Statement of Marcos Jr. on the Victims of Typhoon Tino
MARCOS JR. – The President apologized to the victims of Typhoon Tino and assured them of government’s help.
Cebu was greatly devastated by Typhoon Tino. The heavy rains caused the water in the dams to overflowing resulting to massive flooding. A lot of residents had to climb the roof of their houses for safety after the floodwater level reached the roof of the single-storey houses.
Typhoon Tino’s death toll has reached past 140 with several individuals still missing. The search and rescue operations are ongoing. Many families were also left homeless by Typhoon Tino that brought strong winds. Cebu Governor Pamela Baricuato was left disappointed by what happened.
Gov. Pam Baricuatro stressed that Cebu has P26 billion flood control funds but they were still flooded. According to her, most of the flood control projects in the province since 2019 were either ghost or substandard. The Governor said they have already inspected the flood mitigation in the province and they have submitted a report to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure or ICI.
The ICI is an independent body that was created upon the order of Pres. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to probe the flood control projects funded by the government. Recently, the Chief Executive visited Cebu which was left devastated by Typhoon Tino.
Based on a report on ABS-CBN News, Marcos Jr. apologized over the high death toll of Typhoon Tino. He stressed that many people died of drowning. According to him, the local government units prepared for a storm surge but it was flash flood that occured.
“But we are very, very sorry. Hindi ko… Siyempre lahat kami nalulungkot dahil napakataas ng ating casualty figures. At ito karamihan talaga ay dinala, dinala ng tubig. Dahil sa laki ng tubig, dahil sa bilis ng parating na flash flood. Ang sinasabi sa atin, ang pinaghahandaan ng mga LGU officials was a storm surge. ‘Yung papasok galing sa dagat. Pero ang talagang nangyari, flash flood naman,” the President said.
Based on the report, Marcos Jr. also expressed that most of the damage was caused by the flood and not the strong winds. According to him, the dikes that were built were not able to hold the weight of the water. He assured that the government will help the victims of Typhoon Tino.
“But anyway, nangyari na. We will be helping the families of those na naging casualty. We will help them to recover, put them back on their feet and do what we can to make up for the loss that they have suffered,” he said.
Reportedly, relief goods will be given to the evacuees, medical aid for the injured residents, and cash assistance for the families whose homes were damaged. Previously, Malacañang spoke on Cebu Gov. Pam Baricuatro over the massive flooding in the province.