Credits: Business World Online
The Metro Manila Council (MMC) approved a resolution declaring a state of calamity in the capital region due to the impact of Typhoon Carina and the southwest monsoon.
The declaration allows for the release of calamity funds to support the 16 cities and one municipality in Metro Manila and enables the implementation of price controls in the region.
The resolution was approved during a meeting held at the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) headquarters in Pasig City. The meeting was presided over by Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. and MMC chairman and San Juan Mayor Francis Zamora.
“There is a motion to declare Metro Manila under the state of calamity by Mayor Francis Zamora and [MMDA] Chairman Don [Artes],” Abalos announced. “The motion is now approved. Metro Manila is now under the state of calamity,” he added.
Earlier on Wednesday morning, Abalos recommended the declaration to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. “Because of what is happening, Mr. President, especially in Metro Manila, our recommendation here is that maybe we can declare a state of calamity in Metro Manila,” Abalos stated during a briefing on the country’s status amid the effects of the typhoon and the southwest monsoon.
Under Republic Act No. 10121, or the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010, a state of calamity is declared when there is “a condition involving mass casualty and/or major damage to property, disruption of means of livelihood, roads, and normal way of life of people in the affected areas, as a result of the occurrence of natural or human-induced hazard.”
Heavy rains from Carina and the southwest monsoon have caused widespread flooding in many parts of Metro Manila since Tuesday, leaving several roads impassable.
As of 11:00 a.m. Wednesday, Typhoon Carina was located 345 kilometers north-northeast of Itbayat, Batanes, with maximum sustained winds of 165 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center and gusts of up to 205 kph, according to the state weather bureau.
