President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. believes the declaration of a year-long national state of calamity is not necessary following the onslaught of Severe Tropical Storm "Paeng" as the damage is "highly localized."
"I don't think it's necessary. I came to that conclusion with the… in consultation with DENR, sabi hindi naman kasi extensive, very very, how do we say, not naman isolated… highly localized ang mga damage," Marcos told reporters in an ambush interview during his visit to typhoon-hit victims in Noveleta, Cavite.
"We're talking about the East coast [of] Quezon, dito sa Cavite, and then Maguindanao. Tinamaan pa rin yung Maguindanao. So those are areas, it doesn't need to have, like in the Visayas, there's no need for a national calamity, for Region 1, 2, hindi naman kailangan mag-national calamity," he explained.
For the President, is it better if the country "stays with the calamity status" it currently has.
Marcos arrived in Barangay Jose II, Noveleta, Cavite on Monday afternoon to lead the distribution of assistance to victims of typhoon "Paeng."
He is also set to attend a situational meeting with local officials of Cavite and concerned agencies.