President Marcos suspended classes and government work across the capital for a second day today (Tuesday) as Typhoon “Enteng,” which hit parts of Luzon and Metro Manila yesterday, and the enhanced southwest monsoon or “habagat” are expected to dump more rains within the next three days.
“We’re closely monitoring the weather and the flooding, but the main concern right now is the strong winds,” President Marcos said, noting that the storm is expected to strengthen as it crosses Cagayan province and moves north.
Memorandum Circular No. 63, which was signed by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, confirmed today’s class and government work suspension in Metro Manila and Calabarzon.
“The suspension of work for private companies and offices is left to the discretion of their respective heads,” the memorandum read.
The President likewise reminded LGUs they can decide on school and work suspensions, depending on their local conditions as he urged concerned agencies to post bulletins and advisories much earlier.
“We’ll try to release the bulletin as early as possible regarding work and school. My instruction to them is to inform us, if possible, before we go to bed, so people can know if there’s work or school and adjust accordingly,” Mr. Marcos said.
Mr. Marcos also called on national agencies, local government units, and the public to remain vigilant.
As this developed, Social Welfare Assistant Secretary for Disaster Response Management Group Irene Dumlao said the agency is continuously producing family food packs to ensure immediate replenishment and availability of food and non-food items for the affected residents.
The DSWD initially provided P410,000 worth of aid for their ongoing relief operations.
“Other DSWD FOs (field offices) are on standby for possible augmentation. We ensure that all our offices are ready to provide assistance as the need arises,” Dumlao said.
At present, there are more than 1.74 million boxes of family food packs and P1.21 billion worth of non-food items available in the DSWD’s National Resource Operations Center (NROC) in Pasay City, the Visayas Disaster Resource Center (VDRC) in Cebu City, and several FOs.
In Bicol, the local Office of Civil Defense said the storm forced some 1,379 families to leave their homes as the typhoon swept through the region over the weekend.
The Philippine Coast Guard-Bicol also reported at least 978 passengers were stranded in 15 ports across the region, while 275 rolling cargoes, 31 buses, and 15 sea vessels have taken shelter at the ports.
The Philippine Army deployed some 400 soldiers to the Bicol region to reinforce its personnel for disaster response operations amid the onslaught of the tropical storm.
The Army’s 9th Infantry “Spear” Division deployed its humanitarian assistance and disaster response (HADR) teams, along with 77 vehicles and one rubber boat.
Philippine Army spokesperson Colonel Louie Dema-ala told Manila Standard the troops were composed of 42 teams with 399 personnel.
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline “Palace suspends gov’t work, classes in Metro Manila, Calabarzon for September 3.”
