Duterte set to visit ‘Ompong’-affected sites

Malacañang said that President Duterte will be sure to visit the areas affected by typhoon “Ompong” as soon as the weather permits him to fly there.

Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque made the statement as Cabinet members held a command conference at the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) office in Quezon City.

During the command conference, Roque said that Duterte is still in Manila monitoring the developments.

“I'm not sure where he is exactly right now. But he's in Manila. He did not leave and is monitoring,” Roque said Saturday morning.

“But knowing him, he will be the first to go to the affected area as soon as the weather allows his chopper to take off,” he added.

According to the Palace official, Duterte had no last minute directives regarding the typhoon as of the 9 a.m. command conference. He said that the only directive was to provide information to the public.

“Well, the directive is to conduct this command conference, we were tasked to handle information dissemination,” Roque said.

“As you can see many of the department secretaries are here, coordinating delivery of services,” he added. Some Cabinet secretaries present in the command conference are Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and Public Works Secretary Mark Villar.

On Thursday, Duterte presided over a command conference at the NDRRMC office to ensure the preparation of the government as Ompong enters the Philippines. Duterte also instructed some of his Cabinet members to go the areas which would be affected by the typhoon.

“The Ilocanos in the Cabinet were tasked to go to their respective home provinces. ,” Roque said, referring to Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III and Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade who were tasked to go to Isabela and Cagayan, respectively.

Earlier, Duterte said he instructed the two Cabinet secretaries to go to their provinces as he cannot be everywhere at the same time.