Marcos on Cabinet's calamity response: 'No special instruction needed; they know what to do'

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said there's no need for him to instruct each of his Cabinet members every time a calamity or emergency happened across the country.

“The way we organized this government—is there’s no way to panic there’s no special instruction. Alam na nila kung anong gagawin nila (They know what to do). They have a standard procedure,” Marcos said in an ambush interview with reporters shortly after he graced the distribution of Presidential assistance to farmers and fisherfolk in Apayao, Cordillera on Friday. 

Marcos touted his Cabinet members for being prompt in providing government assistance whenever needed, citing the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s quick response initiative under Secretary Rex Gatchalian’s leadership.

“Dun nga sa speech ko kanina—na sabi ko ni hindi pa nangyayari, nakapaglagay na kami ng mga food pack, nakapaglagay na kami ng emergency supplies at kung sakali man kung anog mangyari, nand’yan (As I said during my speech earlier—even if things are yet to happen, there’s already food packs being stocked, we already have emergency supplies ready whenever there’s happening),” he said. 

Marcos said he had already ordered the government as a whole to respond to the public’s emergencies swiftly. 

“So kahit na walang special instructions. Alam na ni Secretary Rex kung ano ang gagawin kahit hindi kami nag-uusap (So even there’s no special instruction, Secretary Rex knows what to do even if we don’t discuss it) because we already tackled this before),” he added.