President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Thursday called for a nationwide shift in mindset regarding typhoons, urging Filipinos to treat extreme weather not as rare emergencies but as an ongoing reality due to climate change.

“Unfortunately, we are at the mercy of the weather,” Marcos said in an interview following a situation briefing by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) at the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.

The President said the increasing frequency and unpredictability of typhoons should compel Filipinos to adopt a culture of preparedness.

“We need to change our thinking. This is not unusual, this is not an emergency — this is the new normal. This will happen,” Marcos said in English and Filipino.

The weather bureau estimated 10 to 15 typhoons will hit the country this year. With three already recorded, Marcos warned about a dozen more may be expected in the coming months.

“When we were growing up, the typhoon season and the flood-prone areas were very clear. That’s no longer the case — everything has changed,” he said. “Let’s stop saying ‘what if a typhoon comes’ — because it will. That’s the reality of climate change.”

The President emphasized the need for both short-term disaster response and long-term adaptation strategies, including the development of permanent evacuation centers and resilient infrastructure.

He noted that medical personnel, medicine, rubber boats, and relief goods were being deployed to flood-affected areas, but said that response strategies must now be made semi-permanent due to the inevitability of storms.

Marcos later visited Maly Elementary School in San Mateo, Rizal, where hundreds of displaced families had sought shelter from the widespread flooding caused by severe tropical storm “Crising,” tropical storm “Dante,” typhoon “Emong,” and the southwest monsoon.

Thousands evacuated

Accompanied by Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel, and Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan, Marcos led in the distribution of food packs, hygiene kits, sleeping kits, water filtration units, and ready-to-eat meals.

He also checked on the child-friendly and women-friendly spaces inside the evacuation center.

As of 4 a.m. Thursday, 546 families or 2,102 individuals were staying at Maly Elementary School. Additional evacuees were housed in other shelters including the Santa Ana covered court (497 families or 1,635 persons) and San Mateo Elementary School (744 families or 2,646 persons).

Residents of the nearby towns of Cainta and Taytay, Rizal were also affected.

To strengthen government response efforts, Marcos ordered the deployment of search, rescue, and retrieval teams from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Philippine National Police, Philippine Coast Guard, and Bureau of Fire Protection to areas severely impacted by flooding.

AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla said the military has mobilized 12,643 personnel for humanitarian assistance and disaster response, supported by 40 air assets on standby for deployment.

Marcos also directed the Department of Social Welfare and Development to maintain the timely distribution of relief goods before, during, and after storms.

Meanwhile, the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority were conducting road-clearing operations to restore accessibility to affected areas.

For longer-term flood management, Marcos instructed the agencies to sustain the operations of floodgates and pumping stations, clear waterways, and update flood control master plans for Metro Manila, 18 major river basins, and other high-risk areas.

To mitigate the economic impact, the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Trade and Industry were tasked with monitoring markets, preventing hoarding, and ensuring price stability in areas declared under a state of calamity.

Finally, Marcos urged the public to heed advisories from local government units and take precautions against rainy season illnesses such as leptospirosis and dengue.

Large portions of Luzon and parts of the Visayas remain inundated following the successive storms and intensified monsoon rains. Despite the challenges, Marcos expressed optimism in the government’s improving disaster response mechanisms.

“We’re just continuing what we always do, and so far, the lessons learned from past storms are serving us well. I hope the weather improves,” he said.