Duterte on top of calamity situation despite ASEAN summit —Palace

President Rodrigo Duterte remains on top in overseeing the government’s calamity response efforts following the massive flooding in Isabela and Cagayan after the onslaught of Typhoon Ulysses, his spokesperson Secretary Harry Roque said Saturday.

President Duterte is closely monitoring the situation while he is attending a high-level meeting with various heads-of-state of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its dialogue partners, Roque pointed out.

“Ang problema nga ay may nagaganap na ASEAN pero ngayon nakatutok siya sa kaganapan sa Region II,” Roque said during the Laging Handa briefing.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. was the one who read Duterte’s prepared speech during this morning’s ASEAN-US Summit “dahil nga po sinu-supervise niya itong effort na magdala ng tulong at search and rescue sa Region II gamit ang ating air assets,” according the Palace official.

“Ang problema nga lang po talaga ay may ASEAN pero alam ko po siguro gagawan ng paraan ng Presidente para makaikot siya sa mga lugar na yan abangan lang po natin,” he added.

“Mahirap ang kanyang movement dahil hindi lang po ASEAN, panahon rin po ng COVID.”

Nevertheless, Roque said Duterte is in constant communication with relevant officials amid the crisis situation.

“The president is on top the situation, he is in constant communication with [Defense] Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and Undersecretary [Ricardo] Jalad of the NDRRMC [National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council] at ganyan din ang kanyang koordinasyon sa DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development) at sa DOH (Department of Health),” he said.

The provinces of Cagayan and Isabela are experiencing massive flooding, which is blamed on the release of water from Magat Dam. —LBG, GMA News