President Marcos has suggested the preemptive release of water from select dams to avoid a bigger tragedy as the government anticipates Tropical Storm Kristine to get stronger in the next 24 hours.

Marcos said this as the Angat, Ipo, and La Mesa dams near their normal high water level on Wednesday morning, Oct. 23.

In a situation briefing on the effects of Typhoon Kristine, the President warned that the water level of the dams is something the government should be keeping an eye on.

"We have to watch this carefully because we're just beginning. This is just the start of the rainfall. We're all right for now but mukhang inevitable na mag-o-overflow o magre-release tayo ng tubig (it seems inevitable that it will overflow or we have to release water)," he said.

"Let's already start thinking about the downstream areas na tatamaan (that will be affected) when we are forced to open some of the gates para palabasin, para pababain yung tubig. Pero planuhin natin nang mabuti (to release the water and stabilize the water level but we have to plan accordingly)," he added.

With this, President Marcos suggested releasing water early at a pace that will not adversely affect the downstream communities.

"Magbitaw na tayo ng tubig para pagdating ng malakas na ulan, mas naibaba na natin ang tubig pero meron tayong kaunting breathing room (Let's start releasing water so when the strong rain comes, we have lowered the water level and we have a bit of a breathing room)," he said.

"Let's think about what can the downstream communities tolerate in terms of additional water and do that and try to release that amount— just that amount na hindi magkaka-damage (to avoid causing damage)," he added.

Data from the State Weather Bureau PAGASA showed that the water level at Angat Dam reached 197.63 meters at 8 a.m. on Wednesday morning, a few meters from the normal high water level of 210 meters. Ipo Dam started releasing water at 10 a.m. after the water level reached 100.8 meters, a few notches shy of its normal high water level of 101.10 meters. The La Mesa Dam's normal high water level is 80.15 meters and it already reached 79.50 meters on Wednesday morning.

"Let's try to get the levels as low as we can without affecting the downstream communities bago pa dumating yung malaking ulan (before the strong rain even comes in)," President Marcos said.  

"We don't want the situation that happened in Cagayan Valley where we just released [water] without telling anyone and there was no plan. We all remember what happened there. Iwasan natin yun (Let's avoid that)," he added.

Marcos was referring to the flooding in Cagayan and Isabela in November 2020 during the onslaught of Typhoon Ulysses. Disaster authorities attributed the incident to the effects of previous weather disturbances and water from Magat Dam and higher plains.

Significant rains, gusty winds, and storm surges are expected in the whole country, especially in the Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, the Cordillera Administrative Region, Calabarzon, the Bicol Region, and Eastern Visayas in the coming days.

Tropical Storm Kristine is forecast to gradually intensity into a severe tropical storm before making landfall in Isabela or Northern Aurora on Wednesday evening or Thursday morning.

'Make full use of EDCA sites'

Meanwhile, President Marcos directed the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to maximize the use of Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites in conducting airlift activities as part of the response efforts during the onslaught of Tropical Storm Kristine.

Marcos specifically tasked the AFP to monitor the situation "so that we will be able to activate the EDCA sites, which were put there specifically for this purpose."

"This is where we make full use of the EDCA sites, especially for the activities ng AFP, pag-airlift (to airlift)," the President said during the situation briefing.

According to AFP chief Romeo Brawner, they have already coordinated with their United States counterparts to send in their aircraft through EDCA sites for response operations.

"In terms of airlift capability, we already alerted most of our aircrafts but yesterday, we also coordinated with our US counterparts and they are ready to send in their aircraft using our EDCA sites. And if other countries are coming in, we will also establish our multinational coordinating centers," Brawner said.

Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said that they have reached out to neighboring countries such as Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia to help in the country's response amid Typhoon Kristine's onslaught.