The UAE has conveyed its heartfelt condolences and solidarity with the people of the Philippines following the deaths of dozens of people in the wake of floods and landslides in the country’s south.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MoFAIC) conveyed its sincerest condolences and sympathy to the Philippines’ government and people, as well as the relatives of the fatalities, and wished all those injured a swift recovery.
Earlier, President Bongbong Marcos questioned government officials over the high death toll from the onslaught of severe tropical storm Paeng.
Marcos who led a meeting with disaster officials asked why residents were not evacuated immediately.
“I would like to start with the flooding in Maguindanao, simply because we have to already look at it dahil ang daming casualty,” Marcos said.
“It will be important to us to look back and see why this happened, na hindi natin naagapan ito na 67 ang casualty,” he added.
Marcos wants a clearer picture on why residents were not evacuated ahead of the storm.
“So maybe if we could start with there first, just to give me a better idea of what happened, what caused the flooding and bakit hindi natin sila na-evacuate at nagkaganyan ang casualty, napakataas?” Marcos said.
The NDRRMC reports the death toll due to severe tropical storm Paeng has risen to 72
Of this number, 67 deaths were reported and recorded in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). The rest of the fatalities were from Western Visayas and the Soccsksargen regions.
The NDRRMC says validation is still ongoing for these reported deaths.
