President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. on Monday reportedly joked about being in Japan after a visit in Cavite, one of the provinces flooded by Typhoon Paeng over the weekend.
Marcos made the joke a day after the Palace denied claims that the President was in Japan while Paeng ((international name: Nalgae) brought heavy rains and caused flooding in several areas on Saturday, GMA News reported.
“Welcome to Hokkaido [Japan]!,” Mr. Marcos reportedly said in jest after a news conference in Cavite.
On Sunday, an eatery in Laoag, Ilocos Norte shared photos on social media of the President having lunch there. The Palace, however, did not make an official announcement about the said activity.
In the same news conference, Mr. Marcos said there was no need to declare a nationwide state of calamity in the aftermath of the onslaught caused by Paeng, a decision contrary to the recommendation of the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council to have a 1-year nationwide state of calamity declared.
A declaration of nationwide state of calamity would allow local government units to tap the calamity fund to aid communities affected by Paeng and impose a price freeze on basic commodities.
“I don’t think it’s necessary. I came to that conclusion in consultation with DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources),” the President said, adding that the damage were “very highly localized.”
Mr. Marcos also said on Monday that preemptive evacuations and long-term solutions to preventing flash floods should be in place to prevent casualties caused by storms.