QUEZON CITY -- Following President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s directive, DILG Secretary Benjamin “Benhur” Abalos, Jr. said the Department is ready to provide assistance to help the flood-hit Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) in accessing calamity funds to help affected communities.

“Bagamat ang BARMM ay autonomous at may sariling sistema ng pamamahala, handa po ang DILG na alalayan ang Rehiyon sa panahon ng kanilang pangangailangan. Tayong lahat ay mga Pilipino na nakatira sa iisang bansa kaya may pananagutan tayo sa isa’t isa at tungkulin natin na magtulungan,” he said.

On Saturday afternoon, the President directed national government agencies, including the DILG, to extend a helping hand to BARMM after it suffered a high fatality count due to floods brought by Paeng.

Based on the latest report, 40 people died, 31 were injured, while 15 others are missing after Paeng unleashed its fury on the region. Close to 58% of the residents in the province were also affected which is equivalent to 83,326 families or 416,630 affected individuals.

The DILG Secretary said the DILG is also closely working with BARMM regarding the status of the search, rescue, and retrieval operations and the management of the dead and the missing.

“Napakasaklap na may mga nasawi sa gitna ng bagyong ito at lubos kaming nakikiramay sa mga namatayan sa BARMM. Patuloy ang aming pakikipag-ugnayan upang maalalayan sila sa panahong ito,” he said.

Over 158K individuals evacuated

In his briefing with the President, Abalos shared that a total of 158,040 individuals and 41,378 families have been pre-emptively evacuated ahead of Typhoon Paeng’s landfall.

Region 5 has the most number of evacuated individuals (101,116), followed by Region 6 (34,342), Region 8 (12,123), Region 4B (6,036), Region 4A (2,780), Region 12 (898), Region 7 (718), and Region 10 (27). Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) have already received initial relief provisions (food and non-food items) from the concerned LGUs.

Abalos also acknowledged and thanked the efforts of the LGUs in preparing for the impact of Typhoon Paeng. “Sa ngalan ng DILG, I would like to thank the people on the ground: our governors, our mayors, our barangay captains, dun po sa ginawa nilang preparasyon para dito," Abalos said.

"Pinapakita lamang ng mga paghahandang ito ang preparedness ng ating mga local officials; na ang ating mga gobernador, mga alkalde ay talagang kumikilos upang mapangalagaan ang kanilang komunidad,” he said.

He also lauded the Philippine National Police and the Bureau of Fire Protection for being on alert 24/7 and helping in the disaster response efforts. (DILG)