Police officers in Luzon and parts of the Visayas have been placed on alert and ordered to provide assistance in disaster response as Tropical Storm Ramil is expected to make landfall on Sunday afternoon or evening.
Philippine National Police (PNP) acting chief Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said in a statement on Sunday that police officers have been deployed and are on standby in areas that are forecast to be affected by Ramil.
He also ordered police commanders to be prepared for evacuation as well as search and rescue operations.
‘Our commanders on the ground were instructed to ensure the availability of manpower and other PNP resources for any eventuality, especially on the aspect of preemptive evacuation and search and rescue,’ Nartatez said in a statement.
Nartatez also assured that the police are capable, citing that cyclones and typhoons are a yearly occurrence in the country.
‘Just like in the past typhoons that hit the country, we have long alerted our personnel on the ground ever since the PAGASA started issuing warnings of the impact of this new weather disturbance,’ Nartatez shared.
‘This is not something new to us. This year for instance, we have already responded to stronger typhoons and your PNP were able to deliver in terms of ensuring the safety and responding to the needs of our kababayan,’ he continued.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) earlier stated that Ramil will make landfall in southern Luzon, and will move west-northwestward before exiting through the western portion of Central Luzon.
Ramil is expected to exit the Philippine area of responsibility on Monday morning to afternoon, Pagasa reported.