MANILA – President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. vowed on Wednesday to help residents rebuild their homes after a magnitude 7 earthquake hit Abra and neighboring provinces.
“Tutulong kami, siyempre. The immediate — lalo na sa lindol, ang immediate concern is shelter kasi nga kahit na titingnan mo ‘yung bahay mukhang matibay, hindi mo malalaman hanggang nainspeksyon nang mabuti ‘yun (We will be helping, for sure. The immediate concern during earthquakes is shelter because if you look at those houses they appear to be sturdy, you wouldn’t know until you conduct a thorough inspection),” Marcos said when asked by reporters about government support during a press briefing in Malacañang.
In light of the dangers posed by aftershocks that might persist for days, he stated that officials would not permit people to return to their homes for the time being.
Marcos pointed out that authorities should explain to the people the need to conduct thorough inspections of houses and buildings before they are allowed to return to their homes.
“In the meantime, it is up to us, the government, to provide shelter for them to be able to feed them while they are in the shelters. And to inspect their residences, their places of business para makita natin kung puwede na silang bumalik, puwedeng magtrabaho ulit, puwede na bumalik sa kanilang mga bahay (and make sure they can now go back and work again as well as return to their homes),” he said.
When asked if he will issue a directive to LGUs mandating regular inspection of residential properties in their areas, the President stated that no such order is necessary.
He stated that there is an existing method for regular assessment of residential houses and other structures, but that LGUs typically struggle to undertake inspections due to a shortage of skilled engineers or staff.
“I think the better way is to educate people (not to build houses on hazardous zones and make sure that they use standard materials to make sure their houses are built strong enough to withstand earthquakes and typhoons ) na huwag niyong — huwag kayong magtatayo ng bahay sa delikadong lugar, make sure that maayos ‘yung mga materyales na ginagamit at maging matibay para ‘pag sakali mang magka-lindol o magka-bagyo ay hindi naman kayo mabiktima (not to build houses on hazardous zones and make sure that they use standard materials to make sure their houses are built strong enough to withstand earthquakes and typhoons),” Marcos pointed out.
“So yes, it’s something that we would like to be able to do. We have yet to have the capability to do it extensively. Sa urban areas nagagawa, pero sa rural areas hindi gaano (In urban areas these are being done but in rural areas it’s not quite the same),” he said.
Marcos stated that there is no need to declare a state of national calamity at this time due to the fact that the tremor only impacted the Ilocos Region and the Cordillera Administrative Region.
A state of national calamity is automatically declared when a disaster strikes three regions.
The tremor also hit the provinces of Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte, La Union, and Benguet along with Abra.
