Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. directed the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) to find a route in the Bondoc Peninsula, where landing craft tanks (LCTs) can ferry fuel vehicles and tankers to Camarines Sur province.
During a situation briefing with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. at Malacañang in Manila on Friday, Teodoro explained that a shuttle service for food, water, and fuel will operate by crossing the Bondoc Peninsula to Pasacao town in Camarines Sur.
‘They will start today (Friday), Sir,’ he told Marcos.
In connection, Department of Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Maria Antonio Yulo Loyzaga recommended mobilizing the private sector to identify fuel stocks in affected areas and facilitate access to them.
‘Fuel stocks sometimes are in depots and actually already in the proximate areas where they can already be accessible,’ she said.
Department of Public Works and Highways Secretary Manuel Bonoan reported that the Lopez-Catanauan section in Quezon along
Maharlika Highway, the route to reach Camarines Sur, is now passable, even for heavy vehicles.
Marcos emphasized the government’s commitment to closely monitor the situation in Bicol and ordered agencies to intensify rescue and relief operations, especially as nine of the 36 local government units in Camarines Sur remain inundated.
‘It doesn’t matter if there’s another storm. That can’t stop the support we’re giving, the DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development) to those who have been displaced, who are still in evacuation centers or staying outside of their own homes,’ he said.
Closed roads
As of 2 p.m. Friday, the DPWH said 31 national road sections remain closed to traffic – 14 in Bicol; six in Cordillera; three each in Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon and Calabarzon, one in Mimaropa and one in Central Visayas.
The closures are due to soil collapse, flooding, collapsed pavement, landslide, fallen trees, rock collapse, rockslides, debris, and collapsed bridge.
Meanwhile, three national bridges
are impassable – one each in Cagayan Valley, Calabarzon and Bicol due to flooding and collapsed bridge.
Another 18 national road sections have limited access – eight in Bicol, five in Calabarzon, three in Central Luzon and one each in Metro Manila and Mimaropa.
All national roads and bridges in other affected regions are passable to all types of vehicles to date.
Source: Philippines News agency
