CLASSES in all levels in Metro Manila and government offices were suspended Thursday after heavy rains flooded the major streets, hours after tropical storm “Gorio” enhanced, weathermen said, the southwest monsoon.
“Gorio” (internationalo name “Noru”)—the seventh weather disturbance to lash the country that averages 21 per year—also affected provinces north and south of the capital, where more than 15 million of the 106-million nation’s population live.
Weathermen said the monsoon rain might trigger flash floods and landslides, expected over Metro Manila, the Ilocos, Central Luzon and Calabarzon regions as well as Mindoro and Palawan provinces.
The storm’s center was estimated at 595 kms east of Tuguegarao in Cagayan with maximum sustained winds of up to 90 kms per hour near the center and gustiness up to 115 kms per hour while moving northwest at 13 kms per hour.
Meanwhile, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, through the Office of Civil Defense, has ordered the dissemination of severe weather bulletins and general flood advisories to all regions and monitor the effects of the bad weather.
Residents in low-lying areas are alerted against possible landslides and flash floods.
NDRRMC chairman Ricardo Jalad also instructed all regional and local disaster response management councils to continue monitoring the bad weather and take the necessary precautionary actions.
“The public is advised to monitor weather updates especially rainfall warnings issued by Pagasa through TV, radio and the social media,” he said.
In the Senate, Senator Grace Poe said she wanted to find out if the NDRRMC and the telecommunication companies were complying with the law in sending free mobile alerts to the people.
“Several reports have reached us that mobile subscribers have not received any alert about the storm since yesterday [Wednesday],” said Poe, chairman of the senate committee on public services.
She stressed that disasters need not be of epic proportions before the NDRRMC and the telcos make their move and alert the people.
“The law was primarily crafted as a preventive measure, so that the public can prepare and to avoid casualties,” said Poe, adding that Republic Act 10639 or the Free Mobile Disaster Alerts Act mandated telcos in the country to send free mobile alerts to subscribers before disasters like typhoons happened.
The information for mobile alerts is supposed to come from government agencies such as the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology and state weather bureau Pagasa. These will then be monitored by the NDRRMC.
The NDRRMC, with its equipment and experts, should be able to determine the situation on the ground. At first instance, the NDRRMC should be able to draft a clear alert that the telcos would blast to their subscribers.
“These alerts should be taken seriously. Many rely on them to determine their course of action during disasters. Disaster alerts can save lives,” also said Poe.
Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said if flood and storm text alerts had been few and infrequent, the circuitous way that proposed messages were “processed and approved before they are sent out should be blamed.”
Recto said the process could be accelerated if the NDRRMC was taken out of the equation and agencies such Pagasa and Phivolcs were allowed to communicate directly with telcos.
“Under present rules, only the NDRRMC is the authorized generator of alerts,” Recto explained.
At present, he said Pagasa had to send a warning to NDRRMC, to its Operations Center, then the proposed emergency warning would be sent to the NDRRMC executive director for approval, and only if he had approved it could the NDRRMC send it to telcos for text blasting.
“This is a cumbersome process. Why should there be middle man in a process that should be characterized by speed?” Recto said.
“Why not just allow Pagasa, in the case of typhoons, or Phivolcs, if it concerns earthquakes, to communicate directly with telcos? Why must the message reouted through NDRRMC? Why not just hotline between Pagasa and Smart or Globe?” Recto said.
“If a tsunami is racing toward a province at the speed of a jet plane, why does the message have to go through Camp Aguinaldo? That should be delegated to the responsible agency. When lives are at stake, warnings should be fast and timely,” Recto said.
Besides, Recto said, NDRRMC has no “value-added input” to an alert “based on science and crafted by scientists.”
Recto said the law mandating emergency alerts and warning messages in times of disasters, Republic Act 10639, does not identify or empower NDRRMC “as the final clearing house.”
Recto said the MMDA should also be allowed to set up a hotline with telcos and be named as one of the agencies which could send emergency alerts.
RA 10639 states that in the event of an impending tropical storm, typhoon, tsunami, or other calamities, mobile phone service providers are mandated to send out alerts at regular intervals.
The alerts shall be at no cost, whether direct or indirect, to the consumers; and shall be included as part of the service providers’ auxiliary service, the law states.
Under the law’s IRR, sources of information aside from Pagasa and Phivolcs are the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute,Mines and GeoSciences Bureau, Bureau of Fire Protection, Philippine National Police, Armed Forces of the Philippines, and the Department of Health.
Suspension of classes and work in government offices – except those doing emergency work like hospitals–was ordered by Malacañang.
Local government officials also declared no classes in all levels in both public and private schools in Marilao, Meycauayan, Pulilan and San Miguel in Bulacan; San Pedro in Laguna; Angono, Antipolo, Binangonan, Cainta, San Mateo and Taytay in Rizal; and in the entire provinces of Bataan, Cavite, Pampanga and Zambales.
Several private schools and state universities also suspended classes.
Among them were Angelicum College, Arellano University, Centro Escolar University, Mapua University (Makati), Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Valenzuela, Valenzuela City Polytechnic College, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Sacred Heart Academy Pasig and St. Paul College (Pasig, Makati branches).
The MMDA Flood Control Information Center reported that gutter-deep floods caused the slow movement of traffic along Magsaysay Boulevard, Quirino Avenue at the intersections of Roxas Boulevard and Taft Avenue in Manila; Andres Bonifacio Avenue and Circumferential Road – 3 (C-3 Road), and along 11th Avenue in Quezon City.
There were also roads not passable for motorists in R. Papa – Rizal Avenue in Caloocan City, P. Burgos Street and east bound of Victorino Street in Manila, and A. Bonifacio Street beside St. Joseph Church, also in Manila.
At the height of heavy downpour between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. Thursday, the MMDA deployed personnel from its anti-flood control and clearing operations groups to clear up clogged drainage and inlets in flood-prone streets in the metropolis.
Among those areas were España Boulevard, Quintos Street, Antipolo Street, Tayuman, Lacson and Abad Santos in Manila; C-5 Road corner Bayani Road, Mother Ignacia Street, EDSA-Balintawak near Bato Bato Creek, Commonwealth Avenue near Bitoon, and Araneta Avenue near Talayan Creek in Quezon City, and at the intersection of Gov. Pascual and M. H. Del Pilar in Malabon City.
“Remember those times when our enforcers were criticized that they were nowhere to be found when it rained? Culture has changed and more of our enforcers are braving the rain,” said Edison Nebrija, MMDA traffic supervising officer for operations.
The MMDA also suspended the operations of Pasig Ferry because of the bad weather condition.
“Due to heavy rains, visibility and river current is unpredictable. As such, the operations of the Pasig River Ferry System is suspended today until further notice, for the safety of passengers and boat crew,” the agency stated in its advisory.
Motorists and commuters enroute from Laguna and Batangas to Manila also experienced heavy traffic along the South Luzon Expressway and along the northbound lane of Skyway in Taguig City for almost two hours.