MANILA -- The government has started preemptive evacuation of residents living in Northern Luzon areas that would be affected by Super Typhoon 'Betty', officials said on Saturday. Mawar has now been named ‘Betty’ locally as it has already entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR).

Director Edgar Allan Tabell of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said residents in areas that are expected to bear the brunt of the supertyphoon, particularly the towns of Sta. Ana and Gonzaga in Cagayan, have started to evacuate to safer grounds.

“Sa ngayon, itong araw na ito inaasahan natin sa Cagayan, especially iyong lugar ng Sta. Ana at Gonzaga, iyong mga lugar na iyon at probably today mag-start na silang i-evacuate iyong mga tao doon,” Tabell said in a news forum in Quezon City.

“Base sa forecast ng PAGASA…sa Monday or Tuesday pa lang magkakaroon ng malalakas na…pag-ulan doon sa area na iyon of extreme northern Luzon. Pero alam natin iyong karanasan ng ating mga kababayan sa northern Luzon particularly Cagayan, Isabela, hindi na ito bago sa kanila, so alam na nila iyong ginagawa,” the DILG official said, noting that many of the municipalities and provinces in Northern Luzon have started preemptive evacuation of residents.

Aside from the areas in Northern Luzon, residents in Negros Occidental, Palawan and Pampanga have also started preemptive evacuation since Friday, according to Diego Mariano, Information Officer of the Office of Civil Defense-National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (OCD-NDRRMC).

“To add to that, mayroon ng nag-e-evacuate sa ngayon, Negros Occidental at Palawan and ilan sa Pampanga. So, ito ay dulot naman ng malakas na pag-ulan dahil sa hanging habagat naman, so not directly ng bagyong Betty. So iyon nga mayroon na nga pong nagsisimulang mag-preemptive evacuation,” Mariano noted.

The DILG official pointed out that people in other places should not be complacent and must listen to their local government officials for announcements or updates regarding the weather disturbance.

Tabell noted that like the forecast of PAGASA, the country is entering the rainy season and should take into account the effects of the southwest monsoon, which could be intensified by the supertyphoon.

“Huwag lang iyong super typhoon ang ating bantayan. Kung nasa Mindanao kayo o nasa Negros kayo o nasa Palawan kayo, napakalayo ninyo mula don sa supertyphoon Betty. Pero huwag kayong kumpiyansa, kasi hindi iyong bagyo mismo ang direktang makaka-apekto sa mga lugar ninyo, kung hindi ang mataas na posibilidad na magkakaroon ng malalakas na pag-ulan sa inyong lugar dahil sa habagat o iyong habagat na pinapalala o pinapalakas ng bagyong Betty,” the DILG exec said.

“Gusto po naming i-alert kayo na kung malayo man kayo sa bagyo, huwag kayong masyadong kumpiyansa. I-monitor ninyo palagi ang PAGASA at pakinggan ninyo palagi ang sasabihin ng inyong local government units kung nararapat ng mag-preemptive evacuation, sumunod kayo, huwag ninyong kuwestyunin,” Tabell added.

Meanwhile, Assistant Secretary Romel Lopez of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said the agency has allocated more than half a billion pesos worth of standby funds to provide aid to those who would be affected by the weather disturbance.

“Mayroon na po tayong higit kalahating bilyon, 598 million (pesos) na standby funds, bukod pa po diyan sa quick response fund natin na 525 million (pesos). Ito po ay readily available para ma-maximize, ma-utilize po natin in case kailanganin. Ang atin pong mga family food packs, nasa isang milyon na po halos iyong naka-preposition natin sa buong bansa,” Lopez said in the same news forum.

“Bukod pa po diyan, doon sa mga non-food items na nasa 819 million (pesos) naman iyong kabuuang nito. Ang heavy concentration po natin, kasi in-identify natin iyong mga lugar na maaring makatanggap ng higit 10-millimeter na rainfall bunsod nga po noong sama ng panahon,” the DSWD official said.

The DSWD has identified Regions 1, 3, 4B or MIMAROPA, Region 6, Region 7, Region 8 and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) as the most “susceptible” to massive floods and landslides.

“Dito po sa mga lugar na nabanggit po natin iyong population po na nakikita nating susceptible sa sama ng panahon, nasa 1.5 million. Ang katumbas po niyan, 8,000 households or families. So, iyan din po iyong requirements natin ng immediate assistance o family food packs,” Lopez noted.

“Ang naka-preposition po natin sa mga nabanggit natin na area na iyan ng family food packs ay nasa 294,000 na po. So, katumbas po niyan, tatlong wave po ng pamamahagi ng ating tulong. So, more than a week po iyong kaya nating naka-preposition na family food packs po sa kanila,” he added.

Aside from the prepositioned family food packs and non-food aid, Lopez said that the DSWD has earmarked around P2.1 billion in disaster risk funds.

“We can assure the public, that the DSWD is very much ready to augment unang-una po iyong ating local government unit na sila naman po iyong first responder, siyempre sa pangunguna po ng ating DILG. But then worse comes to worst at mahirapan po iyong ating mga LGU, iyong inyo naman pong DSWD, sa tulong po ng OCD ay handa pong umalalay,” Lopez said.

“Ang paalala lang din po natin sa ating mga kababayan, huwag na po nating hintayin iyong pilitan ika nga sa evacuation, kasi mas maigi po iyong preemptive evacuation,” he added. (PCO)