President Marcos said the government is closely monitoring Typhoon Nika, which is currently battering the Philippines, and two more cyclones threatening to hit the country after "Nika."
Marcos said in an interview on Monday night, Nov. 11, that the government has "managed to prepare" for the onslaught of Nika, and is on alert for the next storm.
"We are now monitoring what's happening. I was watching some film that came out of Aurora and some film that came out of Isabela earlier today. And we are just preparing. We actually have managed to prepare, we've done the usual standard procedure, where we have prepositioned our equipment, and our relief goods. And we will just have to see where the areas are that will be particularly hit," Marcos said.
"The problem is there is another one that's now 3,000 plus kilometers off the coast of Luzon. And that promises to be a stronger one. So, we just have to continue to prepare," he added.
The President also called on communities living along the path of the current tropical storm to follow their local governments' precautionary measures.
"So that's where we're at right now. And just trying to keep watch, making sure that everybody is safe. We have done some initial evacuations already. So we just try to stay safe. So everyone please listen to your local government and authorities who tell you what to do," Marcos said.
He assured them that as soon as the national government can come in, they provide much-needed help.
"Your local government is there, is ready to be the first responders as they always are. And the national government will come in as soon as --in fact, we are already there. And they are just waiting for the storm to allow them to work but some people are already working in terms of clearing the roads," he said.
He further expressed hopes that the impacts of the typhoon remain manageable and told the people to "be conscious of the fact that there is another very significant weather system coming into the Philippines after that."
The Chief Executive also said that the weather disturbances entering the Philippines within short period intervals is a "tightrope that we are trying to navigate."
"It's a little bit...we don't have a textbook to follow, we don't have a template to follow, and it is climate change and this new reality that we are having to face. I don't remember, I've been around for a long time, I don't remember seeing these many --sunod sunod, of this strength," he said.