Manila: President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Tuesday directed government agencies to sustain emergency operations and speed up recovery efforts for communities devastated by Typhoon Tino (international name Kalmaegi). The President’s statement, read by Palace Press Officer Claire Castro during a Malaca±ang briefing on Tuesday, outlined ongoing government actions to ensure immediate relief and restoration of basic services in the hardest-hit areas in Mindanao and Visayas.
According to Philippines News Agency, Marcos emphasized the government’s focus on monitoring the effects of Typhoon Tino, which has affected more than 340,000 people across 1,397 barangays in regions including Mimaropa, Bicol, Western and Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Caraga, and Negros Island Region. Preemptive evacuations were carried out ahead of the typhoon’s landfall, with over 175,000 individuals currently residing in evacuation centers.
President Marcos highlighted that the Department of Social Welfare and Development has pre-positioned food packs and relief goods ready for distribution in the affected areas. Additionally, the Department of Energy and National Electrification Administration are addressing reports of power outages, while the Department of Public Works and Highway and Metropolitan Manila Development Authority have deployed clearing teams to restore road access.
The President also instructed Cabinet officials to visit the hardest-hit provinces to assess the situation firsthand and ensure the swift restoration of essential services. He assured the public of the government’s commitment to accelerate recovery operations and urged citizens to remain vigilant and heed local officials’ advice.
Disaster response units maintain heightened alert status as clearing and relief efforts continue across impacted regions. Though Typhoon Tino has slightly weakened due to land interaction over the Negros Island Region, it continues to bring strong winds, heavy rains, and coastal flooding.
The weather bureau reported that Tino’s center was located near Bacolod City, Negros Occidental, with maximum sustained winds of 140 km per hour and gusts up to 195 km per hour, moving westward at 25 km per hour. Strong to typhoon-force winds extended outward up to 300 kilometers from the center. Tino is expected to traverse Western Visayas and Northern Palawan, emerging over the West Philippine Sea by Wednesday morning and potentially exiting the Philippine Area of Responsibility by Wednesday evening or early Thursday. Despite its slight weakening, Tino may regain typhoon intensity once it reaches the sea.
