Duterte mindful of situation when he declared state of calamity in Odette-hit areas —Nograles

President Rodrigo Duterte's declaration of the state of calamity four days after the wrath of typhoon Odette was made at the appropriate time, Malacanang said Wednesday.

Acting presidential spokesperson Karlo Nograles made the response when asked why the President took time to place Odette-hit areas of Regions 4B, 6, 7, 8, 10 and 13 under state of calamity.

The declaration of state of calamity will allow the use of calamity fund and automatically freezes the price of goods in the affected areas.

"The LGUs (local government units) can declare a state of calamity on their own, and they have Quick Response Fund (QRF) which they can utilize, and this has been in fact utilized in their response efforts after typhoon Odette," Nograles said.

"And after the complete assessment of the damage, it has been used as the basis for the declaration of state of calamity dated December 21. We are mindful of the situation and what was needed," Nograles added.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) earlier said that Odette is the fiercest tropical cyclone to hit the country this year.

The lack of drinking water, food, as well as power supply and destruction of residential areas have marred Odette-hit areas.—AOL, GMA News