President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday said that the national government is prepared to help local government units amid the incoming super typhoon Mawar.

He made this statement in a media interview following the 125th anniversary celebration of the Philippine Navy in Manila as Mawar threatens to unload heavy rains to several parts of the country. 

Around Friday noon, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration’s latest bulletin showed that Mawar has slightly intensified and may enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility on Friday night or Saturday morning.

“We have already instructed the LGUs to prepare in case of heavy rains and flooding. So what we are doing now is to leave it to the LGUs to decide what they will do,” Marcos said.

“But we are here, we are saying that the national government is here to help. We are in constant contact with the local governments so we can see what the situation is in their place,” he added.

Marcos mentioned that he has already discussed typhoon preparations with Defense Officer-in-charge Undersecretary Carlito Galvez. 

He added that the national government will assess the needs of local government units after the typhoon hits so that it can provide the appropriate assistance.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council has also released a statement saying that the whole government is ready for the possible impact of Super Typhoon Mawar.

PAGASA said that Super Typhoon Mawar could bring heavy rains to Northern Luzon starting Sunday or Monday. The typhoon is also expected to bring strong to storm-force winds to Extreme Northern Luzon, and strong gale-force winds to the northern and eastern portions of Northern Luzon mainland.

Super Typhoon Mawar is expected to strengthen the southwest monsoon, which could bring heavy rains to the western parts of Central Luzon, Southern Luzon, and Visayas starting Sunday or Monday.