The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) on Tuesday convened an inter-agency coordination meeting at Camp General Emilio Aguinaldo to strategize flood response measures and mitigate the potential impacts of dam overflows and landslides.
Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, Jr., who presided over the meeting, emphasized the urgency of a unified and efficient disaster preparedness plan.
“We need to plan for the weather; we have to have the coordinated mechanisms for easy deployment of these capabilities,” he told participants.
The meeting brought together senior officials from the OCD, including Officer-in-Charge Assistant Secretary Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV, Deputy Administrator for Operations Assistant Secretary Cesar Idio, and Deputy Administrator for Special Concerns Assistant Secretary Henry Robinson Jr.
Acting on the directive of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., the agencies reaffirmed their commitment to safeguarding lives and property amid the looming weather threats.
According to officials, the government maintains adequate Quick Response Funds (QRF) and has sufficient stockpiles of food packs and essential non-food items to support ongoing and anticipated relief efforts.
Plans are also underway to establish a new production hub in Mindanao aimed at enhancing the country’s logistics network and accelerating the distribution of emergency supplies.
In anticipation of potential mobility challenges, the OCD and the Department of National Defense readied the deployment of air assets—including the V-22 Osprey from U.S. forces and the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ (AFP) C-130 aircraft—for faster delivery of relief goods and personnel to affected areas.
Further coordination with fuel companies is ongoing to secure generators and fuel supplies for flood-hit communities, ensuring the continuity of emergency operations.
Agencies represented in the meeting included PAGASA (DOST), the Department of Energy (DOE), the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), the AFP, and other key players in the national disaster response framework.
