Marcos mourns Kristine victims, says gov't response never enough

The government’s response to Severe Tropical Storm Kristine is not enough, President Marcos admitted yesterday, as he directed concerned agencies to enhance flood and landslide preparedness measures and disaster early warning systems.

- ALEXIS ROMERO

Speaking to reporters after distributing aid to stormaffected residents in Laurel, Batangas, Marcos said a single fatality caused by a disaster is already a “terrible tragedy.”

“I’ll tell you the truth, it’s never enough. It’s never enough,” the President said.

“I wish we could do more. We are doing everything that we can but… You know when you lose a life, you lose a life. What can you do about that? It’s (a) terrible tragedy,” he added.

A total 146 people have died and 130 others injured from the combined effects of Kristine and Super Typhoon Leon as of yesterday morning, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).

Twenty people remain missing while 2.2 million families or 8.63 million people have been affected by the cyclones, the NDRRMC reported.

In a speech, Marcos assured the public of enhanced government response and stronger resolve to rehabilitate areas severely affected by typhoons in the future.

“I reiterate that the agencies of the government should enhance their preparedness against floods and landslides. We directed the DOST (Department of Science and Technology) to improve their warning system,” Marcos said.

The President also instructed agencies to make the gradual release of dam water ahead of typhoons a standard operating procedure to avoid huge floods.

Agencies like the public works department and the environment department were also directed to revise the flood control master plan so the country’s infrastructure can withstand floods that were supposed to occur every one hundred years but have now become more frequent.