INTERIOR and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla has pledged to improve the timeliness of class and government work suspension announcements in response to incoming typhoons, aiming to notify the public a full day in advance.
Remulla shared his plan after being authorized by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to manage these suspension announcements amid potential weather disruptions.
“When I was governor of Cavite, I was always a day ahead, monitoring everything closely. That’s what we’ll do now—stay one step ahead of the situation,” Remulla said during a press briefing at Malacañang.
Remulla detailed the process behind these proactive decisions, explaining, “We gather all available data and create a predictive model. It’s no longer just about tracking the path and wind speeds of a storm; we also consider the rain forecast.”
Reflecting on lessons from previous storms, particularly Severe Tropical Storm Kristine, Remulla emphasized the critical role of predicting rainfall volume.
“During Kristine, they didn’t foresee that within 36 hours, 960 millimeters of rain would fall over Sorsogon—that’s a record. To compare, Typhoon Ondoy had around 480 millimeters,” he noted.
In this enhanced approach, the weather bureau will issue frequent updates, providing local governments and agencies a clear picture of potential storm impacts. Starting four days before a typhoon enters the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR), the Office of Civil Defense, regional offices, and local governments will be informed of possible scenarios, allowing them to prepare.
“Our timeline now is four days out, because we can see the storm on the weather map that early,” Remulla explained. “Once a storm is 2,000 kilometers from the PAR, we begin tracking it and preparing preemptive measures.”
Remulla pointed out that this proactive system has proven effective, referencing a recent instance in Northern Luzon, where zero casualties were recorded despite two successive major storms.