Pres. Aquino Wants Police to Play Active Role During Typhoon Emergencies

President Benigno S. Aquino III has indicated that he wants police personnel who fail to do their job during typhoon emergencies to be charged with Absence Without Official Leave (AWOL), to show the government’s resolve in disciplining insensitive personnel.

“The minute nagkaroon ng checking of attendance at absent (sila), kasuhan na kaagad ng AWOL… Hindi acceptable na ‘yung nakatalaga, wala na naman,” President Aquino said while presiding over a National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) meeting on Thursday afternoon. The country is bracing for Typhoon ‘Ruby,’ considered a super typhoon, which is expected to hit Eastern Visayas on Saturday afternoon.

Widespread looting was rampant in areas devastated by Typhoon ‘Yolanda’ last year after civil order collapsed as police and military failed to ensure public safety and order.

Establishments in Tacloban City in Leyte province and other areas were ransacked by unruly crowds and the President said he does not want a repeat of such situation in case Typhoon ‘Ruby’ hits Eastern Visayas.

The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) told the President during Thursday’s meeting in Camp Aguinaldo that it has already identified nearby regions that could dispatch police and military personnel who could take over the function of personnel in devastated areas who fail to do their job.

The OCD said that these first responders could be deployed within 24 hours to maintain order.

The military, on the other hand, said it is ready to send its engineering battalion to do repairs and clearing operations in affected areas, depending on the need.

Typhoon ‘Ruby’, which entered the Philippine area of responsibility on Thursday morning, is heading towards Eastern Visayas.

According to the weather bureau, the typhoon has sustained winds of more than 200 kilometers per hour and could produce storm surges as high as three to four meters. PND (as)