SUPER TYPHOON PEPITO MAKES LANDFALL IN CATANDUANES; GOV’T TOLD TO PREPARE FOR WORST-CASE SCENARIO  

FORCED EVACUATION. Philippine National Police personnel in Catanduanes help in the orderly forced evacuation of residents from high-risk areas in San Andres town, prioritizing vulnerable groups and ensuring their safety. In  Bgy. Lourdes, Tiwi, Albay, PNP personnel also provided support as Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office and the barangay officials conduct forced evacuation of residents in coastal and low-lying areas.

SUPER Typhoon Pepito on Saturday night made a landfall in Panganiban, Catanduanes.

The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services (PAGASA), in a Facebook post said “Pepito” made landfall at  9:40 p.m. Saturday.

As of 8 p.m., “Pepito,” was located over the coastal waters of Viga, Catanduanes.

Packing masimum sustained winds of 195 kilometers per hour (kph) and gustiness of up to 325 kph, “Pepito” is moving west-northwest at 25 kph.

Signal No. 5 was raised over Catanduanes and the northeastern part of Camarines Sur, including Caramoan, Garchitorena, Lagonoy and Presentacion.

PREPARE FOR THE WORST

Earlier the day, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. directed all government agencies to prepare for the worst-case scenario as Super Typhoon Pepito approaches, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) reported on Saturday.

OCD said President Marcos and Defense Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro Jr. want agencies to do the utmost preparations not only to areas to be directly hit by “Pepito” but also to other potentially affected regions.

While government personnel in Eastern Visayas and Bicol have been alerted, OCD Administrator Ariel Nepomuceno said state workers have also been mobilized in Calabarzon, the National Capital Region (NCR), Central Luzon, Cagayan area, Ilocos, and Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).

Nepomuceno underscored the importance of carrying out the necessary preparations as the typhoon approaches.

“Ang pag-uutos ni Presidente Bongbong Marcos at ni Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, dapat gawin natin iyong worst case scenario planning. Mas maganda na iyong sobra ang paghahanda kaysa magkulang,” Nepomuceno said in a news forum in Quezon City.

“Kayat dito sa bagyo na ito, pampito na ho ito eh simulan natin sa Julian, Kristine, Leon, Marce, Nika, Ofel. Pampito itong si Pepito. Kayat iyong paghahanda natin, hindi ngayon ho sinisimulan iyan. Kailangan maunawaan ng ating mga kababayan na ito ay nakadugtong doon sa anim na mga naunang bagyo,” he said.

Residents staying in evacuation centers due to previous typhoons were advised not to return to their homes to ensure their safety, Nepomuceno said. He thanked local government units for their cooperation.

There are 11,448 families or 35,335 individuals staying in temporary shelters. The number of evacuees increased when the government implemented preemptive evacuation, Nepomuceno said.

In a separate briefing, Nepomuceno said the government has so far carried out strategic deployment of assets and personnel ahead of Pepito, prepositioning air, land, and sea assets.

This is in coordination with various agencies including the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Philippine National Police (PNP), Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and local government units, he added.