PRESIDENT Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said he is closely monitoring the situation in the province of Davao Occidental, which experienced a 6.8 magnitude earthquake on Friday, November 17, 2023.
In a press conference in San Francisco, California, Marcos said he would cut his trip short and go back to the Philippines “if there’s something that needs to be done that cannot be done by anybody but myself.”
“I’m happy to be able to say that the government agencies do not need directives from me anymore. They know what to do, nagre-report sila sa akin kung ano ba talagang nangyari and what are the initial reports (they report to me what is happening and what are the initial reports),” Marcos said.
“Alam na nila ang gagawin (they already know what to do). That’s my hope – we tried to organize the government in such a way that these are standard operating procedures already. You don’t have to question what do we do next, nakasulat na lahat ‘yan (it's all set in stone),” he added.
Marcos assured the affected population that the government is looking for ways to assist them.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said at least seven individuals perished due to the earthquake.
The agency was raised under blue alert status, which means that all available manpower, including the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine National Police, Philippine Coast Guard and Bureau of Fire Protection, are on standby to render duty to support response activities.
The disaster bureau said eight houses were totally wrecked by the earthquake in Davao and Soccsksargen while 44 were partially damaged.
It said 71 infrastructures in the said regions including school buildings, port facilities and local government offices also incurred damages.
The cost of damage is still being identified.
Office of the Civil Defense Administrator Ariel Nepomuceno said they are in close coordination with the local government unit disaster managers for the progress of operations in the affected areas.
Marcos said operations of all small power utility groups in Eastern and Western Mindanao are now back to normal, citing a report from the Department of Energy.
Meanwhile, the Department of the Interior and Local Government said it has deployed a total of 1,800 emergency personnel to assist victims and conduct damage assessment.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said it has prepositioned a P1.4 billion quick response fund for the provision of relief goods and assistance to the affected families, especially those whose houses were damaged. (VoxPop Philippines)