The Duterte administration is exerting efforts in preparing and providing speedy delivery of aids and distribution of employment shelter assistance to victims of calamities, a top Malacañang official said.

Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella made this statement to Malacañang reporters in a press briefing on Tuesday, Nov. 8 as the country commemorates the third anniversary of the Super typhoon Yolanda.

“We celebrate the triumph of the human spirit, the human community, the Filipino people and the survivors and all those who stood with us, all the nations who helped us get back on our feet, the agencies, the organizations, and all who pitched in, “ he said.


Abella described how the country and communities devastated by typhoon Yolanda are living examples of what can be achieved when everyone work together. Concerned agencies, he said, are sending guidelines to facilitate speedy delivery of various forms of assistance to victims of calamities.

“Yolanda brought misery and grief to our people, but it has likewise provided us with many lessons in our pre- and post-disaster response. On the part of the government, this ordeal taught us to exercise tapang at malasakit,” he said.


Politics and disasters, Abella noted, is always a bad mix. “So we will have none of that in this administration,” he added. He called on the nation to continue to stand and work together and carry on to show genuine care and compassionate service for Filipinos.


In the same briefing, Abella revealed that President Rodrigo Duterte will uphold the Paris agreement which seeks to cap the rise of global temperature resulting from climate change.

Abella explained that the President vowed to sign the agreement because it was a unanimous vote for his Cabinet. He mentioned the President’s warning that although the agreement is a binding treaty, it does not have sanctions to hold countries accountable.


He said bigger and industrialized nations could violate it and the same time could not be forced to pay for damages. He also pointed out that the climate fund will not be used to pay for damage incurred by climate-vulnerable countries. Instead, it will be allotted for projects.


As to the signing of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission, the President on Monday, Nov. 7, has signed an Executive Order creating an expanded Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) in an attempt to make the peace process in Mindanao more inclusive, Abella said.

The new BTC will have 21 members from the previous 15 members tasked to draft the enabling law in establishing a Bangsamoro government in Mindanao, Abella pointed out.


Under the BTC, eleven of the members will come from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), including the chairman of the BTC. Ten of its members will be nominated by the government. Three of the government’s nominees will be from the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).



The BTC is expected to submit the draft law to Congress in the middle of the next year, Abella said. PND