People Surge, an alliance of disaster survivors, strongly condemned the Marcos regime for its failure to protect vulnerable communities during storms and rains brought by the shear line. It also denounced the regime for prioritizing destructive mining projects and operations, quarrying and land use conversion that aggravate damage caused by floods and rain. It demanded justice and compensation for disaster survivors and a stop to the aforementioned destructive operations.

Since January, prolonged and heavy rains brought by the shear line flooded and submerged entire barangays in Samar, Davao, Camarines, Cagayan and other provinces. The shear line is the collision of winds with different speeds, directions and temperatures that results in increased rainfall.

Recently, rains submerged barangays in the regions of Calabarzon, Western Visayas and Central Visayas devastating 850,000 individuals. Among those reported were severe flooding in Puerto Princesa City and other towns in Palawan, where five were killed.

“The government’s response has been woefully inadequate,” according to People’s Surge. “While ₱65 million in aid has been distributed, it pales in comparison to the scale of devastation. This pittance cannot rebuild homes, restore lost crops, or heal the trauma inflicted on our communities.”

The alliance calls for a comprehensive disaster preparedness plan to prioritize the most vulnerable areas and livelihood programs in affected communities. Local and national officials who failed to protect their citizens must be held accountable, as their negligence intensifies the severity of disasters.

“The Marcos administration’s policies favoring large-scale and destructive mining, quarrying, and land use conversion are significantly increasing the Philippines’ vulnerability and risk to disasters,” according to the group. “Pres. Marcos Jr has demonstrated a clear commitment to expanding mining operations, as evidenced by his push for ‘clean mining’ and the lifting of the ban on open-pit mining for copper, gold, silver, and complex ores.”

Palawan, especially in Brooke’s Point which has repeatedly been flooded, is peppered with mining companies such as Rio Tuba Mining, Ipilan Nickel Corporation, Nonoc Mining and Industrial Corporation and Hinatuan Mining Company. According to the group, the aggressive pursuit of mineral extraction—especially in vital “biodiversity frontiers” like Palawan—comes at a severe environmental cost, threatening forests, watersheds, agricultural lands, and water systems that are crucial to the country’s ecological balance and food security.

“By prioritizing the interest of foreign and private corporations, and local big landlords’ economic gains over environmental protection and community welfare, the Marcos government is setting the stage for more frequent and severe disasters,” it said.