MALACAÑANG on Tuesday assured the public that immediate relief would reach communities affected by the widespread flooding across the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
Special Assistant to the President Secretary Antonio Lagdameo Jr. said that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. directed all concerned government agencies to maintain close coordination with the BARMM government "as disaster response, rescue, and relief operations remain ongoing across the region."
"The Office of the Special Assistant to the President reaffirmed President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s steadfast commitment to ensuring that immediate relief reaches affected communities across the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao," Lagdameo said in a statement.
Lagdameo said more than a thousand emergency responders have been deployed to assist affected communities. He said the deployment includes teams from the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police, the Philippine Coast Guard, the Bureau of Fire Protection, and regional responders.
"In a unified effort to protect displaced families and ensure public safety, more than a thousand emergency responders, including personnel from the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine National Police, Philippine Coast Guard, Bureau of Fire Protection, and regional responders, have been fully deployed and sustained to assist affected communities, secure vital resources, and mitigate the impact of the calamity," he said.
In its situational report on Tuesday, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said the number of reported fatalities from the combined effects of the enhanced southwest monsoon (habagat) and Typhoon Inday has risen to 23, while 18 people have remained missing.
Of the reported deaths, 10 were in Region 12, seven in the BARMM, two each in Cagayan Valley and Northern Mindanao, and one each in Western Visayas and Davao Region, the NDRRMC said.
On Monday, July 13, Muhammad Farzieh Abutazil, director of Bangsamoro Rapid Emergency Action on Disaster Incidence (READi), said that a total of 103,218 families, or 516,090 individuals, have been affected by widespread flooding in the region last week.
Most of the affected families are from the provinces of Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, and Lanao del Sur.
Abutazil said the flooding also affected 328 barangay (villages) across the region, with extensive flood damage reported in these communities.
At least 5,000 families continue to stay in 37 evacuation centers located in the three mainland Mindanao provinces.
BARMM READi also reported that 33 houses were destroyed, while 114 others sustained partial damage. Of the 103,218 affected households, 5,107 families are in 37 evacuation centers in Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, and Lanao del Sur.
