As typhoon nears, NFA told to step up

THE government has called on the public to stay alert and prepare for the potential super typhoon ap­proaching the country.

Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said the government has readied contingency measures, in­cluding prepositioning food and relief supplies, in areas on the path of the storm but has also urged the public to brace for the calamity.

“We have a super typhoon ap­proaching. We urge the public to be always ready. Let us prepare our emergency kits in our homes, let us prepare our water and canned goods,” Roque said in Filipino during a Palace press briefing.

“We cannot stop calamities like su­per typhoon but we can reduce the damage they can bring by being pre­pared,” he added.

Roque also called on families living in low-lying areas and near rivers to find alternative shelter in preparation for the storm. He said they could stay in government evacuation centers or in the houses of their relatives living in safer grounds.

Roque also said the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is ready to provide humani­tarian assistance to families who may be affected by the storm. Other government agencies have also been mobilized to enhance disaster pre­paredness efforts.

“We have long laid out our strategy on disaster preparedness. We already have prepositioned goods in areas that will be affected by the storm,” Roque said.

Meanwhile, Davao City 1st district Rep. Karlo Nograles on Monday prod­ded the National Food Authority (NFA) to step up rice procurement efforts so that it could buy palay (unmilled rice) from local farmers before superty­phoon Mangkhut hits the country.

“The NFA has not had a good track record in procuring rice from local farmers, but if there is a time for them to step up and intensify their rice procurement operations, this is it,” stressed Nograles, chairman of the House Committee on Appropria­tions. (Genalyn Kabiling & Ellson A. Quismorio)