President Marcos was finally able to do an aerial inspection of typhoon-hit areas after the inclement weather brought by Severe Tropical Storm Enteng has twice prevented him from doing so.
President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. conducts an aerial inspection of Marikina and Antipolo areas to assess the extent of the damage caused by Typhoon Enteng. (Screengrab from the Presidential Communications Office)
A video clip from the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) on Wednesday, Sept. 4, showed Marcos aboard a helicopter to inspect the flood and damages brought by the typhoon.
The Chief Executive was able to fly over the flood-hit areas of Marikina, Antipolo and Metro Manila, and was supposed to also inspect Bulacan province but this was advised against because of the weather.
Earlier, his plan to conduct an aerial inspection in the past two days was canceled because the target areas were still not flyable.
“I have been trying to fly to do an inspection but--dalawang araw na akong gustong magpalipad pero sabi nung mga piloto namin hindi pa flyable ang mga ibang lugar (I had been wanting to fly for two days but our pilots said the areas were still not flyable),” the President said during the situation briefing of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).
“So, I will try to make an inspection as soon as I can so that makita natin kung ano ba talaga ang sitwasyon (we can see what’s the situation),” he added.
Marcos, however, assured that even if he could not do an aerial inspection of all typhoon-hit areas, he has been monitoring the situation.
“But nonetheless, we are continuing to monitor all the situations everywhere. And hopefully pagdaan nitong weather system na ito, makapunta tayo at (after these weather systems, we can go and) we will provide the assistances that we (were) talking about,” he said.
While state weather bureau Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said that the severe tropical storm has exited the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR), some areas in Luzon will still experience monsoon rains.
Agricultural damages caused by Enteng has already reached P350.85 million, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said, adding that around 94 percent of the damages crops were rice plants, while four percent of the crops were corn and the other one percent are high-value crops.