MALACAÑANG warded off criticisms that see the government falling short of what has to be done during disasters.
In a press briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque insisted that there were no shortcomings in the government’s response to typhoon Ulysses, which left at least 67 dead and submerged a northern region under the worst flooding in more than 40 years.
Roque said that the government “prepared” for typhoon Ulysses’ onslaught in Cagayan Valley. He however admits they did not expect the gravity of the amount of water that descended on the lowlands.
He went on to blame climate change, deforestation, illegal mining, a “chokepoint” in the Cagayan Rive as the contributing factors that resulted in the massive flooding in the region.
“Maraming pong factor d’yan. We anticipated, but as the governor himself said, they did not actually expect this much water discharge into Cagayan Valley,” Roque told reporters.
“We will strive to do better, pero sa tingin ko po wala namang pagkukulang,” he added.
He also hinted that the executive branch is in the process of drafting an executive order to formalize the creation of a task force to provide a “whole of government” approach to disasters and recovery efforts.
Asked how the task force would be different from the inter-agency National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), Roque said Medialdea could decide on his own, even without meeting other officials, especially if it meant “saving lives.”