sir, kasi medyo hindi pa masyadong malinis siguro itong ano. So it might pollute again the sea. So might as well contain it muna for the meantime then prevent it to ano muna.  It will take siguro weeks ito bago ma-ano naman ito, mag-evaporate.

PRESIDENT DUTERTE: Si… Yes sir.

REP. LUIS RAYMUND VILLAFUERTE: Sir, if I may suggest? Iyong Bicol River po which is the main cause of the baha in Camarines Sur. Eighty percent of the Bicol River is in Camarines Sur. It’s the catch basin.

So kung umulan po sa Albay, kahit na hindi umuulan sa Cam Sur, ‘yung tubig nila po pupunta sa amin. Then kung umulan sa Camarines Norte po, kahit hindi umuulan sa Camarines Sur, mababaha rin kami dahil papasok sa Pulantuna River. So I think sir, the basic solution lang po is i-dredge po, i-desilt ‘yung Bicol River.

‘Pag sa — kung for example po sa Bicol River, sir, ‘pag high tide dumadaan po ‘yung boat. ‘Pag hapon hindi na makadaan. Ganon po kababa. More than 30 years na po last na-dredge ‘yan.

The province is dredging it but dalawa lang ang equipment.  Maybe if the national government can dredge the Bicol River, maso-solve po ‘yun or mami-mitigate, ma-minimize po ‘yung baha, sir.

PRESIDENT DUTERTE: DPWH… Yes…

DPWH UNDERSECRETARY RAFAEL YABUT: Sir, Undersecretary Yabut.

PRESIDENT DUTERTE: Yes sir. Go ahead.

USEC YABUT: Good afternoon sir. Actually, sir, ‘yun pong Bicol River Basin development feasibility study was prepared sometime 2003.

Nag-meeting po ang DENR at saka po ‘yung NEDA and DPWH to revisit that — we were given the 100 million to revisit the study that was conducted by the World Bank in 2003 for updating po.

We bid out the consultancy for this preparation of the master plan and revisit of the Bicol River Basin as mentioned by Congressman Villafuerte and hopefully we will be able to award next week ‘yun pong revisit ng study ng master plan.

PRESIDENT DUTERTE: Yes, yes.

SEC. PIÑOL: Sir, actually hindi lang po Bicol River sir ang kailangan i-dredge. If you remember sir, we were in Cagayan Valley October 2016, Typhoon Lawin. And you said that dapat i-review na kung pwedeng i-dredge ‘yung Cagayan River kasi mababaw lang talaga sir.

Cagayan River, Pampanga River, Bicol River, Rio Grande de Mindanao, Agusan River. These are the major river systems, Mr. President. [off mic]

PRESIDENT DUTERTE: Yeah, yeah we can. We will buy but do we have the money? It’s in your budget?

SEC. PIÑOL: It’s not gonna be under Agriculture sir. DPWH [off mic]…

I’m just emphasizing sir the importance of dredging these rivers because the floodings actually Mr. President affects —affect Agriculture.

Agusan River for example Mr. President. Ang lapad ng pwede taniman ng palay diyan. Kaya lang tuwing tag-ulan, the waters would be there for about one or two months. So talagang hindi mataniman sir. Itong Camarines sir, napakayaman na — in fact, they have very high yield in Camarines Sur sir, 4.47 higher than the national. Pero ‘pag ganitong tag-ulan, talagang nababaha ‘yung kanilang production areas sir.

PRESIDENT DUTERTE: Itong ganito?

SEC PIÑOL: Yes sir. So I’m endorsing sir the suggestion of Governor LRay, not only for Bicol River, Mr. President, but also for Rio Grande de Mindanao, Agusan River, Candaba River, Cagayan Valley. All the major river systems, Mr. President, should be reviewed and dredged if possible. Thank you sir.

[off mic]

 PRESIDENT DUTERTE: How much? Alam mo… Nandito ‘yung mga congressman. I have strongly recommended the abolition of the Road Tax… You and I know that it’s — it was really a milking cow for — ‘yung sa corruption.

So baka matuloy naman ‘yan. Baka ‘yung pera na ‘yan pwede nating gamitin dito.

I would like to hear if the — the devil’s advocate, the critique of…

I said I’m ready to hear the critique or the devil’s advocate in this crowd.

REP. JOEY SALCEDA: I’m not a devil sir but kasi meron hong economic philosophy po ‘yung Road Board. I mean to say the Road Tax. It’s supposed to provide continuous funding of maintenance in order to prolong the life or the shelf life of our roads.

So if we shift it to another purpose, your — Mr. President, we have to continuously seek and compete for other funds within the GAA framework.

So hindi naman po ako ano. I’m definitely… Pwede naman ho nating i-GAA ‘yan pero ‘yung — we should dedicate it for road maintenance, Mr. President.

Doon naman po sa what to do with the lakes, dati ho dalawa lang ‘yan, Bato tsaka Buhi. Ito kasi ‘yung parte ho ng Cam Sur it’s — yeah now we have four. Baao Lake and Nabua Lake.

So basically, Mr. President it’s situated between two faults. I think you are here. So it is naturally sinking.

So originally in 1997, there was a study by JBIC which is to be updated —  which actually asked for the conversion of the — no, not the Bato Lake — the Baao into a lake para po magawa na talaga as a reservoir, as a sinking — basically as a sinking ano…

Kaso nag-oppose po during the EIA social acceptability. So hindi po ‘yun natuloy. That was supposed to be in 1997. The biggest project of then President Ramos, which is about 47 billion. I don’t know how much it will be now.

But generally Mr. President, although I agree na we could in the short-term maibsan po. Pero I think there has to be a more permanent [infrastructure?] solution. Is one, do we accept it that it has to be a lake because of its geological features? Second — but of course magagalit po ‘yung DA — but at the same time, at least ‘yung Nabua from my view can be salvaged but Baao definitely has already be — structurally be converted into a reservoir and serve other economic purposes,  Mr. President.

PRESIDENT DUTERTE: Yes sir.

REP. VILLAFUERTE: Sir, kami we support the abolition of the Road Board. In fact, I’m one of the principal authors. We support your move.

Iyong study lang po, ‘yung sinasabi po ni Usec. Pye Yabut, as of 2003 po sir meron na pong study about the Bicol River Basin water resource development sir.  All we need to do is update kasi sir talagang kahit konting ulan mismo ‘yung national highway po dito, konting ulan po nagbabaha.

Then Camarines Sur po is sixth in rice production pero despite na nagbabaha. Can you imagine po sir kung hindi na magbabaha dito, baka number two, number three po kami.

So konting ulan po sir, baha ang kalye, apektado ang farmers. Tapos ‘yung livelihood ng mga tao po. So sana po maresolba under your administration ‘yung problems sa basin po sir.

PRESIDENT DUTERTE: Ano — kausapin ko si Senate President pati si Speaker pati kayo. Wala akong objection kung tanggalin. Tatanggalin ko talaga ‘yan eh. It cannot remain there as a… P***** i**** corruption diyan.

Ilagay ko DPWH or what. Payag ako unahin kayo dito. [applause] You’ll have the first. So ‘yung first project, kasi tayo man nag-uusap dito.

I’ll commit to you that the very first projects that would be undertaken under that fund, if it’s transferred to a DPWH or sa Agriculture, okay ako. We’ll start with the…

 Tayong mga sobra-sobra na lang because Agusan is really a marshland actually. Marshland ang Agusan so mahirap. It has to evolve into something like… But that would depend on the inroads of civilization.

It’s actually a marshland or ano bang sa Bisaya ‘yan? Pagatpatan also. Pagatpatan sa Bisaya. Mahirap ‘yan. I’ve been there. I’ve been hunting in that place. Medyo ano. Unahin na muna natin ‘yung sa mga — para sa mga gwapong tao sa Pilipinas, mga Bicolano kagaya ni Joey. [applause]

 Sige payag ako, totoo. We will work together, convince Congress.  Wala naman silang magawa talaga diyan. Ayaw ko talaga eh, maski saan niyo ilagay, I will not release any single centavo there. Manghinayang ako.

But if it can — put to good use, kagaya ng perennial ninyo dito. Eh papaano ninyo kunin ‘yang tubig diyan? Matagal pa ‘yan. Unless you pray for a dry spell for about half a year.

So okay ako diyan unahin muna ang Bicol. With that money, I will give you my commitment that you’ll be the first. [applause]

 Kunin talaga natin ‘yang pera na ‘yan.  I will get it. Put it somewhere else — para ma-ano sa tao.

And, ma’am, ‘yang — how about the disturbance of the school, ng mga bata?

DEPED  SEC. LEONOR BRIONES: Mr. President, I only have four very short points. One is the cost of the damage to facilities brought about by Usman.

Ang tentative estimate is about 237 million — 237 million excluding the damaged computers which is quite tragic because we already started our projects of delivering new computers, equipment, textbooks and furniture. Buildings lang ‘yan, 257 million for the entire region.

And I noticed that the — mentioned was made of more than a hundred casualties. Sa aming count, 32 of them were learners. So that’s nearly a third. Learners, children.  Because when these tragedies happened at night, usually the children are the most helpless.

Now, the second point I’d like to emphasize, Mr. President, is that right now our quick response fund is two billion. And we estimate already that with Ompong and the other earlier disasters.  Maubos na ‘yung two billion na ‘yan plus Usman.

So after Usman, we probably — we’ll already have exhausted available funds for a quick response.

Also another response on the side of DepEd is that we plan, together with DSWD, to hold a special Brigada Eskwela. Kasi every year we have Brigada Eskwela for the entire year wherein the entire community, parents, teachers, various groups help out in cleaning the schools, giving supplies, painting, and so on and so forth.

Now we are considering for Region 5 a special Brigada Eskwela, the way we did it Mr. President for Marawi. We had a special Brigada Eskwela for Marawi.

A third, Mr. President is we have been watching the pattern of the damage caused by natural disasters. And these traditionally — these were caused by strong typhoons and strong winds.

Kaya ang aming standard for school buildings is kailangan 350 kilometer wind velocity. But now, we noticed that a tropical depression can unleash and trigger tragedies and destruction of even greater magnitude and this is because of floods and landslides.

And this is what most of us in government or agencies are not prepared for — the flooding and the landslides. We are prepared for the winds. We are prepared for the heat and so on because we planned for it.

Pero ngayon, a new — a building feature now of disasters is the smallest depression already triggers floods and landslides as in the case of Sagñay. Kasi it’s not even a storm, Mr. President, pero baha na.

So right now, ang aming concern is — ang you know, fixing our buildings, et cetera. But if you want to respond to this rising challenge of floods and landslides, we have to consider slope protection for schools which are — you know, at the foot of hills or on top of the hills, higher elevations of schools, and even transfer hot school sites — from hazardous sites which before were very safe, dry, and so on, but are now are submerged in water.

And so this would require bigger amounts of investment, not only for us in the Department of Education, but for all public facilities and even private facilities. We have to recognize that the floods and the landslides are now joining the winds and so on and the earthquakes.

Now, DepEd has only funds for site titling. So… Then finally, Mr. President, since we are in education, we always ask what are the lessons that we can learn from this recent experience.

One is that we cannot be business as usual in the usual preparation for typhoons, na ‘yung wind and so on, ‘yung communication, et cetera. We have to include already flooding and landslides because nawi-weaken na ‘yung ating geological atmosphere, and this requires of course huge budgetary outlays.

And so the — we were — I’m going to… We are suggesting that it should be considered as part of the budget process that we consider the accelerating damage, which are already irreversible.

So every year, we have more and more damages which we have to prepare for. So may financial requirements ‘yan.

And finally, Mr. President, I always say finally. Finally Mr. President, our immediate response of government is we give their — we give in to their immediate needs like the food packs, the clothes, et cetera, et cetera, building materials. And after the storm, then we prepare for the next round of disasters again.

So perhaps it would be good also to mobilize the entire country and not look only to government to be providing the food packs and the building materials, but mobilize the public sector, the private sector, the schools, the organization in an organized manner.

Hindi ito makakaya ng government at the rate that distractions are escalating. The extent of the damage has been escalating so much that government may not necessarily have the sustained funds to catch up with the worsening situation in climate change.

So siguro kasama dito is really mobilization of the public, the citizenry. We, in Education, are doing our part by educating our children. But the various organizations, they have to, you know, give their services for, you know, for technical assistance in the dams, the flood control.

Bicol River Basin Development Authority, panahon pa ni Marcos ‘yan, not created precisely to control floods. That’s how many decades ago. Nearly as old as I am.

So perhaps if we mobilize the entire country — this is not a responsibility of government alone. This is our responsibility and we all have to help out. And it’s not only giving, which is very important, the food packs and everything, but preparing for even much more threatening natural disasters, Mr. President.

Thank you very much.

PRESIDENT DUTERTE: Two things in my response. One would be the question sa PAGASA sir, kay —  about the changing — not really the — but the radical changes in today’s climate, weather.

There seems to be a lot of precipitation everywhere. So we’ll have to deal with — you know, about a little over seven, ten years ago. Itong mga landslides na ito. I’ve been a government worker for so long.

Hindi naman masyado ito na-ano but now we have a multiple landslide everywhere. So gusto kong malaman. I do not have the answer yet — as yet, kung bakit maraming landslide palagi ngayon.

And noon, wala naman ‘yung mga eskwelahan, ‘yung sa baba ng slopes. But now, there seems to be a loosening of the soil everywhere and as it is wont to happen, it is really a multiple thing for us.

We were viewing the roadside kanina. Karaming ano eh, landslide talaga eh. You have to work your way before you can restore the mobility of the community.

Second po. May I ask? I am ignorant about it. Bakit ho maraming tubig? Kay Boy o kay PAGASA. Si Mr….

[off mic]

 Pati si Solidum. Solidum because you predict the weather. Predict it somewhere else and…

PHIVOLCS OIC RENATO SOLIDUM: Good afternoon, sir. Iyong first question niyo, why are we noticing many landslides now. Obviously, with global warming, we are experiencing more rain.

Unfortunately, it’s not rain that triggers landslide as well. We are also developing many areas. We are constructing roads. If you notice, many of the landslides in the Bicol area are along road cuts. And unfortunately, many houses were built on road easements and also on the lower end of the roads.

So with the development, we also have to make sure that we employ slope protection saka drainages po ng ating ginagawang kalsada so that this will not be the site of future landslides. So merong risk of development if we don’t really do these things properly.

Now, why was the rainfall so high in the area? First of all, a tropical depression is the lowest category of tropical cyclone in terms of wind speed. However, it also moves very slow. Parang kung baga hindi maka-move on ‘yan ng mabilis. So it brings a lot of water. And because it moves very slowly, it dumps a lot of rain in the area.

Unfortunately, when Usman came closer to Visayas, it slo — moved very slowly. Parang nag-park siya, 28, 29 na lang siya nag-land fall. So in addition of the forecast, moderate to heavy rainfall, nadagdagan pa lalo ‘yung ulan kasi hindi siya umusad.

And that is why, Mr. President, dumami po ‘yung ulan. The rain was essentially — two days of rain was almost equivalent to the whole month of December — historical rainfall in Bicol.

If the tropical cyclone have — would have moved faster, then the rainfall in the Bicol area may not be very high. But still, it’s still way above the threshold of triggering landslide po and flood. So ‘yun po ‘yung cause.

But going back to the frequency of landslides, it’s a combination of many factors. One is the changing climate plus the fact that ‘yung mga soil with time nagiging weathered, mas erodible ‘yung mga dinaanan po from Tiwi to Sagñay ay easily erodible material.

And unfortunately, doon po karamihan sa mga kalsada nagsimula ‘yung mga landslide. So isa rin pong dapat concern ng government is to make sure that the roads that we develop would have ample soft — slope protection.

Second also, drainage. And third, i-bawal ‘yung mga nagbabahay sa tabi ng mga kalsada at sa baba noon. Iyon po, Mr. President.

PRESIDENT DUTERTE: But you can say that climate has something really to do with a lot of measure of…

PHILVOLCS OIC SOLIDUM: Yes sir. Yes sir.

PRESIDENT DUTERTE: It’s a direct consequence or ano lang causal?

PHILVOLCS OIC SOLIDUM: It’s one of the tri — trigger po ‘yung [off mic] trigger po ‘yun. And but again, if the rain becomes more extreme, the probability of having more landslide increases because of global warming po.

So we really have to make sure that we don’t focus only on the typhoon signal which refers to the wind strength, pero kailangan din po na madalas balitaan natin kahit hindi na malakas ‘yung ulan, marami pa ring tubig na babagsak.

That’s why — i-explain ko lang din po ‘yung PAGASA advisories po ‘no. Nagbibigay ang PAGASA ng 24-hour forecast. Sasabihin nila light o moderate to heavy rains.

Pero pag na-record ‘yun ng PAGASA na heavy na ‘yung pag-ulan, sinasabi na nila — nag-i-issue po sila ng heavy rainfall warning. Iyon po ‘yung yellow, red — yellow, orange, red. Ito po ‘yung nowcasting. Ito ‘yung nangyayari.

So kapag hindi pa umaalis ‘yung mga tao dahil sa forecast na moderate to heavy, eh dapat may aksyon na sila ‘pag sinabing yellow, orange, o red kasi mas diyan na talaga nangyayari ‘yung heavy pong ulan.

So sa DOST side po, we will have to make sure that we have to emphasize this. We also wanted to engage MGB in the press briefings of DOST. That they will be part of really announcing the areas every time there’s a press briefing.

So combination po talaga ng extreme weather but — so that’s why we have extreme actions to also do to cope up with the changing condition po.

PRESIDENT DUTERTE: Ang problema kasi nito, Boy, is we’ve been sending so many people. That’s why I fired also so many people for attending climate change sa dito, South Africa, Tokyo, Canada, Ottawa.

Twenty one travels, sabi ko, climate change and we are at the losing end of the s***. Sige pa rin patay. Sige pa rin collapse.

So I better help ourselves than listen to those idiots there in Europe. I’ve read — I have come across General Jalad’s position paper. Saan ba… Iyong ginawa mo na nabasa ko.

I have plans of making his department —- his agency a regular department. Solely to meet the challenges of itong ano. Wala eh. So kanya lahat ‘yan. Para kanya na ang ano. Iyo na lahat pati pagpigil sa bagyo.  P****** i**** ‘yan.

Magdala ka ng blower doon, ipaano mo. Bwisit itong bagyo.

Alam mo dapat ‘yung mga bagyo, huwag ninyong pangalanan na mga Usman. Eh si Randy Usman, Maranao ‘yan eh. [laughter] That is — he’s my brother in the Maranao side. Mga Usman-Usman, ang tindi niyan.

Mga Bernadette ganun. [laughter] Leonora. [laughter]. Mga — si Leni  ganun ba para ma… [laughter] 

 [off mic]

PRESIDENT DUTERTE: No, we should not take her name in vain. She’s a…

Pero nakita ko ‘yung ano mo, paki-kumpleto na lang noon. Eh General Jalad has been there very much ahead than the others. Kuwan na daw… Tingnan mo kung… And I will ask Medialdea to…

And I am not a… You know my fellow Filipinos, especially the Bicolanos, I know that you are a forgiving tribe, but let me just abuse your — your time. I brought along my three candidates for senator.

Hindi ko naman sinasabi na, Joey, ganito ‘yan Joey, eh. ‘Pag matalo ‘yan sila, may three years pa ako. [laughter]

Oo. Kailangan ninyo ang pirma ko sa release. Nasa inyo ‘yan [laughter] kasi pwede naman tayo magkaibigan, pwede naman tayong walang imikan. I’ve been used to it.

Ikaw Joey, we worked together in the 11th congress.

[REP. SALCEDA?]: May pangako po ako sa tatlong ‘yan sir. Tatlo lang ‘yan.

PRESIDENT DUTERTE: Kasi ikaw noon, noong — puro left tayo, huwag na lang natin taguan.

Kami ‘yung mag-left nag-porma. So we voted for one candidate. Not really left na left na komunista but ‘yung gusto namin kasi ‘yung hindi traditional.

So we talked with Joy and everybody. So sabi ko, nadala ako sa drama mo, baka madala ko rin ka sa drama ko. Lahat naman dito pwede naman kayo magpunta ng Malacañang pahingi-hingi. Lalo na ‘yang 46 billion na ‘yan. Kung — wala kayo sigurado. [laughter]

It will remain a lagoon for you to swim. Hindi na kayo magpunta ng dagat. Wala rin dagat.

PRESIDENT DUTERTE: Pero I’d like to ask Bato to stand up. [applause] Let me abuse government time. Pang-ano lang naman eh.

Alam mo ito si Bato talaga. I was a prosecutor before, piskal lang ako. But when he graduated sa PMAer, he was assigned in Davao. And later on he married. Ninong ako nito. And I said, I cannot use any other word, except to say that he is really fundamentally honest. [applause] Totoo ‘yan.

For all the many ano — na ano. Hinihingi nila. Binibigay ko talaga sa kanya, because may produkto eh. ‘Pag mag — may mga kidnapping ganun, tapos ibigay mo.

Sabi ko, sabihin mo, “O p****** i** huwag mong dalhin sa akin ‘yan buhay ha.” Patay talaga ‘yan. Eh p***** i** kidnapper, wala mang ibang solusyon ‘yang mga animal na ‘yan. Pati droga.

So Bato was really — not because of his friendship or liaison on me, but because he is really patriotic. At marami itong dinaan na…

During the sparrow days na ano, marami kaming kasama na namatay diyan sa Davao. But he survived. And he would like to… I’m endorsing him now. Senator. Pati kailangan niyo… [applause]

Nakita naman ninyo. I’m not trying really to derogate anybody.

May mga military naman diyan. Nakita mo naman anong ginawa. Was there any legislation of significance? Wala, puro pang-baboy ng tao.

Sabi ko, bigyan naman ninyo ng Mindanao. He’s a military man. He’s good. Galing PMA ‘yan. And I said, what I like about him is that he is fundamentally honest. I can assure you. I can assure you.

But more than that, after this election, I would be there still for three years. So, kung hindi tayo magkaintindihan dito, bahala kayo. [laughter]

Another one, ang hindi ko talaga na-ano, maski kayo… Alam mo si Francis Tolentino. [applause] Alam mo kasi ito, I knew him since he was vice mayor. Nagmo-motor kami noon, Tagaytay. Sa motor kami nagkakilala. As a matter of fact, we toured the entire country, the length and breadth of the Philippines naka-motor lang.

Francis walang — walang hangin ito. Abogado. Ako hindi naman ako… Tingnan mo ‘yung pinaparada nila na mga kandidato. You think that they would really be contributing something to the country? You keep on electing and reelecting, only to say na, “Hindi ko man ano ‘yan, hindi ko forte.”

You aspire for a position and when you are there, a sacred one at that, you just belittle it. Sabi niya, “’Di ko man feel ‘yan.”

Kaya ito si Francis, was a mayor. Kung ma-ano ninyo maski isa, ipagpalit — ipagpalit ninyo diyan sa mga…

Ako, I do not want to mention. But look guys, ang Pilipino talaga, show biz eh. Now, lagyan ninyo ng mga tao na — for after all we are in a thick…

No, the ship of state of the Republic of the Philippines is sailing on rough waters. I’m not saying that there is a storm but unless we get through with this BOL and what would be the reaction of Misuari. Sabihin niya he’s left behind is something which we have — I have to work over time.

Pero ito medyo, okay na sa atin. Ang talagang medyo matigas na nakikita ko na wala talagang pag-asa, ito si Sison. And dito sa Bicol, malakas ang NPA. Iyan na lang talaga ang ano dito. Wala tayong makuha diyan sa NPA.

Maski na sabihin nila walang coalition but they want to join ‘yung mga economic bodies natin kagaya ng NEDA, itong Department of Trade, ah mahirap ‘yan. Even when si Taguiwalo was in — pati si Mariano — kung hindi ko hininto ‘yung occupy-occupy nung g*** mat… Gusto ko ngang kausapin ‘yung…

While he was there, a Cabinet member at that, he was egging people na sige mag-ano ka okupasyon. If there is a vacant lot, sige you…

Kaya I was forced to come up.  Sabi ko, “Do not do that because I will order the law enforcement to arrest you and if you fight, to shoot you dead.”

Iyan lang ang pantakot talaga eh —  hindi pantakot, ‘yan talaga ang gawain mo. And so pagsabi namatay, eh p***** i** sinabi ko na sa iyong huwag ninyong gawin eh.

Tapos si Taguiwalo ‘yung Pantawid, doon nakikita sa kampo ng mga NPA ‘yung mga envelopes. Okay man ‘yan, wala akong problema. Total mahirap rin itong mga g***** ‘to eh.

Ang problema lang nito, they do not know what is really the real score and what is the impact of the insurgency sa kanilang buhay. Wala, mga… They never saw Sison. Tapos maniwala silang utak ni Sison na…

Pero sabi ko sa inyo… I pray that if there’s going to be a talk — really talk. I don’t know what will happen and if it can happen at all. Mas mahirap kausapin nito si Jalandoni pati si — si Agcaoili.

Si Agcaoili hinahaluan ng mga legal-legal diyan. Sabi ko, “Ah wala.” They came here. They wanted to talk to me. Sabi ko, “No.”

Wala ‘yang mga legal-legal na ‘yan. You come, cut and cut cleanly. You adopt the democracy that we find ourselves in. Iyong pangatlo… [applause] 

Ito si Bong Go, he is only Go because his father is a Chinese. But ang mother nito, Tesoro ‘to. Pero ugali ng mga taga-Davao na mga Batangueño mga  — may mga g*** rin talaga. [laughter]

Iyong… Kaya galit rin ito sa NPA kasi ‘yung lolo niya si August, mason ‘yun. Naglalaro ng golf sa Davao, binira sa bunganga.

[Nandoon ka ba noon? Eh bakit ka matakot left ka man] [laughter] [unclear] ‘yung negotiator ko.

Eh ito si Bebot, left talaga ‘to, mag-bola-bola pa tayo. You know, when Partido was formed right after EDSA, sumali kami, kaming dalawa. Talaga ang amin is we fight this in a republican form of struggle.

Noong nandoon na kami sa Partido and after a few days of ano, pumasok na itong mga hardcore, ‘yung mga ano ha.

Sabi ko kay Bebot, sabi ko, “Bot, hindi ako pwede diyan.” I cannot be fighting the Filipinos by armed struggle. Papatay ako ng kapwa ko Pilipino diyan. Sumibat ako, sumibat talaga ako. Sabi ko, “Hindi ko kaya ‘yan.”

Ngayon, hindi na kami magkaintindihan ni.. si… Pero I’d like you to know that we are keeping the fire burning and hindi mo pwedeng sarahan eh. You cannot afford to lose all channels of communication, mag-iwan ka talaga maski maliit. Mag-iwan ka maski maliit.

So meron ‘yan. Sabi ko, sige basta walang coalition and no ‘yung malalaking ano. Undersecretary siguro o director. Tutal pwede mo ngang i-ano ‘yan. But not money, mahirap. So ‘yan ang istorya natin.

Oo, Tolen — tatlo sila. Si Bato, sabi ko kay Bato na sumama ka na ngayon kay para… And you also, you know the military ways. You protect also the sector that you know best to handle. Eh mga military kinakaya-kaya mo lang, pinagsisigaw-sigawan pa. Huwag kang pumayag ng ganun. State your case plainly, truthfully, respectfully.

So, ma’am, ‘yung iyo, I was listening to you. Iyong ano mo, we’ll take it up with the — there’s a Cabinet meeting coming up in a few days. I-connect ko kayong dalawa because he has a good plan and of course with your input. Tapos kay Ed del Rosario, siya may-ari ng NHA, mabilis ang ating…

Yes, sir. Boy.

DOST SEC. FORTUNATO DELA PEÑA: Sir, that we will have to complete the installation of manned synoptic stations in all provinces. So mga 20 provinces pa po ang wala so we will complete that.

And I would like to echo a suggestion coming from our — one of our mayors, Mayor Padilla here of Panganiban. He said that maybe we should include the transistor radios in the emergency kit of people kasi kung minsan ‘pag nawalan ng signal, mahalaga po ‘yung mga transistor radios for dissemination.

PRESIDENT DUTERTE: Oo totoo ‘yun. Critical messages that cannot be conveyed anymore sa… Tama ‘yun. Maraming ngayong ano…

Yes…

DTI SEC. RAMON LOPEZ: DTI boss.

PRESIDENT DUTERTE: Secretary Lopez.

SEC LOPEZ: Just to complete the report. At least sa atin po, we have monitored before and right after the tropical depression, ‘yung supply ng mga produkto at saka ‘yung presyo. And this is to report na very stable. May dalawa kaming nakita na violation [off mic] kasi ang ginawa po natin, all municipalities that were affected meron tayong mga [off mic] nagmo-monitor ng mga tindahan doon [off mic]

And aside from generally stable may na-discover the dalawa pero oras na kinorek ‘yun, they immediately — ‘yung mga stores na ‘yun immediately brought back ‘yung presyo na one peso higher than the SRP. Even by one peso kinokorek natin and they basically brought it back. These were found in Iriga City and Polangui ‘no.

So, now we can say na lahat po ay stable ang prices. Of course, sinunod din natin ngayon ‘yung — since nag-declare ng calamity, naka-price freeze po dito sa mga probinsya na nabanggit — Cam Sur, Cam Norte, Albay, and Sorsogon. Okay.

And then we are — doon sa nangangailangan, we are ready to bring in the Diskwento Caravan. Ito ‘yung mga special stores kung saan ‘yung basic commodities na mas mura — mura pa sa SRP can be provided, para merong sources at walang shortage.

Importante may mabibili ang ating mga kababayan na naapektuhan. Kung pwede ho akong mag-digress doon sa usapan on the long-term solution, ang — baka ho makatulong din ‘yung pag-consider nung review nung mga land zoning sa mga lugar.

Kung maaari, kung meron ng mga safe na lugar na alam nating safe, ‘yung mga next projects should be located there, whether residential, commercial, the roads. There are places na pagka ni-review ‘yung land zoning po and part of the land use plan ay — will give us a direction where to build the future.

And doon sa mga alam nating delikado, hazardous at malalalim and catch basin, obviously we should not build a future there and in fact there should be a purposive relocation already para hindi na intayin ‘yung disaster and sakuna because we’re a country na talagang naakpektuhan at dinadaanan talaga ng mga bagyo.

So hindi ho… Every year po ‘yun. So talagang — really have to plan for the future and strict implementation at the local government level. Kung bawal sa lugar na ‘yun bawal dapat talaga. Hindi dapat talaga mag-allow ng — mag-build up ng community, one house, naging two houses, naging community na, at pagkatapos mahirap ng malipat. So ‘yun lang po ang input natin doon.

PRESIDENT DUTERTE: Anybody would like to say something before we go? Governor Bichara?

ALBAY GOV. AL FRANCIS BICHARA: Mr. President, we have acquired lands already for resettlement, relocation. We’re still acquiring but we can also deve — do the site development. But our problem is the houses. And I was informed that the NHA doesn’t have enough funds. It was slashed daw. So do we have really — do we have funds for this purpose? For housing?

PRESIDENT DUTERTE: Well, si Ed Del Rosario, when he was appointed right after ‘yung sa Marawi. Tinawag ko siya because there were a lot of matrix in front of me and it was convoluted.

And it really encourages one corruption, second is indolence kasi maraming committee-committee. Tinawag ko si Ed. He was with the Defense department at that time, I appointed him undersecretary.

Sabi ko, tawagin mo si Del Rosario. So kilala ko ‘to siya sir kasi naging Task Force Davao din siya. Sabi ko na maghanap ako ng pera, build me something like…

Ilan na ba nagawa mo ngayon Ed? Ang bahay? Marawi lang?

NDRRMC EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR USEC. DEL ROSARIO: [off mic]

PRESIDENT DUTERTE: Okay ganito ang ano ako. Basta ano. There’s a fund that we’re trying to — sinisilip natin.

If it can be freed and transferred to another department for good use, I said I will ask Ed to initiate some — mga houses dito sa napili mo na na lugar , which you think are  safe. Maybe I’ll give you 300 houses, okay na siguro ‘yan.

[GOV. BICHARA?]: For Albay. How about Camarines Sur? Kasi magre-relocate din sila eh.

CAMARINES SUR GOV. MIGUEL LUIS VILLAFUERTE: Thank you Mr. President. Siguro pwede po nating simulan dito sa Barangay Patitinan where 30 people died in the past few days.

Our province has located provincially-owned lot 25 hectares, 552 households po ang buong Barangay Patitinan and based on MGB, the whole barangay is landslide prone.

So pwede po ilipat ng province, 25 hectares, kung may pangtapat na pang-build ng houses na disaster-resilient.

PRESIDENT DUTERTE: Once I said we get that money. I have made my objections and the House, salamat naman sa inyo, agreed with me and the Senate also wanted it. So wala tayong problema.

Ang akin lang if they would listen to my appeal that we use part of the money for the pressing problems of Bicol. It’s about P46 billion. Tamang-tama lang kung walang swapangan diyan, mapagbigyan natin ‘yung iba.

I’m ready to spend the money for — to improve the topography of the place and make it safe for people to build houses. Or really just get out of those mountainous thing, especially if there’s a mine being operated behind, mahirap yan.

But you can always call on General Cimatu. ‘Pag sinabi niyang sira-sira ‘yan.

And you should congratulate General Año, General Cimatu, and Secretary Bernadette for the Boracay. [applause] Sa Boracay raw kung maligo ka, hindi lang malinis, maging gwapo ka daw pagka ano. So bilib ako.

So as a last, may I hear from my classmate, Judge Clavecilla. Eh brod ko ‘to, classmate ko pa. So…

PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER FOR BICOL AFFAIRS MARVEL CLAVECILLA: Thank you Mr. President. Ah, our office, the Office of the Presidential Assistant for Bicol, at the outset of Typhoon Usman, we were able to mobilize the different governmental agencies, national in scope including the DSWD as our lead agency, the Department of Public Works and Highways, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Health, NEDA and the DILG.

On our part, Mr. President, we utilized or mobilized these agencies for the simple reason that they have the funding and the manpower.

And I’m very happy to report to you, Mr. President, their cooperation and support given by these agencies to your administration.

So all these concerned agencies have reported to their central offices and we already heard their explanations, their presentations.

And I’m happy that you gave our region, the Bicol Region the priority insofar as the measures of the Road Board is concerned. Kailangan po namin talaga ang funding because marami pong nasiraan pong bahay.

And when the four municipalities in Rinconada — Buhi, Iriga, Nabua, and Baao. Andoon po ang mga government agencies na nag-respond kaagad.

And I’m very appreciative of the support given by Director Arnel Garcia who is the president of the Regional Directors Association of Bicol for their utmost support and cooperation.

Sana po — may their tribe increase. Thank you Mr. President.

PRESIDENT DUTERTE: Alam mo, classmate. Ganito ‘yan. I think I appointed you as Presidential Assistant for Bicol.

Good because the last time, there was a disaster here, there was a calamity and I needed somebody as a point man who supervised and who gave me the information from time to time was Atty. Tolentino, Si Francis.

PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER FOR BICOL AFFAIRS CLAVECILLA: Yes, yes…

PRESIDENT DUTERTE: He stayed here for about two months, I think, just to oversee all of those things.

Now, alam mo kasi — I’ll give you the staff that you want.

PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER FOR BICOL AFFAIRS CLAVECILLA: Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you. You have not yet approved our budget.

PRESIDENT DUTERTE: I know. You just wait. I will give it to you but ‘yung trabaho niya, ‘yun na ang trabaho mo. Because ma-ano ito si…

And it’s election time. And God forbid that if there’s anything else that I have to take care, so ikaw ‘yun. So tayo na ang magtawagan.

PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER FOR BICOL AFFAIRS CLAVECILLA: Thank you, Mr. President.

PRESIDENT DUTERTE: Ilan ang gusto mong staff? Twenty beautiful women? [laughter]

You know, the reason why I gave you the priority in the project is that you have a very beautiful Vice President here. Leni, oo. Tell her that she’s really beautiful ha.

So kung wala na, we will fly out because I have… Sabagay. Late dinner.

Yes sir? May I help you?

SORSOGON PROVINCIAL ADMINISTRATOR ATTY. RENATO OLBES: Good evening, Mr. President. Just like the — what Governor Bichara said and Governor LRay, the province of Sorsogon is also asking for — appealing for housing units.

We already acquired sites for — as relocation sites and we need housing units na Mr. President.

PRESIDENT DUTERTE: Those sites are — will be developed by you or by the NHA who would come in to construct the houses?

ATTY. OBLES: We will develop, Mr. President, the site.

PRESIDENT DUTERTE: Ah okay. Sige ho. Everything all right? Joey? Wala na… You still have a critique to follow? No more?

REP. SALCEDA: Sir, ‘yung — ‘yung radar namin sa Virac. Huwag kayong magagalit, mas konti sana namatay kung nandoon ‘yun.

Doppler radar. Hindi namin ma-access. Kasi hindi ka makakaasa sa satellite. Kasi satellite, hindi [unclear] correspondent doon sa actual conditions. Pangalawa sir, ‘yung ano ho natin. Kasi lilitaw, lulubog ‘yang red, yellow, orange.

Kaya kung pwede po for the day, at least good for one day man lang ‘yung rainfall warning natin. Hindi ho pupwede ‘yun na nili-lift niyo after two to three hours.

So kung if you have at least a more long-term rainfall forecast, absent any major visible event like a TECF, an LPA, or a TD, or anything, then there is no basis for household to make a decision with respect to their safety.

The only thing that they can depend on is a science-based, DOST-issued, more — ‘di nga long-term, kahit one day man lang, sir, tumagal. Kasi nga ‘yun ang nangyari kasi lulubog, lilitaw ‘yung yellow, orange, green — yellow, orange, red ninyo eh.

Kaya anyway, so ‘yun lang ho, Mr. President. Kasi they have the Doppler radar. We cannot access it. And of course, lulubog-lilitaw po ‘yung rainfall warning ho natin.

DR. LANDRICO DALIDA, PAGASA: Thank you po Governor — Congressman Saldeda. Actually po, ang [unclear] na nagbibigay po ng raw data sa Legazpi at pwedeng i-access ng [unclear] ay nasa BAC na po at for ano kasi — for bidding po ‘yung [unclear] na connectivity na ‘yun po.

So nasa BAC na po ‘yun at inaano po namin, pinapangako po namin na within February po ay ma-ano na po ‘yan — ma-access na po natin ‘yan dahil wala po kaming magawa nasa bidding process po. Sa government po kami, hindi po namin talaga ma-ano eh. So but the radar is working.

OFFICIAL: So naging problema niyo, bidding?

DR. DALIDA: Ongoing po ‘yung bidding process sa [unclear] at pinapangako po namin na ipa-fast-track po namin dahil ang radar po ay gumagana. Ang fresh data lang po ng binibigay ng [unclear] ‘yun lang po nagkaroon ng ano.

At — pero ginawan po namin ng paraan. Tinu-turn namin into JPEG, binibigay po namin through internet at na-a-access naman po sa Legazpi and then naibabato po sa Manila po.

OFFICIAL: Thank you Mr. President for coming. It’s very inspiring to all Bicolanos.

PRESIDENT DUTERTE: Thank you for your questions also.

Yes, sir? May I help you.

CAMARINES NORTE GOVERNOR EDGARDO TALLADO: Governor Tallado po. Sir, sa Camarines Norte po, itong napakalakas pong bagyong ito, malaki rin po ang damage sa amin. More or less po 1.4 billion ang damage po sa amin.

Ang malaki po rito ‘yung mga — mga infrastructure. So ang Camarines Norte po, ito rin ay isa sa mga prone sa landslide kasi po ang namatay po namin sa landslide is dose. Dalawa po sa ano — sa baha.

So ganun din po ‘yung ibang mga governor, narinig ko po ‘yung problema rin ‘yung ano, ‘yung… May lote rin po kami na pwedeng paglagyan po ng mga — ng housing project.

So sana po matulungan po ang Camarines Norte para makapag — makapagtayo kami ng mga ano, ng mga housing projects sa mga — doon po sa dapat mga i-relocate.

Then isa pa po, meron kaming isang river doon napakalaking river na catch basin po din ito. ‘Pag umulan po sa Camarines Sur, doon po ang bagsak sa amin sa — ay sa ano po, sa Quezon Province po. ‘Pag umulan po doon, sa amin po ang bagsak.

So kailangan din po ito na mai-dredge kasi po ‘yung bahay ko din po ay apek — ano rin eh. Kami rin po ay — ‘yung bahay ko rin po ay na-ano rin eh, isa rin sa mga biktima. Kasi po dalawang sasakyan ko po, lumubog. Ganun po kalaki ang tubig sa Camarines Norte.

Thank you, sir.

PRESIDENT DUTERTE: Okay naman siguro. We have — we have the… We got the knowledge we want to hear from you. So — the wherewithals of where to come.

Basta ang pangako ko, once that Road Tax, money is freed, you will be the first recipient sa projects dito. [applause]

Iyong — kasi kayo ‘yung tinatamaan palagi eh. Ano bang kasalanan mo? You must be leading a sinful life. G***** it. Clavecilla. Let’s go home.

— END —

Source: PCOO-PND (Presidential News Desk)