As a new storm is expected to dump more rains into the already inundated parts of Central Luzon including Metro Manila and now including northern Luzon with the government scrambling yesterday to “pre-position” relief goods to prevent these from being cut off by floods while allies of President Aquino in the Senate expressed willingness to consider up to P11 billion worth of budget supplement for this year supposedly to boost relief efforts.
Authorities rushed relief supplies to the country’s remote north in preparation for a new storm which was also expected to dump heavy rains on other areas struggling with deadly floods.
Tropical Storm “Helen” was forecast to hit the east coast of Luzon this morning then pass over mountainous regions before heading toward Taiwan, the state weather bureau Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pag-asa) said.
“We are rushing to pre-position relief items to the northern areas ahead of this storm,” Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman said.
“We wanted to make sure that we have enough supplies there
just in case areas get cut off by landslides or floods,” she added.
Helen was also forecast to bring heavy rains across the central and southern areas of Luzon, where 334,000 people remain in evacuation centres following flooding last week that in some farming areas remains waist-deep.
The floods, which submerged 80 percent of Manila, killed 95 people, according to the government.
The government had initially said Helen would start dumping up to 35 millimeters (1.3 inches) of rain an hour over large areas of Luzon beginning Monday night, triggering warnings of more mass evacuations from officials.
But as of noon yesterday parts of Luzon were only experiencing scattered, light rain showers.
Ramos said authorities had begun releasing water from five dams in the mountain regions of Luzon that were near overflowing in anticipation of more rains.
But the “controlled release” was not expected to swamp already swollen river systems and cause more flooding, he said.
“If necessary, we are willing to recommend to the Senate a supplementary budget or adjust the 2013 proposed budget for medium and long term projects that will be needed to immediately address the calamities,” Senate committee on finance chairman Senator Franklin Drilon said.
Drilon said only about P10.9 billion is available for realignment in the 2013 budget consisting of P9.4 billion savings from the 2012 budget, which were basically savings from unfilled positions in the first half of the year, and some unused allocation for Public-Private Partnership for school buildings aside from some P1.5 billion savings from the 2011 appropriations.
President Aquino earlier approved for release around P5 billion flood control projects such as the repair of damaged dikes, roads, bridges, and pumping stations in areas greatly affected by the recent calamity, noted Drilon.
Drilon said the P10.9 billion is in addition to the budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways for road maintenance and rehabilitation efforts.
Also, the Quick Response Fund of P7.5 billion for 2012 is already depleted, said Drilon. He added that the remaining balance may not be enough to respond to a number of typhoons that are expected to visit the country in the coming months, added Drilon.
He said the supplemental fund may capacitate further the government to advance immediate relief and rehabilitation efforts for the victims of the recent calamity as well as to carry out needed engineering interventions to address perennial flooding in the country.
In addition, Drilon was worried over a potential negative effect of the recent calamities in the country’s economy and growth target as what happened when typhoon Ondoy hit the country in 2009.
“Infusion of funds for rehabilitation will enable the economy to achieve the programmed GDP growth of 5-6 percent. It should be noted that the effect of typhoon Ondoy in 2009, there was a reduction in gross domestic growth of 0.4 percent as against programmed,” Drilon said.
Drilon earlier said the government may need foreign loans to implement a long-term flood mitigation plan estimated to be at around P352 billion.
Thousands of soldiers in northern Luzon, meanwhile, were placed on alert for possible deployment for disaster response as Helen intensifies and maintained its northward path, threatening the region where it is forecasted to make a landfall Thursday.
Col. Miguel Puyao, spokesman of the Army’s 5th Infantry Division based in Gamu, Isabela, said  troops are closely monitoring the situation in the provinces of Cagayan, Isabela, Quirino, Nueva Vizcaya, Cordillera, Kalinga, Apayao and Batanes.
“Our Armed Forces is ready, prepared…we are deployed already and monitoring the progress of the typhoon,” said Puyao.
“We have three brigades under the 5th Division and six infantry battalions…all is ready for the calamity,” added Puyao.
As of press time yesterday, Puyao said that northern Luzon region was only experiencing light rains and winds but there was slight increase in the water level at the Cagayan River. There was no reported flooding.
Puyao said that government authorities are also closely monitoring water releases at the four major dams in the area, namely, Magat, Ambuklao, Binga and San Roque.
“There are no evacuations yet, as of now the rains and the winds are still tolerable,” said Puyao.
Public storm warning signal number 2 is hoisted in Cagayan, including Calayan and Babuyan Islands, Isabela, Apayao, Kalinga and Batanes, all under the 5th ID.
On the other hand, the provinces of Aurora, Quirino, Nueva Vizcaya, Ifugao, Benguet, Mountain Province, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur and Abra are under PSWS number 1.
Tropical storm “Helen” is forecasted to make landfall in Cagayan today but as of late yesterday Pagasa said Helen has intensified slightly while moving closer to extreme Northern Luzon.
As a result of this development, weathermen maintained public storm warning signals over 17 Northern Luzon areas.
Storm signal No. 2 was up on Cagayan, Calayan, Babuyan and Batanes groups of islands, Isabela, Apayao, Kalinga, Ilocos Norte and Abra.
The weather agency said these areas are expected to experience 61 to 100 kilometers per hour winds within the next 24 hours.
Signal No. 1 (30-60 kph winds) was hoisted over Aurora, Quirino, Nueva Vizcaya, Ifugao, Benguet, Mt. Province, La Union and Ilocos Sur.
“Residents living in low-lying and mountainous areas under public storm warning signal Nos. 2 and 1 are alerted against possible flash floods and landslides. Likewise, those living in coastal areas under public storm warning signal No. 2 are alerted against big waves or storm surges generated by this tropical cyclone,” Pagasa said.
Fishing boats and other small seacrafts were advised not to venture out into the seaboards of Central and Southern Luzon and Visayas due to storm “Helen” and the southwest monsoon.
Pag-asa forecaster Bernie de Leon said there is little chance Helen will suddenly change course but he added that based on the storm’s trajectory, it may exit the Philippine area of responsibility by Thursday morning, and the weather may improve by Friday or Saturday.
The rest of Luzon and Western Visayas will experience cloudy skies with scattered to widespread rain showers and thunderstorms which may trigger flash floods and landslides.
The rest of Visayas and Mindanao will be mostly cloudy with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms.
Moderate to strong winds from the southwest will prevail over the rest of the country, making coastal waters moderate to rough.
Mario J. Mallari, Angie M. Rosales, AFP