The People Surge alliance condemned the Marcos regime for its incompetence in addressing the widespread effects of Typhoon Kristine, which impacted the provinces of Bicol, Calabarzon, Metro Manila, Ilocos, Cordillera, Cagayan, and Samar, in the past few days.

According to People Surge, a national alliance of advocates for the rights of disaster survivors, the Marcos regime’s boast of billions of funds for flood control and climate change mitigation programs is bogus. “Moreover, the Marcos administration continues to promote policies and projects that devastate the environment, such as large-scale mining and quarrying, and reclamation,” People Surge spokesperson Eco Dangla said.

The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) announced today, October 27, that typhoon-related deaths has reached 85, while 41 individuals are still missing. At least 70 people were injured.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) estimated that 1.42 million families or over 5.8 million people were affected by the typhoon. Consequently, 158 cities and towns across the country have been placed under a “state of calamity”.

The typhoon also severely damaged infrastructure. Up to now, 218 roads and 40 bridges remain impassable. Over 38,000 schools in the country were destroyed. Meanwhile, the damage to the agricultural sector has reached ₱1.43 billion.

People Surge noted that in terms of quarrying alone, an estimated 591 permits were given to companies across the country. The group believes that quarrying operations in the country that cause land erosion and widespread flooding are far more numerous than this.

Dangla emphasized that this worsens the country’s already damaged environment, resulting in more intense disasters and displacement, especially among the poor sectors such as farmers, fisherfolk, and urban poor. He added that these disasters exposed Marcos and his allies’ bureaucratic profiteering.

“In light of these failures, we demand immediate relief, aid, and compensation for disaster victims,” Dangla said. He added that these aid should not tied to insurance schemes that only exacerbates the suffering of Filipino communities.

Dangla also called the Filipino people to unite and forge movements demanding immediate relief and aid for the victims of this calamity. “Only through collective action can we confront the increasing severity of storms driven by climate change and liberate ourselves from a government that operates within an inherently bureaucrat-capitalistic system,” Dangla said.