President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has declared a one-year state of national calamity across the Philippines to accelerate the government’s response and recovery efforts following the extensive damage caused by Typhoon Tino.
The declaration, formalized under Proclamation 1077 and made public on Saturday, aims to expedite rescue, relief, recovery, and rehabilitation efforts, ensuring a faster and more coordinated delivery of humanitarian assistance by both the government and the private sector.
Typhoon Tino has ravaged large swathes of the Visayas and parts of Mindanao and Southern Luzon, leading to heavy flooding, landslides, and widespread infrastructure damage.
The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported that the death toll from the typhoon has risen to 188.
Proclamation 1077 authorizes the immediate implementation of mandatory remedial measures across the affected areas.
These include the imposition of price ceilings on basic necessities and prime commodities, the prevention of overpricing, profiteering, or hoarding of essential goods, medicines, and petroleum products, and the granting of no-interest loans to the most affected sectors.
The state of calamity also allows national and local governments to immediately utilize appropriate funds for rescue, relief, recovery, and rehabilitation programs, including the provision of essential services to displaced individuals and communities.
In the proclamation, the President directed all government bodies to maintain a continuous, urgent, and critical level of response.
“All concerned agencies and instrumentalities of the National Government are hereby directed to continuously undertake urgent and critical disaster response to save lives, reduce health impacts, ensure public safety and meet the basic subsistence needs of the people affected,” the proclamation stated.
Furthermore, concerned agencies were ordered to implement post-disaster recovery measures, coordinate closely with affected local government units (LGUs), and facilitate private sector and international assistance.
Law enforcement agencies, supported by the Armed Forces of the Philippines, were also mandated to maintain peace and order in the disaster-stricken areas.
The state of national calamity took effect immediately upon its declaration and will remain in force for one year, unless the President issues an order to lift it earlier.