Aquino to Pinoys: Seek God's help during calamities

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino called on the people to turn to God in times of calamity, saying the government is doing everything it can to find permanent solutions to flooding but there are things beyond its control.

The unpredictable weather has been attributed to climate change due to environmental degradation and the Philippines has been identified as one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change.

Weather experts said the volume of rain dumped by the southwest monsoon that inundated Metro Manila and nearby areas had surpassed that of tropical storm “Ondoy” in 2009.

The President visited evacuation centers in Muntinlupa, Marikina, Quezon City, Caloocan, Valenzuela and Malabon as well as in Tarlac, Bataan, Pampanga and Bulacan to check on the condition of the evacuees.

While Aquino has been criticized before for not immediately going out to visit disaster victims, the President and his officials said they had deemed it better to lead the rescue and relief operations despite security concerns due to bad weather.

On Friday, the President’s aerial convoy had to make an emergency landing on the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway due to heavy rains and poor visibility on their way to Paniqui, Tarlac.

Aquino spoke to the evacuees although he had to apologize for not staying long due to his tight schedule.

In his message to evacuees in Bulacan, the President said various government agencies and local government units would work out a complete plan to address perennial flooding in the country.

“We have many plans, a mix of construction plans to mitigate if not to totally prevent flooding. Of course, stopping the rain depends on God. We might do something that would be good for 30 years but once every 40 years heavy rains with double the volume would fall. There are limits to what people can do. Siyempre nasa tao ang gawa, nasa Diyos ang awa,” Aquino said.

The President said the people could do their best and God would take care of the rest.

He also appealed for continuous help and cooperation from LGUs, saying it was important to have a coordinated and unified action plan to minimize the effects of flooding in the country.

The President said some projects would take years to finish and that they would entail billions.

“You are our bosses, we should be alleviating the burdens you experience today,” Aquino said.

Malacañang urged the public to remain vigilant and always monitor updates from the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) on weather disturbances.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said over radio dzRB they were grateful for the appreciation expressed by some people for their efforts to update the public when monsoon rains caused flooding in many parts of Metro Manila and nearby provinces.