Quezon City: The conduct of forced evacuations in areas in the path of Typhoon Marce (international name Yinxing) is up to the discretion of local officials, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said Tuesday. “So we leave it to the local officials as with protocol to enforce the evacuations. They must have identified the areas already,” he said in a press briefing in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City on government preparations for the country’s 13th tropical cyclone for this year.

According to Philippines News Agency, Teodoro mentioned that it would be hard to say what areas should do forced evacuations as this could result in “false information” and “panic”. For areas or localities that do not practice forced evacuations, Teodoro said the Department of National Defense (DND), through the regional Office of Civil Defense officials, has asked local officials to “compare information” in making their best prediction on the situation. He urged everyone to err on the side of caution, emphasizing the need for local of
ficials to be prudent in providing information and identifying risk areas for evacuation.

Teodoro also noted that the Office of Civil Defense’s social media pages are consistently providing updates and are coordinating with the Presidential Communications Office for the dissemination of timely and relevant updates on the typhoon. He directed municipal disaster risk reduction and management officers to cascade disaster warnings in villages. He stressed the importance of keeping roads clear for the transportation and distribution of relief goods and essential services, urging the public to avoid using roads unless necessary.