Palawan braces for ‘Ompong’

• Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1047878
• Friday, September 14, 2018

By Celeste Anna Formoso (PNA)

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan -- The provincial government of Palawan said Thursday it has readied food and other relief goods to respond to the needs of its residents who may be affected by Typhoon Ompong.

Palawan provincial information officer Gil Acosta Jr. said they distributed food supplies and relief goods to the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (MDRRMO) as early as last week.

Acosta noted they do not want a repeat of what happened in December 2017, when severe Tropical Storm Vinta hit the province and they had difficulty transporting supplies and goods to Mangsee Island in Balabac town, southern Palawan.

He said it is still better for the province “to always be prepared than sorry”, as “Ompong” is seen moving toward central and northern Luzon.

“Ang pinaka epekto sa atin nitong bagyo ay yong pag-intensify ng hanging habagat dito sa bandang western ng ating lalawigan (The effect of the typhoon is the intensification of the southwest monsoon in the western part of the province),” he said.

Acosta also assured that rescuers and front-liners are prepared for “Ompong”, particularly in the towns along the west coast of Palawan.

“Ang tinitignan natin ngayon at binabantayan No. 1 is yung storm surge, second is yung landslide, at saka yung malakas na pag-ulan (What we are monitoring right now, first is the storm surge, second is landslide, and then strong and heavy rains),” he said.

Acosta said they have increased their monitoring in all municipalities facing west of the province, such as Rizal, Bataraza, Brooke’s Point, San Vicente, Taytay, and El Nido.

“Ompong” is now moving west northwest at a speed of 25 km. per hour (kph).

As of this posting, the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office has not recommended any area for preemptive evacuation, he said.

Meanwhile, the DRRMO of Puerto Princesa City has activated “Oplan Listo”, the city government’s incident monitoring system, in line with the directive of Mayor Lucilo Bayron and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

"Ito ang sinusunod natin na protocol pag-may bagyo, ang Oplan Listo (This the protocol we follow when there are typhoons, the Oplan Listo),” CDRRMO chief Earl Timbancaya said.

Chaired by Bayron, the CDRRMC is composed of city key officials; offices like health, planning, agriculture, environment, social welfare and engineering; national agencies like the Philippine Red Cross, Philippine National Police, Armed Forces of the Philippines, DILG, and others, as well as civic groups and first responders.