PCOO-NIB Building, Malacañang Compound, Malacañang, Manila Telephone Number: 733-3660 Telefax: 733-1631 TRANSCRIPTION PRESS BRIEFING OF COMMUNICATIONS SECRETARY HERMINIO “SONNY” COLOMA and SECRETARY TO THE CABINET JOSE RENE ALMENDRAS November 13, 2013 (12:48 NN – 2:29 PM) SEC. COLOMA: Magandang tanghali po sa inyong lahat. Taos-pusong nagpapasalamat ang ating pamahalaan sa pandaigdigang komunidad sa patuloy na pagdaloy ng mga donasyon at suporta ng mga pamahalaan at pribadong organisasyon. Tuluy-tuloy at walang-humpay ang pagkilos ng lahat ng puwersa at ahensiya ng pamahalaan sa lahat ng larangan upang tumugon sa pangangailangan ng ating mga kababayan. Ang mga prayoridad ng ating pamahalaan ay ang mga sumusunod: Una, ang agarang paghatid ng pagkain, tubig, gamot at tulong-medikal; pangalawa, pagbibigay nang pansamantalang panuluyan o temporary shelter para sa mga nawalan ng tahanan; pangatlo, pagbabalik ng kuryente at linya ng komunikasyon; pang-apat, panunumbalik ng transportasyong panlupa, pandagat at panghimpapawid; at panglima, pagbabalik ng mga pangunahing serbisyo-publiko na pinagtutulungan ng pambansa at lokal na pamahalaan doon sa mga lugar ng kalamidad na kung saan ang mga empleyado ng gobyerno ay biktima rin ng kalamidad. Nauunawaan natin ang pag-aalala sa kalagayan ng mga nasalanta ng kalamidad na hanggang ngayon ay hindi pa natutunton ang kanilang mga kamag-anak. Bente kwatro oras po ang operasyon ng pambansang network, ng PTV-4, Telebisyon ng Bayan at Radyo ng Bayan 738 khz para tanggapin ang mga panawagan ng mga mamamayan sa hindi pa makontak na mga kamag-anak, at upang tumugon sa mga mahahalagang pangangailangan. Maaari rin pong gamitin ang mga Facebook, Twitter at iba pang social media accounts ng PTV-4, Gov@work, at Philippine Information Agency or PIA. Nagtayo na rin ang pamahalaan ng mga assistance desks sa NDRRMC sa Camp Aguinaldo at sa lugar mismo ng kalamidad – sa Tacloban at Ormoc, Leyte; Borongan, Eastern Samar at Catarman, Northern Samar. Ito ay pinapangasiwaan ng NDRRMC sa pakikipagtulungan ng PIA at Philippine National Red Cross. May mga roving teams ang PIA at Red Cross sa mga lgar na ito upang mangalap ng impormasyon mula sa mga nakaligtas, tulad ng pangalan at larawan ng mga hinahanap upang maihatid sa kani-kanilang mga kamag-anak sa labas ng lugar. Patuloy pong tumatanggap ng tulong ang pamahalaan mula sa mga civic organizations at iba pang private organizations para sa agarang paghahatid ng tulong na ito sa mga lugar ng kalamidad. Makipag-ugnayan po sa NDRRMC Camp Aguinaldo, at sa DSWD sa kanilang national relief operations center sa Pasay City. As of the last update from NDRRMC, the total number of casualties has reached 1,833, while 2,623 have been reported injured. Cost of damage is estimated at P761.4 million. On this 5th day, since the onslaught of the Super Typhoon Yolanda, the government is conducting intensified operations to address the urgent needs of our people in the calamity areas. Government is addressing the following priorities: first, immediate delivery of food, water, medicines and medical assistance; second, provision of temporary shelters for displaced residents; third, restoration of power and communication services; fourth, restoration of land, sea and air transportation services; and fifth, restoration to normalcy of essential government services in hardest hit calamity areas where government employees and their families were also displaced. Government’s initial efforts were hampered by the massive scale of destruction brought about by what is now being regarded as the strongest cyclone in recorded history. Communication and power lines were cut-off. Tacloban airport was destroyed. Access to seaports in calamity areas was also made difficult by the debris left by the storm surge. Roads and bridges were also destroyed. Power and communication services have been restored in many areas. C130 planes are now doing sunrise to sunset operations. The Philippine Navy and the Philippine Coast Guard have deployed all available naval assets, and they’re tapping civilian auxiliary units to provide additional assistance. To facilitate delivery of aid, NDRRMC has established a one-stop shop which will integrate the flow of assistance to the calamity areas from government and private organizations. Just a brief announcement: the regular meeting of the NEDA has been deferred for next week, in as much as the Cabinet members are attending to the urgency of the ongoing relief and rehabilitation efforts. Secretary Almendras will now give further details on government’s relief efforts. And we will address your questions afterwards. Thank you. SEC. ALMENDRAS: Thank you very much, Sonny. Good afternoon. I’m here to give you a quick briefing on some of the things that have been discussed yesterday. The President called a quick—not as quick. It was actually quite a long Cabinet meeting with some members that are directly involved in the process. This will come out to be one of the largest logistic and relief that the Philippine government has ever done in history. And the President wanted to make sure that we have aligned everything. Let me start by explaining the fact that we need to coordinate how we are going work with the international community. With the past two or three days, quite a number of heads of state have been calling the President and have talked to him, offering the aid that they want to do and asking how and what best way they can help. So, one of the things we wanna make sure is that whatever offer help, iyong tulong po na gusto nilang ibigay sa atin ay iyong talagang makakatulong. Ipaliwanag ko lang po iyong proseso para maintindihan ng mga kababayan natin and also to the rest of the international community. What we have agreed on is, all international aid coordination must start and must be coursed through DFA. Yesterday po, I issued an information bulletin on the telephone numbers and the names of the people in DFA that should be contacted by any of the other international organizations or governments or individuals who want to donate or help in the fund. Now, the process will require that once DFA gets the information, DFA will have to determine kung ano po iyong klaseng tulong na ibibigay nila. Marami po kasing klase iyon. For example, the German government sent us a team which is a self-contained team that can do search, rescue, health and medical services. As we speak, that team is now landing in Guiuan, in Samar. So, we need to determine what is the configuration or the capacity po noong teams na ipapadala nila para malaman natin kung saan natin dapat dalhin kasi naiintindihan din natin kung nasaan iyong pangangailangan. So, ang napagkasunduan po is from DFA, simultaneously, the minute they get the information, they will transmit to the appropriate agencies. For example, if it has to do with medical aid, either hospitals, medicines or whatever related to medical, it will be simultaneously refer to both the Department of Health and to NRDMMC – NDRRMC being the central point. The Department of Health will automatically determine the content of the offer, and will interact at the NDRRMC to determine where is the appropriate sites. Saan po natin dadalhin itong particular na resources na ito. Once that decision is made, then DFA will coordinate with the donor government or agency to iron out all the details. Now, ipaliwanag lang po namin kung bakit nagkakaiba iyong designation at iyong arrival. Hindi po ba noong Sabado, ipinaliwanag natin na meron po tayong dalawang forward operating centers – isa sa Tacloban; isa sa Roxas. Ipinaliwanag rin natin na meron tayong dalawang logistics centers – which is Cebu and Iloilo – purposely, para suportahan iyong operation center. Our best example po is the … recently or yesterday, we had two C-130s from Taiwan. As a matter of fact, there’s another two C-130s that are arriving at about 12:30 today. The decision on where to land is usually determined by, number one, the plane that they will be using. If the plane is very big and cannot be accommodated in Tacloban, obviously it will have to go to Cebu. Now, the other determination po is the goods that these planes carry. If the good donation is already pre-packed and ready for distribution, and it is in the correct size of the airplane po, we will entertain that it be delivered directly to Tacloban. But if the goods are not ready for distribution, therefore it needs to be repacked or re-handled or any kind of processing pa po, we do not and will not encourage that it be brought to Tacloban. Instead, we’ll bring it to Cebu because doon po sa Cebu, we will have the resources to do the repacking and whatever else is needed. And after it is handled, that’s the time we will bring it to Tacloban or to Ormoc or to whatever destination; it will be determined that it should go through. So, if a donation of goods, simultaneously, the DFA will coordinate directly with the DSWD to determine kung ano itong mga content na pinamimigay nila at saan dapat dadalhin; and also with the NDRRMC. And the decision on where to bring these goods will happen, again, at the NDRRMC. This explains the process po. Now, to help alleviate the challenges of bringing goods and people into the Philippines, we also decided na as much as possible, all incoming international flights will not be encouraged into the Metro Manila Airports. Bakit po? ‘Di ba congested na rin po iyong Ninoy Aquino International Airport, so ayaw nating dagdagan iyong problema na iyon especially because these are very large planes. I think, we had two 747s that landed in Cebu yesterday. I think, we have a Starlifter coming in either tonight or tomorrow morning from Israel. So, kung papayagan natin na mag-landing ito sa Manila, lalo lang ho maku-congest. So, what we’ve decided on is, we are going to set up a special processing center in Cebu. So, the Bureau of Immigration will have a team there to process all the immigration requirements. For example, there is an offer from the Israeli government to send a 200 man contingent, so we need to make sure that we process all those people as fast as we can. Nakakahiya naman po paghihintayin pa natin sila. In Cebu, will have a team from the Bureau of Immigration. I talked to Commissioner Yuson already about that. Now, if these people are going to be bringing medicines, then we also need make sure that the Food and Drug Administration is appropriately represented. Hindi naman po natin i-inspeksyunin. It’s really just for record keeping and processing. So, that will happen very quickly. And if they are coming in with doctors and with nurses or other professionals, again, we will have to process them through the Philippine Professional Regulations Commission. So, para ho hindi na sila magtagal pa, meron po tayong sine-set up na one-stop shop doon sa Cebu para ma-process lahat, para mapabilis po iyong, number one, pasok ng goods nila; number two, pasok ng equipment and ng mga tao nila. So, hopefully, that answers the question on how we will coordinate and what we are doing to process the international donations. Of course, there will be donations in cash. We issued, again, an information, the account numbers and the recommended interaction with DSWD and the consular offices po. At this point, I will stop muna to answer questions on international relief, then we’ll talk about the local relief operations that we will do. Do you have any questions regarding international relief po? Q: Sir, obviously a lot of help is coming from the international community. But what do you say to the typhoon victims who are still waiting for help for five days now? SEC. ALMENDRAS: I’ll gonna discuss that on the other portion, but let’s discuss what you have. In the first few days, the challenge was access. Subsequently, we’ve opened roads. May I just continue to discuss the local logistics operations so that you can understand what happened, okay. Sec. Dinky mentioned about 50—I think, almost 65,000 food packs have already been distributed, di ba. And we know na there are people na sinasabing hindi pa nila natatanggap. Iyong proseso po n’un is, we’ve agreed here that we have a forward team in Tacloban, for example. So, it has been decided that the main flow of goods will be Tacloban, Ormoc and Guiuan, okay. Bakit? Sinasabi na … Guiuan kasi has an airport. The Americans built a runway and an airport there, I think, World War II pa yata iyon. So, we found that the airport is a very god resource, so that we can move goods directly to the Samar area. So, since yesterday or the day before yesterday, we have had direct flights of C-130s carrying relief goods to Guiuan. Then, there will be goods that go to Tacloban. Now, there will be very few flights from Manila to Ormoc because we can support the Ormoc center from Cebu. Now, what’s happening today? This morning at around 9:00 o’clock, I believe Sec. Dinky would have landed in Ormoc. Why is she there? Because she is setting up a logistics center in Ormoc to support the Southern Leyte towns that could not be reached from the Tacloban side. The decision was, if the local government do not have the resources to handle that logistic process, the national government will step in. So, what happened po is, Secretary Soliman had to bring in some of her resources from Mindanao para sila ang mag-o-operate n’un. Now, the intention there is, so that hindi lang galing sa Tacloban iyong goods, kung hindi pati galing na rin sa Ormoc, considering that we have a Cebu center that is also producing goods. So, the Ormoc center will be supported from Cebu, by ship. We are trying to schedule flights also to Ormoc, specifically today, because we have so many goods that we want to move that area. Now, from Tacloban naman, the Americans are making available some Ospreys. These are smaller aircrafts that can move to smaller airports, and I think they are actually vertical lift. So, we will distribute resources to the remote areas that cannot be reached directly. Now, we’ll not deny the fact and we will not insist na lahat po ay nakatanggap because meron naman talagang hindi nakatanggap. What we’re saying is, we need help in reaching all these na hindi pa nakatanggap. The estimate is about 45,000 families in Tacloban, if we have already moved over 60,000 food packs, of six kilo rice and all that, which is good for 4 or 5 days, there should be enough. But we accept the fact that we have had to move resources outside Tacloban, and use it at that po. So, in answer to your question, where are the international goods? A lot of them are still coming. Those that have landed here, I think people have seen aircrafts land here and start delivering items. Some of the items that they carry with them are not necessarily relief items. They are support equipment and relief and goods for their own being. Kasi a lot of the international aid po, lahat po nagpadala sila ng tao dito, they’re called self-contained. Meaning, they will feed themselves, they have brought enough food, enough water to operate on their own without any resources from us. That is why you would see a lot of things being unloaded. So far, the goods that have actually been arriving that are for distribution are really the ones that came from Taiwan, which only started yesterday and which are already moving into the Ormoc center sometime today or before this afternoon. We are shipping them via air and via boat from Ormoc. Now, let’s talk about the logistics support from Manila. We are moving goods—the packing centers here in Manila are producing a lot. Now, we are moving these goods to Tacloban in three forms: One by air, which is through the C-130s. Each C-130 flight can only carry 1,500 food packs. Now, we are tracking them, which is by land, and we are also shipping them by boat. So, there was the first 15,000 packs that have been received there. There’s another boat that’s leaving … may have left this morning. It’s a very big boat. The owner, I think it’s a Norwegian line offered to do a free trip to Tacloban. That is fully loaded with relief goods and supplies. So, supplies to Tacloban po are coming in three forms. Now, Guiuan. The good news about Guiuan is yesterday afternoon, nabuksan na po ng DPWH iyong daan on the eastern side of Samar, which is really the area na hindi ma-penetrate in the past few days. So, we will use Guiuan as the main center, as a satellite center para lahat po ng goods, whether galing sa Manila or galing sa Cebu, doon dadalhin sa Guiuan. Now, you can reach Guiuan by air and by land from Manila; but if it comes from Cebu, it will be by air only. So, we will put the resources in Guiuan para masuportahan din natin lahat ng mga towns on the eastern side of Samar from Guiuan. So, that explains the scenario. Now, why goods are not reaching some people? That’s really a local issue that we are trying to address now. So, Sec. Dinky is working with local governments, with barangay captains—these are the most powerful channels that we can use to make sure that goods flow to where they are. Alam ninyo in an ideal scenario po – which is something that happened in Davao Oriental during typhoon Pablo–immediately after the disaster, the barangay captains organized the puroks. ‘Di ba totally devastated iyong Catiil. Ang maganda po doon na nangyari, they segregated themselves according to barangay, according to purok and then may leader. So, dahil may listahan kami kung sino itong mga toang ito, saan sila nandoon, madaling abutin, madaling padalhan ng goods. Our challenge in the first few days was, one, how to go there? Walang sasakyan, sarado iyong mga daan. Now, we’re clearing. The military is there. The PNP is there; more access has been cleared. So now, it’s about making sure na maabot iyong mga tao na kailangang abutin. And that is unfortunately is local knowledge, that’s why DSWD is trying to work very closely with local authorities po. Q: Sir, how do you address that you mentioned before or other officials mentioned before that there is no working local government in certain areas? SEC.ALMENDRAS: In certain areas sir, DSWD really…that’s why DSWD is so stretch right now, DSWD is moving resources from Mindanao and from the rest or whenever they can come from. They can be taken and bringing them to all these areas so, that we can have a more effective distribution. Q: Sir, how soon can the government reach these isolated areas? SEC.ALMENDRAS: We are planning to reach the rest of Leyte today, because—they’ve been already reached ‘no, it’s about making sure that supplies flows. That’s why Secretary Dinky Soliman is in Ormoc today to address that kasi sa North side gumagalaw na eh. Tacloban to I think, up to Palo and two or three towns there. Iyong Tanawan is the one that naiipit, and the access from the South is faster, kaya doon po ipa-flow iyong goods. Q: Sir just to emphasis especially for those listening, how soon can these victims receive actual relief goods from the government? SEC.ALMENDRAS: You know sir, I’d like to give you a date and at time if possible. But, that is not within my—it is not within the national government control. How effectively we can hit the ground, okay? There are places which are very remote, which we need to know of so that we can reach them. Now, as far as the munisipyos, the towns are concerned and all that. That is already happening. So, it’s for somebody who is in a population center or in a main center, what town that would already be happening now. Baka kulang? Yes, we are going to accelerate which is the next topic I was going to explain. How and what, we are going to do to accelerate the relief goods production. Please understand sir, there has never been anything at the magnitude of what we are trying to do right now, not in size; not in volume; not in—even the breath of it. The logistics alone, we discussed over two and half hours last night, talking about how to move goods, where to move goods, how many trucks you need? Even from the packing center to shipping center, it’s not a small amount of work that needs to be done. So admittedly we are at a certain level today, we have a dream—it’s not a dream—we have a target to accelerate significantly, which was the President instruction last night. And over the next few days we have very challenging tasks assigned to some of us who are part of the discussion on how to increase po, the output of repacking po. You know, there are many other organizations that are helping and their generosities we truly appreciate. But when they pass it to government, okay hindi po—sana po it’s a simple as just repacking of the goods. That is problem number one? Problem number two; is getting it from that repacking center into a truck; a container or what you have that will bring it to the destination. Problem number three; is when it gets to the destination? How do you distribute it effectively? So, may division of labor po kami doon, si Sec. Dinky is working on the distribution there, as far as immediate area of Samar and Leyte is concerned. We are working here with the rest of her team to work on packing. DTI is helping in the procurement, NFA is providing and so on and so forth. It’s literally a very, very big production line that needs to work together po. Q: Sir, now let’s talk about the bodies, how soon can the government process all these bodies? SEC.ALMENDRAS: The bodies are being worked on. As the casualties, the numbers are coming in. We have already there was a report that the reason why the bodies are not being handled is because there was a lack of rubber bags. We have about 4,000 bags there already I am not saying that the casualties are 4,000, okay? As reported the casualties at about—over 1,000 pa lang; we are just saying—again we are over doing it. We are making sure that there is an oversupply para that will not be the reason for the delay po. There’s a discussion on the identification, the NBI is stepping up to do the identification because the PNP teams that are there, even the SOCO teams are so busy in retrieval and clearing operations po. Q: Sir some people are wondering if there is really a master plan to address a disaster of the scale. SEC.ALMENDRAS: Yes. Q: What is your respond to that? SEC.ALMENDRAS: Yes, there is a master plan— Q: And is it working? SEC.ALMENDRAS: Well, this is the first time were going to try it at this magnitude. So far, things are moving. So far goods are moving, so far the numbers are beginning to accelerate, we’re stepping up. So, it’s really the resources, you cannot imagine the degree of— you cannot imagine the magnitude of resources that need to be made available to do this. Do you know sir, for example, we are moving 58 or 60,000 foods packs to Tacloban. One of the options is to load—di ba there is a discussion na magpapadala ng mga buses doon para masakyan ng mga tao, di ba? So walang laman iyong mga buses going there, so their loading it with food packs, okay. Every single opportunity of channel that we can use to move goods into Tacloban and general area we are exploring it and we are using it po. Because the volume of goods to move is, is just too big, we need to move it there. How we wish we had—well not siguro even if we had 50 C-130s, we cannot fly everything by C-130. Already we have safety issues in Tacloban airport. So that’s why their trying to impose a discipline on the flights coming in to Tacloban, so even if we have 50 C130s. Tacloban airport at this point in time cannot handle 50 C130s a day. So, we are exploring every possible way to move goods into the area po. Q: Sir lastly and this master plan the one that you mentioned earlier? SEC.ALMENDRAS: Yes, this is the one that we are working last night to expand. Some of the basic things have to be there in the NDRRMC even before. But because of the scale of operations we have to adjust it, we have to expand it which brings us to that. Remember, challenge number one which is repacking of goods. So we are going to accelerate repacking of goods and we are opening new centers. DSWD is already working on it, they are identifying space where it can happen, where houses where we can store it cause that also another area you repack. If you cannot ship it right away, you need a place to store otherwise—so were very happy that some of the schools and universities have step up. DSWD has signed up an agreement with one of the universities and there are four other universities that are also offering. So we will do—we will have repacking in those universities. We are also stepping up repacking in the major cities throughout the country. So places like Cagayan De Oro, places like Davao, are all stepping up, DSWD will be expanding their centers there. Their supplies center there, to be able to pack an additional goods so, that they can contribute. Now the plan is, that’s why the discussion is so long because we had to iron out. So if Davao is going to produce this match, Cagayan De Oro is gonna produce this match. How are we going to move all of those relief goods to Tacloban. So that again, the President appointed Secretary Jun Abaya as the SAR on how to move things. His transport bureau now so air, land and sea is at his disposal to make sure we move the goods just as fast as we can pack them po. Q: Sir good afternoon. Sir we appreciate the realistic statement and we understand them because siguro wala kami doon hindi kami gutom. But siyempre iba po iyong naririnig namin at nababalita from the ground. And iyong mga banner stories po ngayon ay may mga tao na gusto na pong umalis doon. So, we would like to know if there are planes or ships being readied para kung gusto po nilang umalis doon, narinig ko po kanina si Red Cross Chairman Gordon na, magse-set up sila ng places sa Cebu para mag-put up ng tents doon. Doon na muna sila because as you said binibilisan namin iyong pag-relief goods baka hindi naman din po nila naiintindihan na they are coming because hindi nga po ganon ang sitwasyon. So mayroon po bang ganoong plano, kasi nabanggit na rin po ninyo iyon na people are fleeing the disaster area? SEC.ALMENDRAS: When I was in Tacloban, Sunday we were in the airport. I actually help load two of the C130 coming back priority was injured. So iyong injured we are making sure that they are on flights out and most of them are sent to Cebu. There would be about a hundred depending kung may mga bata or may mga injured, one hundred fifty people per plane load can be accommodated. So the decision to move out in Tacloban was very clear from day one. That’s precisely why government said; wala namang load iyong mga aircraft na pabalik we will allow civilians to use that. I can imagine why? People would want to move out so, the movement has been by boats, (would at been good). But we have problem in the port area although the period itself was restored. The navy vessels have actually been dock. There is a problem with commercial shipping because iyong pilotage, have to make sure na walang nasasabitan iyong mga barko when they come in. And we know there’s so many cars and so many things that the storm surge brought into that area. We are hoping that will be clear today so that the commercial shipping can come in. That’s another way the people can move out as I told you buses are being dispatched to make sure that the route coming from Manila magagamit din iyon. So we are hoping the people--those who want to come to Manila can also come by bus. And we are also hoping that commercial flight commercial traffic airplane can come in. Iyong turbo craft, but the recommendation was Tacloban-Cebu. So the choice to fly is Tacloban-Cebu or C-130 Tacloban-Manila or by bus or by boat, hopefully will be available in the next day or two po. Q: Humihingi rin ng clarification yung ibang media entities doon sa binigay ni Presidente doon sa number of casualties, kung 2,000 – 2,500. Based on body count daw ba iyon ng NDRRMC or estimates din ba iyon, at ano daw yung … (overlapping voices) …? SEC. ALMENDRAS: I’m sorry, I actually don’t know the details. I believe … I just came from … I wasn’t in the NDRRMC this morning; I had a meeting to set up something. But I think they’re gonna release another round of casualty figures around noon; by noon today, if they haven’t already released it also. I would not venture to mention a number kasi talagang wala ako, I do not know the details enough rin. Q: Pero we can go by the statement that it’s not gonna be 10,000, or it’s not 10,000 at this time? SEC. ALMENDRAS: At this time, it’s definitely not 10,000. There has been a body count based on yung madadaanan, but we cannot be accurate because there are still … some people say there are people buried in certain areas; mayroon din mga nalibing na. So I’d rather let the NDRRMC process and the PNP process be the one to determine the actual count. Q: If they’re moved out of Tacloban and other disaster areas, how do you plan to take care of them kung halimbawa naman walang kamag-anak dito sa Manila? SEC. ALMENDRAS: A lot of those who’ve actually decided to move are those na may kamag-anak at may pupuntahan.Yung walang pupuntahan are deciding to stay. The good thing is, if they decide to stay, they’re guaranteed of relief goods, both government relief goods and the international relief goods coming. We’re hoping that if people see that there are goods coming, and we address also the temporary shelter, then some people might decide to stay or might decide to come back. We understand also the—karamihan talaga na gusto lumipat are those na may mga kamag-anak. Although I was able to talk to a few people who were just talking to their kamag-anaks and saying hindi na lang kami pupunta dyan, padalhan ninyo na lang kami dito. So it really is a personal decision of the … and a decision based on the unique circumstance of each family or each person. There was one guy whom I talked to who lost all the members of his family, and yet he was not going to leave. He was saying kahit wala na silang lahat, I’m going to stay here. So iba-ibang reaksyon iyan, parang iba-ibang decision. Q: Di po ba ang sabi ng Pangulo wala dapat kulay pulitika dito sa distribution ng relief goods, pero base sa reports ng aming field reporters sa Tacloban, hiwalay pa yung relief operations, na may sariling operations sa airport ang DSWD o grupo ni Sec. Roxas, habang ang grupo ni Mayor Alfredo Romualdez ay mayroon din sa city hall. Bakit hindi na lang pagsamahin para mas mabilis ang sistema ng distribusyon, at hindi nagagalit yung mga biktima sa atin gobyerno? SEC. ALMENDRAS: Okay, first of all, yung distansya. It might not be a long distance, but considering the damage, yung mga poste, these are really different areas. As a matter of fact, the plan is to open two more distribution centers in Tacloban. Dahil nga walang sasakyan, walang kotseng tumatakbo … karamihan sa sasakyan din, by the way, ay sira, even the government vehicles. Yung tubig kasi was so high and so violent na nakita ninyo naman sa pictures pinagbabaliktad yung sasakyan. So considering na walang mga sasakyan, and people were complaining na ang layo ng lalakarin nila para kumuha ng goods, kaya di-nistribute ng ganun. Bakit mayroon sa city hall, bakit mayroon sa airport? Yung sa airport kasi, everytime may magla-landing ng C130, may dalang relief goods. Lalong tatagal pa kung hihintayin na i-transport pa iyon to another section para i-distribute. That’s why the decision was nangdito na rin yung relief goods natin, let’s start distributing it. Yung support naman doon sa munisipyo, yung sa … actually both sites hindi sa mayor; both sites are national government sites; hindi kina Mayor Romualdez or what. Baka naman si Mayor Romuldez napadaan lang doon. Both sides are actually being supported by DSWD. And as I said, we plan to open two more centers para mas mabilis yung—the important thing talaga is to restore the government structure. The minute ma re-establish natin yung sino itong, who are the members; itong barangay na ito, sino kapitan, sino ang mga tao, sino ang mga purok leaders? The minute ma-establish iyon, mas mabilis yung processing. Dahil wala nga, national government is doing it. We are the ones putting it into place. We’re trying to establish that. Q: Noong Lunes, naitanong ko rin sa inyo sa briefing na kung pwedeng gawin ng airdrops ang pagkain sa malalayong lugar na mahirap talaga mapasok by land. Naisagawa na ba ito ng ating mga tauhan? SEC. ALMENDRAS: Actually, this was done in Eastern Samar, but it was only done for one round because we were able to identify nga na mas mabuti na imbes na chopper – kasi ang chopper konti lang ang nadadala – mas mabuti na magpadala ng C130. So iyong yung nangyari. Dahil isolated pa yung area na iyon, yung C130 sa Guiuan, iyon ang naging source ng relief goods. And then from there, nadi-distrubute na rin. I think in Eastern Leyte, there were some areas also that they were trying to address. One more thing, mahirap yung airdrop kung … may safety issue doon sa chopper. Ideally mas safe talaga na mag-landing na mai-drop yung ganun. Q: Hindi ba may mga Osprey ang Amerika na pinadala dito, apat iyon? Kahit walang airstrip, puwede sila mag-landing vertically. Hindi ba …(overlapping voices) … SEC. ALMENDRAS: Hopefully today we can start using the Ospreys. Because the Americans din the first few flights of all their aircraft had been to provide .. iyon ang sinasabi ko, they brought their generators, their equipment, and all that. As a matter of fact, DSWD is now appealing to the Americans because yung walo nilang C130, we want them to allow us to use it to transport relief goods coz walong C130 at how many, 150 per plane load? If I can fly flights into Tacloban, that’s 10,000 right then and there; you’re gonna see 10,000 food packs there. So that is being coordinated with U.S. embassy and with USAid – I think the US representatives – by DSWD. Q: Ano ang masasabi ng Palasyo sa pagdadalawang isip naman ng ilang bansa gaya ng Japan at Germany na idaan sa ating mga barangay chairmen at mayor yung donasyon nila dahil sa pangamba na makurakot lang at hindi makarating sa mga biktima? Mas gusto raw nila yung pribadong organization na lang ang magbigay nito. Paano natin sila maku-kumbinse na idaan ito sa kanilang pamahalaan? SEC. ALMENDRAS: Ang tanong ko, is that an official statement from the Japanese government, because I’ve actually been talking to the Japanese ambassador? And the Japanese prime minister talked to the President, and said I would rather course the resources through you in government. Both cash and non-cash items of Japan, they are insisting, must be coursed through the government organization. But hindi ko masisisi kung may mga tao na magdududa ngayon. As a matter of fact, prankahan lang, Mayron din ako natatanggap na reports na one of the reasons bakit mayroong mga tao na nagsasabi wala pa rin kaming natatanggap, and yet I know na may-di-neliver na into some of those areas. There seems to be a political consideration. That is why Sec. Dinky is there operating to go full blast na without having to go through some of those challenges. In the same breath, Sec. Dinky has also decided that there really are some LGUs na talagang … I don’t want to use mapagkatiwalaan. There are some LGUs that will be very effective in distribution, so we will even download to them raw materials. Ibig sabihin, papadalhan namin sila ng trak-trak na bigas, trak-trak na delata, at sila na mag-repack, at sila na mag-distribute because the secretary on the ground has found that some of them are going to be good and effective in delivering that. So mahirap mag-desisyon dito. Kaya nga tayo naglagay ng forward command center, di ba, kasi it’s very important that they understand what’s happening on the gorund para ma-oeprate nila yung kung ano ang best way to do it there? Q: You mentioned something about reports you’ve been getting that some people were saying that they were not just getting— SEC. ALMENDRAS: I did not say reports. Report; I heard a report. … (unclear) … Q: But can you elaborate on that? Because that might be a great disservice to the people who are complaining. SEC. ALMENDRAS: I agree. Hindi ba when we started here last Saturday, my great appeal was this is a time na magtutulungan tayo, dapat walang kulay pulitika, walang makikinabang, nobody can take advantage of it, I’m sure, di ba? And I continue to make that appeal. You know, contrary to many rumors about how the interaction of President Aquino was with Mayor Romualdez and Congressman Romualdez—puwedeng magtanong? Who is the TV station that featured na inaakbayan ko daw si mayor? Somebody told me na lumabas daw sa TV na inaakbayan ko si Mayor. May nagtanong sa akin, bakit mo inakbayan, Sir, umiiyak ba si Mayor? SEC. ALMENDRAS: Hindi, talagang this is a time na walang kulay. This is a time na irregardless of what your family name is, we are going to work together to make it happen. As a matter of fact, Cong. Martin told me after I spent almost an hour with him and the mayor, sabi niya, Sir, believe kami sa Pangulo, talagang all-out siya; talagang he really wants to help the people that are needed (in need?) now. That’s the correct attitude, and I think that’s the way- you should all be, di ba? Q: —pero not to debate with you. Pero, don’t you think that it’s unfair to even raise this possibility of political considerations, considering the magnitude of the damage? SEC. ALMENDRAS: We did not raise that Sir. I did not raise the issue of political considerations. There was a question about what are we doing to avoid that. So I explained to you what we’re trying to do to avoid it, Sir. SEC. ALMENDRAS: I think the issue is that we want to move as many resources to as many people as much as we can. Wala po kaming sinisisi. Sinasabi namin na, it would have nicer, if these structures were available, but because nga biktima din iyong some of the local government officials. Alam ninyo po, one of my first questions to Mayor Romualdez, Mayor, ilan po sa mga konsehal ninyo ang okay na? Sabi niya, sa totoo lang Sec. , hindi ko pa alam. But sigurado ako buhay iyong walo, and we can account for them. Sabi ko, have they already been at the city hall? And the next question is how many barangays do you have? How many barangay captains? So all of those things are touch and go po. We are not blaming them. We are saying , we’re acknowledging the fact na some of the areas talagang hindi pa ho alam. Hindi ho mahanap si barangay captain. So one of the tips that I told him nga was you know, one of the things that happened in Compostela Valley and in Davao Oriental was, due to the urgency of the situation, if the barangay captain really is not available kasi hinahanap pa or cannot be accounted for, is to look for one of the purok leaders, or one of those with strong leadership qualities and connections in an area that can take over that role. So, I need to correct the impression. We are not saying, or baka ho ma-misquote tayo. Tinanong po ako that there are political considerations. I said, okay, I acknowledge that I have heard such reports. But I am saying these are not confirmed, we are not sure of that. But we are going to make sure that ... and I would like to think that there are more people who will do the right thing po. Q: Hello, sir. Sir, you mentioned the government has a master plan to deal with this calamity. I am just wondering why can’t you give a timeline how soon the survivors, that calamity victims can actually receive the goods? Hindi ninyo po ba masabi na in a day or two or week, na makukuha nila? SEC. ALMENDRAS: We have our targets. But here’s problem number one po, it’s just how many people need to be helped and what degree. That is so why right now, sana ho mayroon tayong listahan or numero na—okay in this town. And I am not saying all ha? In some municipalities that is ready. Okay? I was in the Airport in Tacloban, the Mayor of Tanauan arrived there and he told me, Sec., eto iyong epekto sa amin, eto iyong buhay , eto iyong patay, eto iyong ano. So, that helps a lot because once you know that, you will know how much resources to send. In some areas na hindi mo alam iyong actual, papadala ka hoping that is enough, and you will find out whether it is kulang or not later on when you will realize na kulang pala. So, the only reason why I cannot tell you, Ma’am, exactly when you will get it is we need to have that data. Ayoko naman pong magsabing hundred percent na tayo covered. I think significantly malaki na po ang coverage. As a matter of fact , everyday we check kung how many more areas ang hindi pa nakokober. Sorry ho, paliwanag natin. DOST made an analysis. May mapa ho kung saan dumaan iyong bagyo. Based on kung saan dumaan iyong bagyo and gaano kalakas iyong hangin noong dumaan iyong bagyo doon, ang ginawa ng DOST, gumawa sila ng listahan ng lahat ng munisipyo that probably ... the municipalities that were affected by the storm in varying degrees. So lahat nung Signal Number 4, Signal Number 3, the assumption is, will be very significantly damaged. So, based on that, binigay sa DILG and said, okay, let’s verify. May listahan tayo ng potentially damaged municipalities; let’s verify the extent here. So, two things happened. May mga nakalista doon that were not adversely affected. Why? Because may bundok pala or whatever. Pero mayroon ding mga towns na hindi kasama doon sa listahan ng DOST na identifying the potentially damaged na nasiraan din. So nadagdag po iyon. And that effort continues . Kung iyong municipality na-reach mo na, you have to go the barangay level; barangay, you have to go down the sitio and purok level na. Naabot na ba itong mga ito? Pagkumpleto na iyon, then we can say naabot na namin. Q: Sir, what do you say to the victims? Should they stay where they are, wait for the relief goods or should they leave the areas, especially Tacloban? SEC. ALMENDRAS: Tacloban, Ma’am, as I said is really an individual personal decision. Okay. What is happening in Tacloban is, those who have relatives and have somewhere to go, would really much rather move out first. Now, not all the houses in Tacloban were destroyed. So there are those na sa tingin naman nila hindi ganoon kasira. Provided they can have resources they’d rather stay. Hindi ba mayroon na hong gasolina doon? Mayroon ng cell signal? So, water is being made available through the emergency plants that are being set up. So some of them are actually deciding dito na lang kami. But then again, there are those who will decide na aalis. One of our team members here, one of the executive assistants of ___, she went home to check out her family. I saw her, then I asked her.. Ano, how’s your family? Sir , okay lang. Are they going to move out? Sabi niya they’d rather stay because okay naman sila. So, ganoon po iyong timpla noon. Mahirap pong ako ang magsabi na umalis na kayo diyan o hindi. Ang assumption namin is kailangan natin – we need to provide for those who are in Tacloban . And some of them are not even from Tacloban. Some of them are from outside Tacloban who moved into Tacloban. Q: Sir, are you providing free flights or ships to transfer them out of—? SEC. ALMENDRAS: Yes. Nobody is being charged for the C-130 flight out. And we have been flying everybody who we can accommodate out to the planes, so either to Cebu or to Manila. There is a discussion also on the buses being studied right now, how to execute it po. Q: Sir, have you appealed to private airlines to pitch in and contribute? SEC. ALMENDRAS: Yes. The problem really is the – you have a limitation on the number of airplanes you can handle in the Tacloban Airport because you don’t have the equipment, you don’t have lights, although we are talking to someone who is willing to give temporary lights. That is one of the aids being offered by one of the countres. We’ll give you temporary landing lights, or even provide generators and all that. Yes. Padala ninyo, okay, so that we can, hopefully, increase the capacity. We need to move kasi iyong inbound load is the one that’s very critical. Q: Sir, last question. Sir, US President Obama called our President. Can you give us details about it, and did President Aquino ask for more aid, especially the helicopters you were saying? SEC. ALMENDRAS: I think they discussed something . I am so sorry; I was in the Palace when they were talking, but we were in the meeting. We were ironing out this plan on how to provide food for “x” number of families. I am sure they talked about relief goods or supplies, but nothing ano. Q: Good afternoon, sir. Sir, in terms of percentage, how many of those affected areas have yet to be reached by government, and does the government have targets ... (overlapping voices) ... SEC. ALMENDARAS: As a matter of fact, I think we’re down to four or three? Four more specific areas that need to be reached. I would imagine that that would be reached by today by chopper or by ano po. Q: Four areas, meaning municipalities? SEC. ALMENDRAS: Sometimes it’s a munciipality; sometimes it’s a block. that’s why I used the term area, because ano. But let’s understand, ano ang ibig sabihin ng reach? Reach means may nakausap na doon, naka-interact na, that means hindi sila isolated. But as far as reach of goods or repair or clearing, that’s ongoing. The good news is lahat noong major roads are now open. So, things are flowing already. DPWH was very aggressive in fixing the roads. Or temporary bridges ... (unclear) ... Q: I’m going to the peace and security concern. What’s the report from the PNP and the AFP? Is the situation about looting already under control? SEC. ALMENDRAS: I understand it has significantly improved in Tacloban. We are making sure—there are many reports. I am sure you have been having text messages. We are securing the main supply lines. So General Purisima who was suggesting that the movement of significant goods from Manila to Tacloban are better off coming in convoys so that it’s easier to monitor ..... As to the extent of whether zero na talaga, I really don’t know at this point. Q: Because this morning, 10 were killed and the warehouse of NFA collapsed in Alang-alang, Leyte, and also in Guiuan, Samar already attacked by looters from other towns, which did not come from the area. SEC. ALMENDRAS: There are security forces in Guiuan already, so that will hopefully address it. There’s both PNP and AFP that is moving into, especially ngayon na bukas na iyong daan. So, I am sorry I am not so literate on the security issue , because I am really focusing on preparations po. But our coordination with them is making sure that our convoys and our goods are safe as they moved into those areas. Q: Also sir, we are saying about the checkpoints established in the San Juanico Bridge? SEC. ALMENDRAS: That has been addressed. Those checkpoints are now military … checkpoint. Q: Okay. Also sir, when did the national government start taking over the relief operations in Tacloban, Leyte? SEC. ALMENDRAS: I don’t know if there’s a date po eh, kasi parang we didn’t ask questions na lang. Parang there’s a problem here—Saturday morning, hindi ba, first flight out, I remember that because the night before, Sec. Dinky and I were talking and she was saying, “I have to go”. And we were scheduling our first C-130 flight. At two o’clock in the morning we were loading the plane, and when Dinky—alam mo naman si Sec. Dinky hindi ba, give her something to do, she’ll do it. Walang tanong iyon
Posted on: Thu, 14 Nov 2013 07:35:09 +0000
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