GMA orders all-out help for flood victims

President Arroyo has ordered the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to deploy all available assets of the government to assist those affected by the flooding brought about by typhoon “Ondoy.”

She also appealed to residents of Metro Manila and the provinces affected by the storm to remain calm and follow the instructions of their respective local and civil defense authorities and to be ready to help others “as we manage our way out of this latest natural calamity.”

“Your government is mobilizing all its resources to rescue people from the floodwaters, attend to the food and medical needs of the displaced, maintain public utilities and other essential services and maintain public order,” she said in a statement.

The President called on the people to be ready to provide assistance to those affected by the storm. Mrs. Arroyo urged those who can to donate food, clothes, blankets, medicine and other items that would be needed by those affected by the calamity.

“As ever, let us pull together and look out for each other in the finest Filipino tradition of caring and sharing,” she said.

Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said the President was continuously monitoring the situation at Malacañang where she was given regular updates by the authorities.

The flooding was so bad in Metro Manila that even the President was forced to stay at the Palace.

Remonde said the President called for an emergency meeting of the NDCC yesterday and was actually on her way to Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City but was forced to turn back because of the roads were impassable.

He said Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, as head of the NDCC, and MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando were ordered to deploy all of their personnel to the affected areas to provide all the necessary assistance.

The President asked Teodoro to preside over yesterday’s meeting at the NDCC but she was constantly on the phone with him to issue her directives.

Remonde said the President would call another meeting of the NDCC tomorrow.

But just before 5 p.m. yesterday, the President boarded an Army truck and headed for Camp Aguinaldo. The truck, however, was stuck in traffic and the President ended up taking the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) on EDSA to get to Camp Aguinaldo.

Earlier in the day, the President was able to leave the Palace yesterday morning for the launching of the switch to compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) project in Tondo, Manila.

Around 2,000 poor households in Tondo were given free energy-saving CFLs in exchange for the incandescent bulbs they were presently using.

It was revealed that 13 million CFLs would be distributed nationwide in the coming months.

The President stayed in Tondo for around 30 minutes before heading back to the Palace.

The Philippine Star