A private guard searches homes to rescue residents trapped in a massive flooding at a subdivision in Makati city, east of Manila, Philippines Tuesday Aug. 20, 2013. Some of the Philippines’ heaviest rains on record fell for a second day Tuesday, turning the capital’s roads into rivers and trapping tens of thousands of people in homes and shelters. The government suspended all work except rescues and disaster response. (MNS photo)
MANILA (Mabuhay) – Malacañang on Wednesday assured the public that they have made the necessary preparations for the rainy season, which usually brings flooding to many parts of the country.
“We have prepared for this,” presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said during a press briefing.
He specifically said the Department of Public Works and Highways created a catchment along España Boulevard in Manila to ensure that floodwater will immediate subside in case of heavy rain.
He said the Metro Manila Development Authority has also been making sure that the pumping stations will function properly during the rainy season while the Department of Social Welfare and Development and National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council are also doing the necessary preparations.
“[We’re] making sure that the flooding in the low levels will [recede] as fast as possible… We will make sure and we made sure that informal settlers will be taken out of harm’s way,” he said.
Lacierda added that the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) has been “performing marvelously” in terms of identifying areas where a certain storm will hit.
“So, iyon pong lahat ay pinaghahandaan. We have improved the service [and] the facilities of PAGASA,” he said. (MNS)